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Filipino Trade Unionist Speaking Tour:
The Resistance to State Repression in the Philippines

Posted May 16, 2007

PUBLIC MEETING: THE RESISTANCE TO STATE REPRESSION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Dennis Maga, trade unionist and spokesperson for the Free Ka Bel Movement to speak.

Auckland : Mon 21 MAY 7.30PM Trades Hall
147 Great Nth Rd, Grey Lynn,

Wellington :Wed 23 May 7pm, 2 nd Floor ANZAC HOUSE, 181 Willis St

ChristChurch : Thurs 24th May 730pm, Trade Union Centre, 199 Armargh St

Northland: Sun 27 May, 7pm, St John's Church Centre, 149 Kamo Rd , Whangarei

Monday 28 th May, Waitangi, 8pm, Venue to be confirmed

Philippines president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is to attend an interfaith dialogue in New Zealand this month. Since she came to power six years ago, 837 people have died in extrajudicial killings – including left-wing politicians, rights activists, unionists, journalists and religious leaders.

Among those detained is Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran. The ailing 74-year-old congressman was arrested in February last year on charges that date back to the era of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1980s and were quashed in 1988. Since then, further trumped up charges of sedition have been laid. Beltran has now been held under hospital detention for sixteen months.

Last week Dennis Maga met with the NZ ambassador in Manila and requested the following from the New Zealand Government.

1. Sponsor a cross-parliamentary delegation to investigate the human rights situation in the Philippines

2. Send a representative of the New Zealand Embassy to the court hearings on Rep. Beltran's case.

3. Redirect the NZ ODA funding from the Philippine government to the people's organizations actively promoting and defending human rights.

4. Offer the NZ embassy as a safe haven for victims of repression and assure them of refugee status in NZ.

5. Campaign against the nomination of the Philippines as member of the United Nation Human Rights Security Council for the unabating occurrence of extra-judicial killings, involuntary disappearances militarization, political harassments and persecution.

Helen Clark has pledged that New Zealand would “continue to encourage the Philippines , wherever opportunity arises, to work towards fully protecting the fundamental human rights of all its peoples and releasing individuals who appear to have been unjustifiably imprisoned.”  It is time for her follow through on that promise.

Sponsored by the NDU, CTU, AUS, MUNZ, UNITE GPJA, WPNZ, ARENA, PSNA

http://freekabelmovement.blogspot.com/

For information contact Luke Coxon on 021 617 131, lcoxon@nduunion.org.nz

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