Malaya Movement condemns Duterte’s “Bloody Sunday”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: malayamovement@gmail.com
The Malaya Movement strongly condemns the most recent crackdown on activists across the Calabarzon region early Sunday, March 7th. We mourn with the family and loved ones of the 5 activists that were killed as a result of these operations, and are resolved to continue speaking out against the growing number of political prisoners, most of whom are illegally-arrested activists.
It is high time that Duterte resigns and is held accountable for his murderous reign of terror. Like a madman, screaming bloody murder from Malacañang, he commands state security forces to kill and commit horrible crimes, and like a servile pack of bloodhounds, the PNP and AFP shed blood and sow terror across the nation. This past March 5th, in the same fashion, Duterte ordered for police and military to “kill” and “finish off” the “communist rebels”, but the lives of five innocent civilians were lost. His violent rhetoric is not merely the crazed ramblings of a tyrant, but the official position of a government bent on targeting unarmed, legal, civilian organizations for being critical to his dictatorship. Since he made the March 5th kill order, at least five activists have died.
We must also hold to blame Duterte’s most obedient bloodhounds who carry out his terror-tagging and red-baiting schemes that we now recognize as the prelude to assassination. It is by no coincidence, then, that the Calabarzon Region, where these recent bloody attacks occurred, were formerly under the control of Lt. General Antonio Parlade. Parlade is the current spokesperson and loudmouth of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and has long been leading the charge in the demonization of activists and human rights defenders.
Current PNP Chief, Debold Sinas, also has a long trail of blood behind him as his career and notoriety rose to national status. OPlan (Operation Plan) Sauron, and SEMPO (Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations), tactics used by state security forces in these Calabarzon operations, and in the islands of Negros and Panay where over a hundred lives have been lost in the past few years are all connected to Sinas. The most recent killings and arrests of Tumandok leaders on the island of Panay also used these tactics.
Our cries for life and justice must be louder than Duterte’s screams for death and violence!
We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all activists that were arrested, and the immediate investigation of the PNP, AFP, and NTF-ELCAC that have continued to kill with impunity.
We continue our demand for an independent investigation of the Duterte Regime and his role in the worsening conditions of human rights in the Philippines.
We urge everyone to take action: issue statements, email or call the Philippine Embassy in D.C. and your local Philippine Consulate to express your condemnation. We also urge everyone to call your legislators and make sure they know about the ongoing and worsening human rights atrocities of the Duterte regime. Their support of the Philippine Human Rights Act, and the immediate suspension of all military and security aid to the Philippines once passed, is necessary to begin the process of healing and restoration of human rights in the Philippines.
