"PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT
GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO MUST GO"
Victoria, BC, 04 August
2008 - This was the call of Dr. Chandu Claver during his keynote
speech on the occasion of the Commemorative Service for his wife,
Alice, who was killed in an ambush by suspected government agents
in the Philippines two years ago.
The public Forum on Human Rights and the Philippine
Situation was held on August 2 at the Selkirk Montessori School
in the City of Victoria, Canada. It was sponsored by the Victoria
Philippine Solidarity Group and the Stop the Killings in the Philippines
Network.
The video presentation entitled "The Philippines:
Waging War on the People" was publicly shown for the first
time in Victoria. The video indicates how on that fateful day on
July 31, 2006, two riflemen hosed down the Claver family car containing
the couple and one of their daughters. Alice did not survive her
seven gunshot wounds. Dr. Claver and his daughter, though much wounded,
survived. Since then, Dr. Claver has linked up with human rights
groups in an international campaign called the Stop the Killings
Campaign.
Alice Claver was one of 903 Filipinos victims of
extra-judicial killings since 2001. Most of the victims were members
and leaders of legitimate progressive social organizations working
for social changes in the Philippines. Local and international bodies
and investigators, notably from the United Nations, have indicated
the direct involvement of the Philippine military in these killings.
In his talk, Dr. Claver said, ". . . the present Philippine
rule is a de facto martial rule, a far cry from the so-called 'vibrant
democracy' that even the present Canadian government seems to stubbornly
think and adhere to." The killings have been linked to the
Philippine Government counter-insurgency program - a program strongly
and directly supported by the United States War on Terror.
The Stop the Killings in the Philippines Campaign
has spread into numerous countries around the world. This culminated
in a process involving the filing of charges against Presidents
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and George W. Bush at the Permanent Peoples
Tribunal. The international opinions court found both Arroyo and
Bush guilty of crimes against humanity. "International solidarity
of peoples across the world has made this possible." Claver
said. But he added, "The number of killings may have noticeably
decreased in the last 6 months due to the local and international
pressure, but (the killings) definitely have not stopped. . . .
Getting Arroyo and Bush out of the scene may not be the total answer,
but may be a start for better things to come."
He appeals to Canadians to continue to lobby their
government to review Canada's trade relations with, and military
aid to the Philippines. He urged that Canada should find "means
of making truly sure that Canadian tax payer's money is not being
used to make the Armed Forces of the Philippines a more efficient
killing machine".
Claver, who together with his three daughters had
fled the Philippines due to continued threats and harassments, has
been waiting for more than a year for the Immigration and Refugee
Board to hear his case for a refugee claim. #
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