We strongly condemn the recent statement of the Senior Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, provincial director of Bataan PNP and the military on the illegal arrest of Archie Bathan, a leader of Youth for Nationalism and Democracy two days ago.
In their news report to the media they have tagged Bathan as ‘chairman of Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) Bataan, a legal front of armed group MLPP/ RHB.’
This is an old trick of the military- branding and tagging legitimate people’s organizations like Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) with armed rebel groups. We have seen this before in the case of Kathy Alcantara, extra-judicially killed in 2005, KPD Bataan Secretary-General and to Audie Lucero, YND member also extra-judicially killed a year later.
In Philippine politics, legitimate people’s organizations exist alongside armed rebel groups, two different responses to the intense contradiction between those that oppress and those that are oppressed. They are two different things and cannot be logically considered as one in the same. In lumping unarmed human rights defenders such as those that belong to KPD and other people’s organizations with armed rebels, makes them more vulnerable as they are seen in the same league as armed rebels – easy prey to summary execution, abduction and torture.
When law enforcers operate in this narrow mindset, human rights violations abound. This time, we will not let them wash their hands of culpability. We believe that what they did to Bathan constitute a violation of his human rights as well as a glaring shortcut of DUE PROCESS.
For the record, Bathan is a member of YND, an affiliate organization of KPD which has been active in local as well as national issues like the Visiting Forces Agreement, Charter Change and recently the campaign directed against the re-commissioning of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
We believe these attacks are directed against the growing clamor of rational Filipinos in the province of Bataan and beyond that the BNPP should be dismantled and that nuclear power will never be a safe, viable and desirable alternative under any circumstance.
Reference:
Chester Amparo, Secretary General KPD National – 0922 876 5851
Aurora Broquil, Chairperson KPD Central Luzon – 0915 698 7277