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Statements of AFAD
Proceedings:
Articles on the Proceedings on the AFAD Leadership Training
Jan. 27 - 31, 2003, Philippines
AFAD Second Congress Resolutions
August 2003
Remembering Munir
AFAD Second Congress
August 26-30, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand
AFAD’s Mid-Year Report
Ding Zilin's
Message To
Hong Kong
Again, The KONTRAS – IKOHI Office Was Attacked
“ If they are dead, tell us”!
My sons, where are they? |
EASTER SUNDAY STATEMENT
April 12, 2009
Celebrating Life with A Renewed Faith
Psalm 9:9 - The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a
stronghold in times of trouble.
The Dhammapada 120 – Even a good person may still meet with
suffering so long as his good deed does not bear fruit; but when it does
bear fruit he will enjoy the benefits of his good deed.
The QURAN Sura 8:61 - If they resort to peace, so shall you, and
put your trust in GOD. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.
Easter Sunday gives us the reason to hope amidst despair. As Jesus
Christ resurrected from the violence of His death, we, the Asian
Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, start to put out the lamp
because by our very presence and our continuing struggle, dawn has come
and the light of day will continue to illumine our path towards a world
without desaparecidos.
There is no Easter if there is no Good Friday. Thus, on this occasion,
we reflect on the journey of the little ones of God’s flock – the
world’s poor, deprived, oppressed, who, like Christ, carrying the Cross
towards Golgotha, continue to suffer from human rights violations where
truth and justice are far from sight. Particularly, we ponder on the
situation of enforced disappearances in countries where our
member-organizations are based – a microcosm of the global scourge of
enforced disappearances which makes it imperative for the UN Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance to enter
into force.
In Pakistan, the crackdown against the opposition groups headed by the
Pakistan Muslim League leader Nawaz Sharif has continuously sowed fear
among the people. Since March 10, 2009, authorities have been detaining
at least 300 activists from the opposition party charged under various
provisions of the Maintenance of Public Order Act or simply detained
without being charged. This clandestine nature of the arrest and
detention of individuals has subjected people to enforced disappearance,
torture and summary execution. In 2007, the Pakistan Supreme Court heard
petitions of more than 400 disappeared people. Almost 100 of the
disappeared were subsequently located. Some of those who reappeared had
been detained on apparently false charges.
In Sri Lanka, the internal armed conflict resumed between the government
and the LTTE since President Mahinda Rajapakse assumed power in November
2005. Neither side has shown regard for the human rights of the largely
Tamil civilian population. This is triggered by the sudden rise of
incidences of killings and disappearances of hundreds of Tamils
attributed mostly to the state-security forces and paramilitary groups.
In the most recent round of fighting that began in September 2008, the
Sri Lankan government has refused to allow either humanitarian agencies
or the media to operate in the conflict area.
But evil can be overcome by finding the saving grace of God in our
hearts in order to bring a lasting peace to humanity. However, it
necessitates sacrifices from those who follow the path of goodness. The
human rights defenders who put their lives and liberties on the line are
our sources of hope. They are some manifestations that in death, there
is Resurrection.
In Indonesia, the trial for the murder of Munir Said Thalib, one
Indonesia’s leading human rights activists had turned into a haywire
when South Jakarta district court acquitted Major General Muchdi
Purwopranjono, a former deputy to the State Intelligence Agency (Badan
Intelijen Negara or BIN) on 31 December 2008 despite compelling
evidence against him. Muchdi had been charged with planning and ordering
Munir's killing on a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam via
Singapore on 7 September, 2004 by a lethal dose of arsenic. Before his
untimely death, Munir led the investigation on the abduction of
thousands of activists by Kopassus which was then headed by Gen. Muchdi.
In Thailand, since the renewed outbreak of violence in the southern
border provinces in January 2004, a number of human rights defenders
have been arrested, tortured, disappeared and murdered, allegedly by the
security forces. On 8 February 2009, about 20 soldiers and police raided
the office of the Working Group for Peace and Justice (WGPJ) in Pattani
province and harassed its personnel. Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, head of
WGPJ, believes that the military was targeting her group because it has
played a central role in reporting human rights cases in Thailand to the
United Nations. She fears that they might suffer the same fate as that
of her husband, lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit who was abducted and murdered
on 12 March 2004 for exposing a number of cases of torture committed by
police. Only one of the five Thai police officers was convicted on 12
January 2006 for a lesser charge of coercion.
In the Philippines, while politicians are busy with the upcoming 2010
national elections, cases of enforced disappearances remain unresolved
and the bill criminalizing enforced disappearances has not yet been
enacted into law. Mrs. Edita Burgos continue to search for her son; the
family of James Balao had already sought international support for the
continuing disappearance of its kin – they and several other families
whose loved ones disappeared continue to cry for truth and justice. Very
recently, the ongoing probe of the Commission on Human Rights on the
spate of killings in Davao City and the disappearance and murder of
Rebelyn Pitao, Rebelyn, a schoolteacher and daughter of Leoncio Pitao,
alias Commander Parago, head of the New People’s Army’s Pulang Bagani
(Red Warrior) Command, has once again pointed to the military and
private armed groups associated to the government as culprits. It was
the same findings that the task forces and commissions created by the
government had concluded in their investigation. This prompted the
Action Network Human Rights - Philippines, an initiative of church-based
German development agencies to visit the country on 12 – 18 March 2009
to follow–up and review the government’s response to the Alston’s report
and the recommendations submitted by the Melo Commission.
As Easter Sunday dawns upon us, violence still prevails. Yet amidst
all these, there is every reason for us to celebrate. Life with faith
renewed in the face of continuing violence is the reason for
celebration. Christ, who died for the ransom of many, has resurrected -
a Resurrection that flickers in us a ray of hope that that one day,
truth, justice, peace and freedom will emerge triumphant!
In Nepal, the decision of the Maoist-led government to establish a
Disappearances and Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a positive
step toward ensuring accountability and breaking the chain of impunity.
But the Nepali government has yet to ensure that its existing law, in a
forum of an Ordinance, be made as an Act of Parliament whose provisions,
indeed, truly respond to the needs of the families of the disappeared.
In India, the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir government of Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah has this historic opportunity to break the
routine failure of justice. This can be done by heeding to the clamor of
the families of the victims of enforced disappearance and of the
international community to create an independent, transparent, and
time-bound commission to investigate allegations of enforced
disappearances and identify those who were buried in unmarked graves.
The government must also repeal of the draconian laws that provide the
armed forces with extraordinary powers to search, detain, and use lethal
force, leading to numerous human rights violations.
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
continues to struggle despite the thorns that bar along the way towards
a world without desaparecidos. It joins hands with families of
the disappeared persons in Asia and in other continents in partaking the
victories on this Resurrection Day. In its more than a decade of life as
a Federation, it has seen faces of violence – the murder of its former
chairperson, Munir; the killing of its Kashmiri colleague, Aasia Jeelani,
the continuing persecution of its Council member in Kashmir, Parvez
Imroz and the continuing disappearances of many women and men in the
name of national security. These and many other difficulties are reasons
to combat the violence of death and to partake in Christ’s Resurrection.
This is made possible by continuing this crusade towards a world without
desaparecidos.
Signed:
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|
MUGIYANTO |
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO |
| Chairperson |
Secretary-General |
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