HONORING THE DESAPARECIDOS, CARRYING THEIR LEGACY
Statement of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD)
on the occasion of its Second Regular Congress, 26- 30 August 2003
They are martyrs without monuments—heroes with unmarked tombs. They were
the ones who exchanged life so that we may live free from the darkness of
autocracy and the lurking shadows of fear and trembling. They are the
desaparecidos . They are our parents, children, friends and advocates
whose absence has now become the embodiment of our collective courage and
the very stuff of immortality.
Yet, it is ironic that they who have done the monumental task of defending
freedom and fending off tyranny will, in the end, be remembered by a
handful of grieving kin and eulogized by a grateful few. Hence, this
Second Congress of ours is not just a gathering of AFAD leaders and
friends, but an act of remembrance and a eulogy of sorts for those who
have been brutalized and made to disappear.
But such accolade is not only meant for the desaparecidos but also for
those who have been left behind and have continued the struggle for
justice and vindication. Thus, thanks must also be extended to the
hundreds of activists from AFAD member-organizations who have fought teeth
and bone against seemingly impossible odds—from the harshest military
repression to the lingering disinterest of their respective governments.
This Congress is also a testament to the greatness of the relatives who
have not abandoned the search for their loved ones, clinging to the barest
clue and the most minute piece of cloth.
Months before this Congress began, our member-organizations once again
expressed their determination to win in the struggle and disrupt the
equanimity of the powers-that-be.
In India for instance, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP)
held a hunger strike from April 17-24, 2003 to demand an end to the
spiraling practice of involuntary disappearance in the Jammu and Kashmir
region. To save the government from embarrassment, Chief Minister Mufti
Mohammed Syed was forced to admit that 3,744 cases of forced disappearance
was recorded by the government for the past three years, a marked contrast
to his earlier pronouncement of only 60 victims. Recently, through its
Finance Minister, the Indian government admitted that there is an updated
record of 3,931 victims of involuntary disappearances in the valley. The
Indian government pronounced its program of healing touch and peace with
Pakistan, yet ironically, during the last nine months, already 84 persons
disappeared.
In neighboring Pakistan, abductions and arbitrary arrests have become a
political routine, despite its leadership’s rhetorical adherence to
democracy and its close alliance with the United States. Disappearances
usually lead to extra-judicial killings, and staged by the authorities as
military encounters with militant or insurgent forces. Despite this
seemingly murderous pattern however, State agencies still refuse to
acknowledge the cases of abduction and deny any knowledge on the
whereabouts of the victims.
The Tiananmen Mothers Campaign (TMC), a group of parents whose children
disappeared during the infamous “Beijing Massacre” of 1989, issued two
letters addressed to the new Chinese leadership and the Supreme People’s
Procurate respectively, reiterating their demand to have a dialogue with
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. In those same letters, they
further asserted the need to have a thorough investigation of the
incident; to punish those who ordered it; and to compensate the victims’
families. On 4 June 2003, amidst the SARS epidemic, TMC held a candlelight
vigil at Victoria Park in Hongkong to commemorate the victims of the
Beijing Massacre.
In Indonesia, fours years after the fall of Suharto, authoritarianism is
once again rearing its ugly head, this time in the guise of paramilitary
units out to defend the unity of Indonesia. This was most blatantly
manifested on 28 May 2003 when 150 thugs from the Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM)
attacked and vandalized the office of KontraS — the leading human rights
organization in Indonesia. The incident came about after KontraS’ repeated
criticisms of the govenrnment total disregard of human rights violations
in Aceh province. PPM, whose members are wont in sporting army-like
uniforms are alleged to be very close to the military. The Megawatti
government’s declaration of Martial law resulted in the collapse of the
peace process in Aceh, thus contributing to more cases of involuntary
disappearances. The situation in Indonesia has gone from bad to worse
especially with the escalation of the anti-terrorism campaign.
In Sri Lanka, the Organization of Parents and Family Members of the
Disappeared (OPFMD) has consistently lobbied for the institutionalization
of various measures meant to prevent abductions and involuntary
disappearance. This includes punishments for the perpetrators and
corollary judicial reforms. The OPFMD is also advocating for the
realization of the recommendations enunciated by the various Commissions
set up to investigate the cases of involuntary disappearance in the
island-state. Moreover, it calls on the Sri Lankan government to seriously
implement the recommendations of the United Nations Working Group on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances during its third visit to the
country in 1999.
Thailand, though usually portrayed as a country of smiles and tranquility,
is no exception from the scourge of involuntary disappearance. Up to this
time, the Relatives Committee of the May 1992 Heroes are still calling on
the government to open an investigation on the 1992 military crackdown
that led to the death and disappearance of hundred of civilians. They also
demand that those responsible be brought to justice as the first necessary
step towards national renewal.
In the Philippines, 1,852 cases remain unresolved. The Families of Victims
of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND) is indefatigably lobbying for the
enactment of an “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act” in
Congress. Such bill will criminalize this terrible deed and, if approved,
will be landmark legislation in Asia. It also provides compensation for
the victims and their families and gives a clear distinction between
involuntary disappearance and other politically motivated crimes.
And in the world over, victims and their families, activists and lawyers
are demanding the immediate ratification of the UN Draft Convention on the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. It
is ironic to note however, that though the Caribbean and Latin American
governments have been supportive of the endeavor, their Asian counterparts
have been to be dillydallying, thus proving that human rights groups would
have to exert more effort before a Draft Convention can be ratified.
Yet, no matter what the cost or the labor that it entails, we who have
been left behind must continue to struggle on. For in a sense, the work
that we undertake today is but a continuum of the sacrifices that the
desaparecidos have done in their own time. And in the process, this AFAD
Congress becomes a part of that continuum, an irreducible element in the
campaign for justice and a beckon for those trembling in fear to hear
their own voice and to trust in the power of a united people.
As our as comrades in Latin America would say: “El pueblo unido, jamas
sera vencido!” “The people, united, will never be defeated.
Done this 30th day of August 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand.