Thursday, 15 January 2009
Southeast Asian’s civil society step up the engagement with ASEAN by establishing the ASEAN People’s Center in Jakarta (Jakarta, 15 January 2009), A coalition of civil society organizations in the Southeast Asian region today calls on the ASEAN to give its full cooperation to the civil society center in Jakarta as a show of its commitment to enhance the participation of the peoples in its decision making and make ASEAN a truly “People-oriented ASEAN”.
A physical office to step up the engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to assert people’s participation in its policy was launched by the broad coalition of civil society organizations in the region, the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN.
The launch of this first ever civil society office in the history to tighten the engagement with the ten member states in the ASEAN, was officiated by the co-convenor of the SAPA Task Force on ASEAN and Human Rights, Rafendi Djamin together with the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Soeung Rachavy.
The establishment of a physical office in Jakarta for civil society organizations in the Southeast Asian region to engage with ASEAN is the latest substantive initiative of the civil society coalition to push for the realization of a people-oriented ASEAN, Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN said today.
SAPA Working Group on ASEAN is a loose network of about 80 civil society organizations in Southeast Asia who have been actively engaging ASEAN to influence its public policy and make the regional bloc accountable to the peoples in the region by putting the interest of the people first. It also strives to enhance the participation of the peoples in the decision making process of the ASEAN.
The office which is called the ASEAN Peoples’ Center is located in Jiwasraya Building, Lobby Floor, Jl. RP. Soeroso No. 41, Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, aims to be an information center for both civil society in the region and ASEAN secretariat on the three ASEAN pillars, to monitor the drafting of the ASEAN multi-lateral instruments such as the ASEANDeclaration on the Rights of Migrants and the term of reference of the ASEAN human rights body.
“It is timely to have the office now, especially in view of the rapid development of the drafting process of the term of reference of the ASEAN human rights body and the possibilities of utilizing the ASEAN human rights body for civil society’s work in the long run”, said Yap Swee Seng, the co-convenor of SAPA Working group on ASEAN.
With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008, ASEAN will hereafter operate under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to enhance its community-building process. The Article 1.13 of ASEAN Charter mentions “To promote a people-oriented ASEAN in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in, and benefit from, the process of ASEAN integration and community building”.
“Civil society organizations have a very important role to contribute to the promotion of new brand of people-oriented ASEAN, especially in its process of community building”, said Consuelo Katrina Lopa, Co-convenor of SAPA Working Group on ASEAN.
The ASEAN Charter has been fully ratified in all the ten ASEAN Member States, which Singapore was the first to submit its instrument of ratification to the Secretary-General of ASEAN on 7 January 2008 and Thailand was the last, on 15 November 2008. The ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the ten member states and has been registered to the Secretariat of the United Nations.
For more information, please contact:
Rafendi Djamin, Convenor of Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy TaskForce on ASEAN and Human Rights, at rafendi@hrwg. org, or +62 81311442159
LINKS http://www.tenaganita.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=267&Itemid=1
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
APC Commemorates Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines; Condemns Human Rights Violations in Asia
The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) supports its member-organizations in the Philippines such as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas, AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women), Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and the entire Filipino peasantry in commemorating the 22nd anniversary of Mendiola Massacre.
On January 22, 1987, twenty thousand farmers and other progressive forces marched to Malacañang Palace to demand for genuine land reform. However, police forces opened fire which resulted in the death of 13 farmers and injured 39 people. At present, the families and relatives of the victims are still clamoring for justice against those who initiated the shooting.
A year after the massacre, the Aquino administration sought to quell the peasants’ demand with a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which actually worsened land monopoly in the countryside. The CARP supposedly ended last year after several extensions, but Congress passed Joint Resolution 19 on December 17, 2008, which extended CARP but without the Compulsory Land Acquisition section.
Danilo Ramos, APC Secretary-General and concurrent Secretary-General of KMP said in a statement, “Twenty-two years after the Mendiola Massacre and three Presidents later, the condition of the agricultural sector remains the same. It is still backward, feudal and export-oriented. Most of all, seven out of ten farmers still do not own the land they have been tilling for decades. Instead of giving support to us peasants, the Arroyo regime has continually been persecuting us. Of the 933 victims of extra-judicial killings, 109 of them are provincial leaders of KMP, while 129 of the 198 victims of enforced disappearance came from the peasant sector.”
As of late, false charges have also been filed against peasant leader’s, among them is Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis, KMP Deputy-Secretary General for External Affairs who was linked with the alleged mass graves in Central Philippines .
Unfortunately, these forms of oppression are also experienced by neighboring Asian countries. Last December 18, 2008, around 500 policemen under the Riau regional police commander Alex Mandalika, together with 1000 thugs sent by PT Arara Abadi ruthlessly attacked, destroyed and burned houses with the use of napalm bombs in Suluk Bongkal village, Riau Province , Indonesia .
Erpan Faryadi, APC Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs and Secretary-General of Alliansi Reforma Agraria (AGRA), once again expresses his outrage over the incident. “The Arara Abadi Corporation and the Indonesian government must be made accountable for the destruction of homes and livelihood in Suluk Bongkal village and for the gross human rights violation committed. The villagers have been living peacefully in the area since it was legally acknowledged in the state map made after the Dutch cooperated with the Siak kingdom and in 1959; the area was designated as customary rights forest.”
However, in 1996, the Arara Abadi Corporation, which supplies raw materials to Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, Sinar Mass Group, was given rights to control the land. Ever since then, the company has tried to evict the villagers by use of force, terror, thuggery and armed violence.
Ramos further reiterates his point, saying “The parallelisms between the experiences of Asian peasants with their struggle for land and agrarian reform against the backdrop of feudal exploitation and state violence show the inherent problem of our society. The government, which is supposed to defend the rights of its citizens, is the one killing the peasants who feed the nation. As Filipino peasants commemorated the anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines , we also commemorated the sacrifices and lives lost by other peasant-martyrs in other countries in their fight for land, livelihood and genuine agrarian reform.###
On January 22, 1987, twenty thousand farmers and other progressive forces marched to Malacañang Palace to demand for genuine land reform. However, police forces opened fire which resulted in the death of 13 farmers and injured 39 people. At present, the families and relatives of the victims are still clamoring for justice against those who initiated the shooting.
A year after the massacre, the Aquino administration sought to quell the peasants’ demand with a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which actually worsened land monopoly in the countryside. The CARP supposedly ended last year after several extensions, but Congress passed Joint Resolution 19 on December 17, 2008, which extended CARP but without the Compulsory Land Acquisition section.
Danilo Ramos, APC Secretary-General and concurrent Secretary-General of KMP said in a statement, “Twenty-two years after the Mendiola Massacre and three Presidents later, the condition of the agricultural sector remains the same. It is still backward, feudal and export-oriented. Most of all, seven out of ten farmers still do not own the land they have been tilling for decades. Instead of giving support to us peasants, the Arroyo regime has continually been persecuting us. Of the 933 victims of extra-judicial killings, 109 of them are provincial leaders of KMP, while 129 of the 198 victims of enforced disappearance came from the peasant sector.”
As of late, false charges have also been filed against peasant leader’s, among them is Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis, KMP Deputy-Secretary General for External Affairs who was linked with the alleged mass graves in Central Philippines .
Unfortunately, these forms of oppression are also experienced by neighboring Asian countries. Last December 18, 2008, around 500 policemen under the Riau regional police commander Alex Mandalika, together with 1000 thugs sent by PT Arara Abadi ruthlessly attacked, destroyed and burned houses with the use of napalm bombs in Suluk Bongkal village, Riau Province , Indonesia .
Erpan Faryadi, APC Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs and Secretary-General of Alliansi Reforma Agraria (AGRA), once again expresses his outrage over the incident. “The Arara Abadi Corporation and the Indonesian government must be made accountable for the destruction of homes and livelihood in Suluk Bongkal village and for the gross human rights violation committed. The villagers have been living peacefully in the area since it was legally acknowledged in the state map made after the Dutch cooperated with the Siak kingdom and in 1959; the area was designated as customary rights forest.”
However, in 1996, the Arara Abadi Corporation, which supplies raw materials to Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, Sinar Mass Group, was given rights to control the land. Ever since then, the company has tried to evict the villagers by use of force, terror, thuggery and armed violence.
Ramos further reiterates his point, saying “The parallelisms between the experiences of Asian peasants with their struggle for land and agrarian reform against the backdrop of feudal exploitation and state violence show the inherent problem of our society. The government, which is supposed to defend the rights of its citizens, is the one killing the peasants who feed the nation. As Filipino peasants commemorated the anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines , we also commemorated the sacrifices and lives lost by other peasant-martyrs in other countries in their fight for land, livelihood and genuine agrarian reform.###
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Prospects for peace in Palestine
Streetwise
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
The trickiest part in solving a problem is acknowledging, identifying and formulating it correctly. The Palestine-Israel conflict is complex and deeply rooted, complicated by big power rivalry and stakes in the Middle East, and the conflicts spawned and fanned by the Bush-bannered war of terror in the region and world-wide.
Now that a ceasefire has taken place in Gaza with the last of Israel forces reported to have withdrawn from the Strip, the logical question is: how long will this truce last and will a just and lasting peace ensue?
The ceasefire is a welcome development if only because it has stopped, even temporarily, the massive death and destruction inflicted on the civilian population in Gaza. It will allow in unimpeded humanitarian aid without risk of aid workers themselves being attacked by Israeli fire. The ceasefire will make possible a full assessment and disclosure of the conduct of the war by Israel, particularly with regard to the protection or targeting of the civilian population and civilian infrastructures of Gaza given the media restrictions imposed by Israel during the invasion.
It will also allow the start of rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The Hamas government can focus its efforts on aiding Gazans rebuild their homes and lives rather than be tied down to defending territory and preserving its fighting force and leadership from deadly incursions of Israeli hit squads.
But a ceasefire by itself does not necessarily lead to peace especially if it absolves Israel of egregious violations of international standards of human rights and international humanitarian law that the United Nations itself has pointed out. The condemnation by the world's peoples of the use by US backed-Israel of vastly superior, brute and excessive military force in Gaza must not be sidetracked by the ceasefire. We must all take cognizance of the final death toll -- 1,284 — with 894 of those civilians including 280 children or teenagers.
Historically, ceasefires have served to preserve, legitimize and consolidate Israel's military and political gains from its wars of aggression in the Middle East. These have also tended to reinforce and perpetuate the impunity with which Israel has committed unspeakable atrocities in Palestine using the pretext of "right to exist" and "right to security".
The 1947 UN Resolution partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state (56.5% of Palestine) and a Palestinian state (43%) was eventually rejected by the Palestinians and Arab states and led to a series of Arab-Israeli Wars including the first in 1949, the 1956 Suez Campaign, the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Each and every time, Israel expanded its territory from the 1947 UN partition and imposed greater and more severe military control over the Palestinians.
The 1993 Oslo Accords granted Palestinians the right to self-governance and set up the Palestinian National Authority headed by Yasser Arafat. But it failed to resolve crucial issues: the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland; the Israeli settlements in Gaza and West Bank; the status of Jerusalem; and the final Palestine-Israel borders.
Israel undermined the Palestinian Authority by its frequent sealing off of what remained as cut-up Palestinian enclaves and, recently, their building of the Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" by the Palestinians.
Israel Prime Minister Olmert justifies the Gaza invasion by insisting that their main objective was to stop Hamas from firing Qassam rockets into Southern Israel, including what used to be Ashkelon, a once-thriving Palestinian city grabbed by Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel also aimed to destroy the tunnels allegedly used by Hamas to bring in weapons from its allies, Iran and Syria, passing through Egypt.
While Israel claims to have destroyed 60 per cent of the tunnels, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni went to Europe immediately after the ceasefire to rally international support for a plan to halt weapons smuggling into Gaza. Livni hoped to clinch a deal in Brussels committing the European Union to contribute forces, ships and technology to anti-smuggling operations. The United States has promised to supply detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and others in the region to closely monitor Gaza's land and sea borders.
After 7 years of firing thousands of Qassam rockets on Israel, only 15 Israelis have actually died and physical damage has been minimal. Why so? These Qassam rockets are around 2 to 7 feet long, with an explosive payload of half to a maximum of 10 kg, utilizing scavenged TNT and urea nitrate, a common fertilizer. In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Defense viewed the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat." Contrast this with the number of Palestinians dead and injured, the number of homes and buildings, including hospitals and schools, demolished in the 22-day invasion.
Moreover, the Hamas government and Gazans resisting Israeli occupation and armed incursions into the sliver of land that they have been able to hang on to, have little military defense capability compared to the billion-dollar military aid and weaponry provided by the US to Israel. The supposed smuggling of arms through the tunnels pales in comparison to the generous military aid the Israel government receives annually from its prime backer, the sole Superpower in the world.
Buried underneath the loud protestations about the "terrorist" Hamas smuggling in weapons to Gaza is the fact that the tunnels are an economic lifeline to the desperately poor Gazans whose lives are made extremely more difficult by an almost two-year-old Israeli and Egyptian border closure aimed at bringing the Hamas government to heel.
Any serious effort to bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and pave the way for a sustainable peace must also confront the question of political attitude towards Hamas. Despite its being treated as pariah by the US, EU and parts of the Arab world with its designation as a "terrorist organization" and despite the economic blockade that has starved the Hamas government and the Palestinian people of international aid and assistance, Hamas enjoys full support from the Palestinians in Gaza and significant sympathy, if not backing, from Palestinians in the West Bank and refugees in neighboring Arab countries.
Even Israel is forced to grudgingly admit that it remains "the dominant organization in Gaza." As a top military official said in a briefing that was given on condition of anonymity, "They are the regime and feel very connected to the people." (New York Times, 18 Jan 09). Clearly, the Hamas is not the "terrorist" organization it is portrayed to be by Israel, the US and EU to justify barefaced aggression, war crimes and wanton human rights violations and even genocide in their desire to strangle it and deprive the Gazans and Palestinians of leadership.
Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil stated that they were working toward achieving the following short-term goals: an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza; the lifting of the siege on Gaza; the reopening of Gaza's border crossings; the rehabilitation of the Strip; and compensation for Gaza residents. Surely, the Palestinians' immediate, urgent demands must be met even as their long-running struggle to return to their homeland and establish their sovereign state there should not be subverted.
What better way to ensure that the Palestinians stop firing rockets into Israel, than for the Gazans and other Palestinians to be allowed to return to Ashkelon and their Palestinian homeland.
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
The trickiest part in solving a problem is acknowledging, identifying and formulating it correctly. The Palestine-Israel conflict is complex and deeply rooted, complicated by big power rivalry and stakes in the Middle East, and the conflicts spawned and fanned by the Bush-bannered war of terror in the region and world-wide.
Now that a ceasefire has taken place in Gaza with the last of Israel forces reported to have withdrawn from the Strip, the logical question is: how long will this truce last and will a just and lasting peace ensue?
The ceasefire is a welcome development if only because it has stopped, even temporarily, the massive death and destruction inflicted on the civilian population in Gaza. It will allow in unimpeded humanitarian aid without risk of aid workers themselves being attacked by Israeli fire. The ceasefire will make possible a full assessment and disclosure of the conduct of the war by Israel, particularly with regard to the protection or targeting of the civilian population and civilian infrastructures of Gaza given the media restrictions imposed by Israel during the invasion.
It will also allow the start of rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The Hamas government can focus its efforts on aiding Gazans rebuild their homes and lives rather than be tied down to defending territory and preserving its fighting force and leadership from deadly incursions of Israeli hit squads.
But a ceasefire by itself does not necessarily lead to peace especially if it absolves Israel of egregious violations of international standards of human rights and international humanitarian law that the United Nations itself has pointed out. The condemnation by the world's peoples of the use by US backed-Israel of vastly superior, brute and excessive military force in Gaza must not be sidetracked by the ceasefire. We must all take cognizance of the final death toll -- 1,284 — with 894 of those civilians including 280 children or teenagers.
Historically, ceasefires have served to preserve, legitimize and consolidate Israel's military and political gains from its wars of aggression in the Middle East. These have also tended to reinforce and perpetuate the impunity with which Israel has committed unspeakable atrocities in Palestine using the pretext of "right to exist" and "right to security".
The 1947 UN Resolution partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state (56.5% of Palestine) and a Palestinian state (43%) was eventually rejected by the Palestinians and Arab states and led to a series of Arab-Israeli Wars including the first in 1949, the 1956 Suez Campaign, the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Each and every time, Israel expanded its territory from the 1947 UN partition and imposed greater and more severe military control over the Palestinians.
The 1993 Oslo Accords granted Palestinians the right to self-governance and set up the Palestinian National Authority headed by Yasser Arafat. But it failed to resolve crucial issues: the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland; the Israeli settlements in Gaza and West Bank; the status of Jerusalem; and the final Palestine-Israel borders.
Israel undermined the Palestinian Authority by its frequent sealing off of what remained as cut-up Palestinian enclaves and, recently, their building of the Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" by the Palestinians.
Israel Prime Minister Olmert justifies the Gaza invasion by insisting that their main objective was to stop Hamas from firing Qassam rockets into Southern Israel, including what used to be Ashkelon, a once-thriving Palestinian city grabbed by Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel also aimed to destroy the tunnels allegedly used by Hamas to bring in weapons from its allies, Iran and Syria, passing through Egypt.
While Israel claims to have destroyed 60 per cent of the tunnels, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni went to Europe immediately after the ceasefire to rally international support for a plan to halt weapons smuggling into Gaza. Livni hoped to clinch a deal in Brussels committing the European Union to contribute forces, ships and technology to anti-smuggling operations. The United States has promised to supply detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and others in the region to closely monitor Gaza's land and sea borders.
After 7 years of firing thousands of Qassam rockets on Israel, only 15 Israelis have actually died and physical damage has been minimal. Why so? These Qassam rockets are around 2 to 7 feet long, with an explosive payload of half to a maximum of 10 kg, utilizing scavenged TNT and urea nitrate, a common fertilizer. In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Defense viewed the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat." Contrast this with the number of Palestinians dead and injured, the number of homes and buildings, including hospitals and schools, demolished in the 22-day invasion.
Moreover, the Hamas government and Gazans resisting Israeli occupation and armed incursions into the sliver of land that they have been able to hang on to, have little military defense capability compared to the billion-dollar military aid and weaponry provided by the US to Israel. The supposed smuggling of arms through the tunnels pales in comparison to the generous military aid the Israel government receives annually from its prime backer, the sole Superpower in the world.
Buried underneath the loud protestations about the "terrorist" Hamas smuggling in weapons to Gaza is the fact that the tunnels are an economic lifeline to the desperately poor Gazans whose lives are made extremely more difficult by an almost two-year-old Israeli and Egyptian border closure aimed at bringing the Hamas government to heel.
Any serious effort to bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and pave the way for a sustainable peace must also confront the question of political attitude towards Hamas. Despite its being treated as pariah by the US, EU and parts of the Arab world with its designation as a "terrorist organization" and despite the economic blockade that has starved the Hamas government and the Palestinian people of international aid and assistance, Hamas enjoys full support from the Palestinians in Gaza and significant sympathy, if not backing, from Palestinians in the West Bank and refugees in neighboring Arab countries.
Even Israel is forced to grudgingly admit that it remains "the dominant organization in Gaza." As a top military official said in a briefing that was given on condition of anonymity, "They are the regime and feel very connected to the people." (New York Times, 18 Jan 09). Clearly, the Hamas is not the "terrorist" organization it is portrayed to be by Israel, the US and EU to justify barefaced aggression, war crimes and wanton human rights violations and even genocide in their desire to strangle it and deprive the Gazans and Palestinians of leadership.
Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil stated that they were working toward achieving the following short-term goals: an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza; the lifting of the siege on Gaza; the reopening of Gaza's border crossings; the rehabilitation of the Strip; and compensation for Gaza residents. Surely, the Palestinians' immediate, urgent demands must be met even as their long-running struggle to return to their homeland and establish their sovereign state there should not be subverted.
What better way to ensure that the Palestinians stop firing rockets into Israel, than for the Gazans and other Palestinians to be allowed to return to Ashkelon and their Palestinian homeland.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Still Fighting for the Land They Till
They came from different places. One farmers’ group tries to eke out a living farming the land they have been tilling in Bukidnon in Mindanao, and the other farmers’ group is in Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon. They may be miles apart, but their stories are the same.
By Bulatlat and KMP
They came from different places. One farmers’ group tries to eke out a living farming the land they have been tilling in Bukidnon in Mindanao, and the other farmers’ group is in Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon. They may be miles apart, but their stories are the same. A land that was almost theirs
Florentino Macote, Jr. is president of the Buffalo Tamaraw Limus Farmers’ Association (BTL) in Bgy. Musuan Dulogon, Maramag, Bukidnon. He is among the 378 farmers tilling the 400 hectares of land inside the Central Mindanao University (CMU).
During the Aquino administration, in 1987, the BTL applied for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). In 1991, the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) issued certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) to the farmers.
A year later, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision declaring the land inside the CMU as exempted from CARP coverage.
In 1993, DARAB issued a demolition order against the farmers.
Macote said, “Gusto na nila kaming paalisin noon kahit walang relocation. Naghugas-kamay agad ang DAR, wala na raw iyon sa jurisdiction nila.” (They wanted us to leave the place even if there was no relocation site ready for us to transfer to. The DAR said it could not do anything for us, saying it is already outside their jurisdiction.)
Macote said they asserted their right to stay. “Pinagtibay namin ang aming samahan. Natutunan namin na sa pagkakaisa naming magsasaka, di agad nila kami mapapaalis.” (We consolidated our organization. We learned that when we are united, they could not easily remove us from the land we till.)
In 2001, the BTL, through the help of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines), held a dialogue with the CMU administration. As a result, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by the two parties. The farmers agreed to pay P4,000 ($78.446 at the 2001 exchange rate of $1=P50.99) per hectare per year as rent to CMU. The MOA’s effectivity was from 2002 to March 2007. During the period of five years, Macote said, the government agreed to find a suitable relocation site for the farmers.
When the MOA expired, there was still no relocation site for the farmers, Macote said. The CMU security guards, goons and elements from the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) have since guarded the land heavily. Since January this year, Macote said, they could not go to the farms and till the land.
Macote said that by September, the CMU administration agreed to negotiate again with the BTL. A new MOA is in the offing. Macote, however, heard that the CMU administration plans to lease the land to them for P10,000 ($208.246 at the current exchange rate of $1=P48.02) per hectare for one year, and that the next MOA’s effectivity will only be for a year.
A military reservation?
Pascual Guerrero, 77, is an officer of Alyansa ng Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa 3,100 (ALMANA 3,100 Alliance of United Farmers 3,100). The 3,100 refers to the hectares of land in Bgy. San Isidro, Laur, Nueva Ecija.
Presidential Proclamation No. 237 issued on December 19, 1955 declared the area, then Sitio Matatalahib ng Bgy. Masagana, as part of the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation.
By 1991, the said area was declared outside the military reservation by virtue of Executive Orders 407 and 448. The said issuances ordered the distribution of land to the farmers for free. These executive orders also paved the way for a deed of transfer in favor of the Department of Agrarian Reform issued by the Department of National Defense (DND).
In 2005, however, then Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Mike Defensor questioned the disposition of ‘patrimonial lots’ inside the Fort Magsaysay. The DENR filed for the cancellation of the CLOA before DARAB. The DARAB ruled in favor of the farmers. Guerrero said that subsequently the 7th Infantry Division stationed at the Fort Magsaysay also filed for the cancellation of their CLOA.
Joseph Canlas, chairperson of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon) said the military does not recognize the deed of transfer and is pushing for the deferment of the continuing implementation of CARP.
In September 2007, an inter-agency dialogue was held. The DAR, DENR and Department of Justice talked with the farmers. The DND, though invited, did not attend, said Canlas. The dialogue, said Canlas, upheld the rights of the farmers to till the land.
Military harassment
Both Macote and Guerrero complained of military harassment.
Since Sept. 24 this year, Macote said that elements of 103rd Infantry Battalion have been staying in their community inside the CMU. The soldiers, he said, conducted ‘census’ and have been patrolling every night.
Whenever the BTL would hold a meeting, Macote said, the soldiers would be around listening and taking down notes.
On October 13, Macote said that while he was away from home, soldiers went inside their house and took video footages. “Ginawa nila iyon sa halos lahat ng miyembro,” (They did this to almost all of our members) he said.
Macote said the soldiers are there to frighten them. The soldiers, said Macote, showed them the powerpoint presentation “Knowing the Enemy,” which brands legitimate organizations as ‘front organizations’ of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Included in the list is the KMP, ofwhich the BTL is an affiliate.
In Nueva Ecija, Guerrero said, soldiers destroyed and burned some of the farmers’ nipa huts. He also said that soldiers transformed the barangay (village) hall into a military outpost.
“Wala namang order na binabawi na ang aming CLOA, bakit nila kami hina-harass?” (There has been no order canceling our CLOA, why are they harassing us?) asked Guerrero.
Florentino Macote, Jr. is president of the Buffalo Tamaraw Limus Farmers’ Association (BTL) in Bgy. Musuan Dulogon, Maramag, Bukidnon. He is among the 378 farmers tilling the 400 hectares of land inside the Central Mindanao University (CMU).
During the Aquino administration, in 1987, the BTL applied for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). In 1991, the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) issued certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) to the farmers.
A year later, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision declaring the land inside the CMU as exempted from CARP coverage.
In 1993, DARAB issued a demolition order against the farmers.
Macote said, “Gusto na nila kaming paalisin noon kahit walang relocation. Naghugas-kamay agad ang DAR, wala na raw iyon sa jurisdiction nila.” (They wanted us to leave the place even if there was no relocation site ready for us to transfer to. The DAR said it could not do anything for us, saying it is already outside their jurisdiction.)
Macote said they asserted their right to stay. “Pinagtibay namin ang aming samahan. Natutunan namin na sa pagkakaisa naming magsasaka, di agad nila kami mapapaalis.” (We consolidated our organization. We learned that when we are united, they could not easily remove us from the land we till.)
In 2001, the BTL, through the help of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines), held a dialogue with the CMU administration. As a result, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by the two parties. The farmers agreed to pay P4,000 ($78.446 at the 2001 exchange rate of $1=P50.99) per hectare per year as rent to CMU. The MOA’s effectivity was from 2002 to March 2007. During the period of five years, Macote said, the government agreed to find a suitable relocation site for the farmers.
When the MOA expired, there was still no relocation site for the farmers, Macote said. The CMU security guards, goons and elements from the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) have since guarded the land heavily. Since January this year, Macote said, they could not go to the farms and till the land.
Macote said that by September, the CMU administration agreed to negotiate again with the BTL. A new MOA is in the offing. Macote, however, heard that the CMU administration plans to lease the land to them for P10,000 ($208.246 at the current exchange rate of $1=P48.02) per hectare for one year, and that the next MOA’s effectivity will only be for a year.
A military reservation?
Pascual Guerrero, 77, is an officer of Alyansa ng Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa 3,100 (ALMANA 3,100 Alliance of United Farmers 3,100). The 3,100 refers to the hectares of land in Bgy. San Isidro, Laur, Nueva Ecija.
Presidential Proclamation No. 237 issued on December 19, 1955 declared the area, then Sitio Matatalahib ng Bgy. Masagana, as part of the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation.
By 1991, the said area was declared outside the military reservation by virtue of Executive Orders 407 and 448. The said issuances ordered the distribution of land to the farmers for free. These executive orders also paved the way for a deed of transfer in favor of the Department of Agrarian Reform issued by the Department of National Defense (DND).
In 2005, however, then Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Mike Defensor questioned the disposition of ‘patrimonial lots’ inside the Fort Magsaysay. The DENR filed for the cancellation of the CLOA before DARAB. The DARAB ruled in favor of the farmers. Guerrero said that subsequently the 7th Infantry Division stationed at the Fort Magsaysay also filed for the cancellation of their CLOA.
Joseph Canlas, chairperson of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon) said the military does not recognize the deed of transfer and is pushing for the deferment of the continuing implementation of CARP.
In September 2007, an inter-agency dialogue was held. The DAR, DENR and Department of Justice talked with the farmers. The DND, though invited, did not attend, said Canlas. The dialogue, said Canlas, upheld the rights of the farmers to till the land.
Military harassment
Both Macote and Guerrero complained of military harassment.
Since Sept. 24 this year, Macote said that elements of 103rd Infantry Battalion have been staying in their community inside the CMU. The soldiers, he said, conducted ‘census’ and have been patrolling every night.
Whenever the BTL would hold a meeting, Macote said, the soldiers would be around listening and taking down notes.
On October 13, Macote said that while he was away from home, soldiers went inside their house and took video footages. “Ginawa nila iyon sa halos lahat ng miyembro,” (They did this to almost all of our members) he said.
Macote said the soldiers are there to frighten them. The soldiers, said Macote, showed them the powerpoint presentation “Knowing the Enemy,” which brands legitimate organizations as ‘front organizations’ of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Included in the list is the KMP, ofwhich the BTL is an affiliate.
In Nueva Ecija, Guerrero said, soldiers destroyed and burned some of the farmers’ nipa huts. He also said that soldiers transformed the barangay (village) hall into a military outpost.
“Wala namang order na binabawi na ang aming CLOA, bakit nila kami hina-harass?” (There has been no order canceling our CLOA, why are they harassing us?) asked Guerrero.
Development projects?
The farmers said they are driven away from their land to make way for so-called development projects.
Macote said that he learned from the Sangguniang Bayan ng Maramag (Municipal Council of Maramag) that Lapanday and Dole Philippines, two giant agri-corporations, are interested in the CMU land.
“Gusto nilang i-convert ang lupa bilang taniman ng saging at pinya. May krisis sa bigas pero gusto nilang bawasan pa ang mga palayan,” (They want to convert the land into a banana and pineapple plantation. There is already a rice crisis and yet they want to decrease the land devoted to palay.) said Macote.
Macote said the CMU has 3,080 hectares of land. Agricultural corporations have been renting a part ofit.
Guerrero’s group, meanwhile, suspects that the Ft. Magsaysay and the land they occupy would be part of the Metro-Luzon Urban Beltway. The so-called development project will include a jathropa plantation and the construction of highways.
Demands
Macote said, “Malaki naman ang lupa [ng CMU], bakit di pa ibigay sa magsasaka ang maliit na bahagi?” (CMU owns a large tract of land, why can’t they just give a small part of the land to the farmers?)
Macote also demanded the immediate pullout of soldiers from CMU. “Bakit may sundalo sa unibersidad?” (Why are there soldiers inside the university?)
Macote said CMU Acting President Rodrigo Malunjao told them that the order to deploy soldiers inside the university came from Malacañang.
Guererro and the Fort Magsaysay farmers are also demanding for the distribution of the land to them and for a stop to the military harassment targeting their members.
CMU and Fort Magsaysay farmers ended by saying that they will seek the help of legislators to pass House Bill No. 3059 or Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB). ###
Sunday, January 11, 2009
BKF Starts New Year with a Protest
After two years of its implementation, the ban on all political activities has finally been lifted in Bangladesh on January 1, 2009. And the grassroots movement, led by Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) started off the New Year with an organized procession and protest rally against the Israeli attack on Gaza. They further hope to build-up more successful advancement concerning fundamental and peasant rights in the coming months.
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