[Shadow_Group] URGENT ACTION: Strikers Massacred in Philippines

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

>
> STRIKERS MASSACRED IN THE PHILIPPINES - YOUR HELP NEEDED NOW
>
> On 16 November, at least seven striking sugar workers were killed by the
army and militarized police in the Philippines.  Those people were strikers,
trade unionists like yourselves.  They worked on a huge sugar plantation and
in sugar mills in the province of Tarlac, several hundred kilometers north
of Manila.
>
> 5,000 Luisita workers had been on strike for ten days, due to the owners'
refusal to bargain over a badly needed wage increase of 100 pesos per day
(about $2.00). The owners also refused to rehire the union officers and 327
union members who they had recently fired for organizing activity. Hacienda
Luisita is owned by the family of former President Cory Cojuangco-Aquino.
Her older brother manages the plantation. This is a reminder of deep social
inequities in the Philippines, where a very few own the means to live, while
the majority live in abject poverty.
>
> In the midst of a rally of over 5,000 strikers and supporters from local
barrios, the police and military based in Armored Personnel Carriers
attacked first with tear gas, then with live fire. One of those killed was a
child, aged two, who died from suffocation as a result of the tear gas used
by the police.  Some 35 people suffered gunshot wounds,
> 133 were arrested, and hundreds more were injured.
>
> The sugar workers union and the KMU, the largest federation of trade
unions in the Philippines, have called for a massive international protest
condemning the murders, and demanding a full and impartial investigation of
what happened. They also demand the rehiring of the 327 workers who were
illegally dismissed, that the owners of Hacienda Luisita return to the
bargaining table, and that the perpetrators of this massacre be identified
and prosecuted.
>
>
> RECOMMENDED ACTION:
>
> Please send emails, faxes or letters calling for:
>
> 1. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and
investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the
Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights
> 2. The arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators
> 3. The immediate and full indemnification of the family/relatives of the
victims
> 4. The Philippine Government should be reminded that it is a signatory to
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is a party to all the
major Human Rights instruments. It must observe all these provisions.
>
> Please send your messages to:
>
> H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo President of the Republic Malacanang Palace,
Manila Philippines Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80 Fax: (+632) 742-1641 /
929-3968 E-mail: corres at op.gov.ph<mailto:corres at op.gov.ph> / opnet at ops.gov.ph<mailto:opnet at ops.gov.ph>
>
> Hon. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing Chairperson, Commission on Human
Rights SAAC Bldg., UP Complex Commonwealth Avenue Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines Fax: (+632) 929 0102 Email: drpvq at chr.gov.ph<mailto:drpvq at chr.gov.ph>
>
> Hon. Avelino Cruz Secretary, Department of National Defense Camp Emilio
Aguinaldo E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines Voice: (+632)
912-9281 Fax: (+632) 911 6213
>
> Hon. Teresita Deles Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
> 7F Agustin Building Emerald Avenue Pasig City, Philippines Voice: (+632)
636 0701 to 0766 Fax: (+632) 638 2216
>
>
> Don't forget: Please send copies of your messages to our addresses below.
>
> kmuid at tri-isys.com<mailto:kmuid at tri-isys.com> (KMU union federation) karapatan at edsamail.com.ph<mailto:karapatan at edsamail.com.ph>
(KARAPATAN national human rights organization) nispop at nispop.org<mailto:nispop at nispop.org> (Network in
Solidarity with the People of the Philippines--NY)
>
> For more information about the Hacienda Luisita struggle and protest
activities, visit:
>
> www.bulatlat.com<http://www.bulatlat.com/> (best investigative journalism in the Philippines)
www.karapatan.org<http://www.karapatan.org/> (human rights site)
www.geocities.com/arkibo10/04-asyenda/asyenda.htm<http://www.geocities.com/arkibo10/04-asyenda/asyenda.htm> (Pictures of the massacre)
www.labourstart.org<http://www.labourstart.org/> (British web site that has adopted this campaign)
>


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