[News] Philippines - Women's Group Denounces Blacklist, Deportation

[Anti-Imperialist News]

NEWS RELEASE
8 December 2006

Reference:
EMMI DE JESUS, GABRIELA Secretary General, 09279320122, 3712302

On granting custody of US marines and deportation of ASEAN foreign delegate

Arroyo gov't: protector of rapist, enemy of human rights defenders

The militant women's group GABRIELA describes as "outrageous" the 
deportation of a foreign labor leader who arrived in the country to 
attend an alternative conference to the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Cebu .

Atty. Brian Campbell from the US-based International Labor Rights 
Fund arrived in Manila en route to Cebu on December 6 to attend the 
International Conference on the Neo-Liberal Labor Marketing 
Restructuring, Labor Rights and Workers' Resistance but was 
immediately deported back to US the evening of the same day.

This incident happened in the light of Malacanang's declaration that 
foreigners who will be joining the protests against ASEAN will be 
barred from entering the country.

"This action by the Arroyo government only reflects the subservience 
of the Philippine government to US wishes including the prevention of 
foreign delegates in international events that expose its 
self-serving agenda in the ASEAN Summit," said Emmi de Jesus, 
secretary general of GABRIELA.

"This government's puppetry is incomprehensible that it has acted so 
fast in granting US's wishes such as stopping these freedom-loving 
and justice-seeking respected foreigners and agreed  to the US 
government's  custody over the US Marine convicts of the Subic rape 
case. While is poses itself as a democratic country, the Arroyo 
government makes a mockery of the very foundations of human rights by 
disrespecting the rights of the people to freedom of speech and 
expression and commits grave violations of its own constitution by 
allowing a rapist US soldier to go scot-free despite a guilty verdict 
by the court."

GABRIELA also decries the inclusion of several prominent women 
foreigners in the list of those barred from entering the country. 
Among those in the list are Attys. Rachel Lederman and Tina 
Monshipour Foster, two of the US women lawyers who visited the 
country in May-June for a mission to look into the human rights 
situation in the country and recently released a recommendation to 
the US Congress to investigate the use of U.S. funding for Philippine 
military operations against the legal Left that are being conducted 
under the guise of the War on Terror. Their visit in the country was 
assisted by GABRIELA and the Gabriela Women's Party.

De Jesus concluded, "The "list" indeed confirms that this government 
has a lot to hide from the international diplomats, human rights 
workers and business groups. And it has gone to the frantic point 
that it now declares these foreigners as communists and terrorists or 
threats to security so as to stop them from forming solidarities with 
the Filipinos." ###

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