BAGUIO CITY — Activists tagged in a proscription list by the Department of Justice continue to garner both local and international support.

 

In March 16, women and other allies in New York held a protest in front of the Philippine Consulate to condemn the listing of more than 600 activists, including 70 women as terrorists by the government.

 

“This petition is a blatant attempt to further menace activists into silence,” said Gabriela New York

 

“The Philippines is truly one of the most dangerous countries in the region to become a human rights defender. It is so easy to be listed on the military’s order of the battle for voicing political dissent. This list renders you vulnerable to arrests under false charges, detention for an indefinite period, torture or even being killed.” said Alma Sinumlag of Innabuyog-Gabriela.

 

Among those present is Joan Carling, an indigenous rights defender who has been listed in the “fake list.”

 

Carling is a current member and co-convenor of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group for the Sustainable Development Goals, expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, former Secretary General of the Asian Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) and former chair of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA).

 

“I have fought for human rights and, in particular, the rights of indigenous peoples my entire life,” Carling said, adding, “I therefore denounce this unfounded and false accusation, which not only poses a risk to my security, but is also an affront to the exercise of the fundamental rights and freedoms associated with democratic governance, and to the human rights obligations of the Philippine government.”

 

“Surveillance, harassment, detention, extrajudicial killings, and now this petition—a cheap legal trick—these are the weapons of a fascist state. Duterte continues to aim these weapons at his critics, especially women leaders, indigenous peoples, peasant farmers, and human rights defenders who have spoken out against his anti-people policies and countless rights violations,” added Gabriela New York.

 

“Duterte is the real terrorist, and we the women and the people will not back down,” ended Gabriela New York.

 

Meanwhile, the Saami Council, the Saami Parliaments and the Saami Parliamentary Council called the list an “unacceptable attack on indigenous people’s rights in the Philippines.”

 

“We strongly object to this, as this is clearly an act of harassment and repression against Indigenous Human Rights defenders and outspoken critics of the regime,” according to the Saamis, indigenous peoples of Finland, Norway and Sweden.

 

The Saamis also strongly encouraged the Nordic states and the Russian Federation to take action against the Philippine authorities on the matter.

 

Source: Northern Dispatch