The string of illegal arrests of activists has shown the current “political repression and criminalization of dissent” in the Philippines and must spur domestic efforts against human rights abuses, a human rights watchdog said on Tuesday.
Karapatan sent an “urgent appeal” to its allies, communities, and fellow human rights advocates, seeking their action against the massive crackdown on activists.
The group asked for their support and solidarity in calling for the immediate release of peasant organizer Amanda Echanis and her baby, including a journalist and trade unionists arrested in December.
They are Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem, and labor organizers Dennise Velasco, Joel Demate, Rodrigo Esparago, Mark Ryan Cruz, Romina Astudillo, and Jaymie Gregorio, collectively known as Human Rights Day 7.
“The imprisonment of Echanis and the HRD 7 reveals the Duterte administration’s glaring practice of persecuting individuals who speak against government’s abuses and injustices,” Karapatan said.
The rights group scored the “repression and vilification” against human rights activists through “highly questionable and baseless searches and arrests” by the military and the police.
In its latest urgent appeal for action, Karapatan also enjoined other networks
to pursue independent investigations into the country’s human rights situation.
Various groups have called for the release of Echanis, Salem, and other activists, who were arrested for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, the usual charge against activists.
Just the other day, a coalition of labor groups launched the Free Our Unionists Network. It is a coalition of Defend Jobs PH, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and Labor Rights Defenders Network.
They are calling for the release of the seven activists. They are also supporting the scrapping of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Karapatan asked other groups to write letters to top government officials like President Duterte and Justice Secretary Menardo Gueverra, calling them to stop smear campaigns through red-tagging against human rights defenders.
It said they should also call for the dismissal of the charges against the activists, withdrawal of the counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapanatagan, and adherence to human rights laws, among others.