Reds' lawyers question their arrest, score 'trumped-up' raps, lament peace talks disruption

From InterAksyon (Mar 23): Reds' lawyers question their arrest, score 'trumped-up' raps, lament peace talks disruption



Handout photos of Wilma and Benito Tiamzon, alleged CPP-NPA leaders, released by the AFP.

Lawyers for communist leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon will likely petition the courts to question their arrest and seek their release, but they stressed Sunday they want those concerned to “look at the bigger picture,” or the further disruption of an already stalled peace process.

The military spokesman said there was no deceit or violation of peace process agreements in their arrest, however.

Atty. Edre Olalia of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said in a radio interview, “I can confidently say these are trumped-up and false charges,” calculated “to remove their protection from JASIG.” The latter stands for Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, one of the earlier accords between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front to govern their on-and-off peace negotiations.

Olalia said he had less than 30 minutes to talk to his clients on Sunday—and they were surrounded by military and police officers, jeopardizing the privacy of “attorney-client” relations. Another lawyer from NUPL, Rachel Pastores, also visited the accused, and assailed the authorities' move to ignore their identification under JASIG.

Olalia  complained that NUPL lawyers in Cebu were earlier barred from seeing the Tiamzons after their arrest Saturday.

The Tiamzons’ co-accused were silent, and barely spoke, Olalia told DZBB in an interview: one was a driver, another a caregiver.  “Let’s not forget the five others,” he said, adding that even though they are not as famous as the Tiamzons, they should be looked after.

Olalia and his group were harnessed for the case after the National Democratic Front (NDF) Luis Jalandoni wrote Atty. Alex Padilla, head of the government panel in peace talks with communist rebels, authorizing NUPL and the Public Interest Law Center to handle these cases.

Earlier, the NDF condemned what it called the "illegal arrest" of the couple, who it said are "consultants who have fulfilled and are fulfilling highly significant tasks in the peace negotiations" between the government and communist rebels, and demanded their immediate release.

The NDF represents the communist movement in the talks, which have been stalled 2011.

Olalia said they had not yet seen the warrants used as basis for the arrest of Benito Tiamzon, alleged CPP-NPA chair, and his wife Wilma, alleged secretary-general, on Saturday afternoon in Carcar, Cebu. He cited information that two warrants were issued by a Samar court, but it’s the “first time I heard of the Metro Manila warrant.”  He said that, “based on our long experience, these are shotgun warrants—meaning, they are included automatically, or as “default” respondents for attacks perpetrated by the NPAs in any part of the country.

Olalia said that most likely, “We will file a petition in court questioning their arrest and asking for their release,”  but need more time to study their case.  He is looking at a petition for Habeas Corpus or writ of amparo.

AFP denies deceit

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied the accusations made by  the human-rights group Karapatan that the arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, is “a kick in the bucket of peace.”

AFP spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala said the arrest of the two are legal and covered by warrants of arrest issued by competent courts, and the arrest was initiated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as part of its duty to serve warrants.

“Again, this is a law enforcement operation. We used the warrant of arrest against them. AFP is in support since it was law enforcement, the Philippine National Police [was the] lead [agency in the arrest],” Zagala said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Karapatan said the operation that netted the two ranking CPP-NPA leaders and five others in Carcar, Cebu, was illegal and described it as “a kick in the bucket of peace.”

“This is another case of the government’s deceit in dealing with the counterparts in the peace negotiations. The GPH completely ignored previously signed agreements with the NDFP, especially the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees or JASIG. This is not the first time. In fact, there are 12 NDF peace consultants who are in jail because of trumped up criminal charges. Also, there are 10 NDF consultants who are victims of enforced disappearance,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

Palabay added, “The GPH resorts to criminalization of political acts to cover up arrests conducted illegally, especially of those people who have clear ideological and political beliefs.”  

'Arrest won't address root of rebellion'

Meanwhile, Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez said the illegal arrest of Tiamzon and Austria “would not solve the root causes of rebellion in the country”.

“Brandishing the illegal arrest of Tiamson and Austria like a trophy is insubstantial. Pursuing the peace negotiations would be more acceptable to the people who are clamoring for genuine reforms, especially on social-economic spheres. That would be justice,” said Hilao-Enriquez, who is an independent observer in the peace negotiations between the GPH and the NDFP.

The NDFP said Austria is a holder of NDFP Document of Identification ND978226 under her real name; while Tiamzon is the holder of NDFP Document of Identification ND978227 under the assumed name "Crising Banaag." The JASIG provides peace consultants ‘safe conduct and free passage for the duration of the peace negotiations’.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83293/reds-lawyers-question-their-arrest-score-trumped-up-raps-lament-peace-talks-disruption