The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounces the perverted Hitlerite logic of Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana asserting there should be “more security and less human rights” in his and the AFP’s pitch for amending the Human Security Act “to give it more teeth.”
The HSA is misnomered the “anti-terrorist law.” In fact, it promotes state terrorism in the name of fighting terrorism. The HSA has given the military and police extra powers of surveillance, warrantless arrests, indefinite detention of up to three days or more (from 36 hours under the Revised Penal Code) and seizure of bank deposits or property. It is more appropriate to call the HSA the state terror law.
The HSA provides an overly broad definition of “terrorism” which enables the reactionary Philippine government to suppress any form of dissent or resistance against state oppression. Under the HSA, “terrorism” includes acts such as piracy, rebellion or insurrection, coup d’etat, murder, kidnapping, serious illegal detention, destruction of property, arson, hijacking and illegal possession of firearms “to sow and create conditions of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.” Those found guilty will be meted life sentences without parole.
Lorenzana and the AFP want to amend the HSA to remove the provision requiring the state to pay P500,000 to those proven innocent for every day of unjust detention. They also want to extend the allowed period of indefinite detention of suspects from three days to 30 or 60 days. These amendments will further embolden the military and police forces to carry out more acts of suppression against the anti-tyranny and all democratic forces.
Lorenzana uses his perverted Hitlerite logic of “more security, less human rights” to justify his push for more coercive powers for state forces. He echoes Duterte’s “human lives over human rights” which has been used to justify his campaign of mass killings and undermine the people’s civil and democratic rights. The fascists logic obscures the fact that, over the past three years, the biggest threat to the security of every Filipino life has been Duterte himself.
Lorenzana is oblivious to history which shows that less human rights means more military and police abuse which in turn means more resistance against tyranny and oppression.
The Party calls on all democratic forces to vigorously resist proposals to amend the HSA which will further strengthen the Duterte regime’s martial law rule in Mindanao and undeclared nationwide martial law. The CPP reiterates the call of the broad democratic sectors demanding the abrogation of the HSA. In the face of widespread grave abuses of power by Duterte’s military and police, what the Filipino people urgently need, in fact, is more protection for their democratic rights.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.