1-13-07, 8:56 am
The Philippine Chapter of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) vehemently denounces the recent escape of convicted rapist Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith to the US Embassy staged by conniving Philippine and US officials.
As a national chapter of an international organization of human rights lawyers especially from countries where oppression is most severe, the violations of human rights are most widespread and the people's struggle is most intense, the IAPL-Philippines stands firm to contribute its part to uphold the sovereignty and freedom of nations.
The latest brazen episode that spirited away US serviceman Smith highlights the lopsided relations that the US has with servile governments like the Philippines as institutionalized in unequal agreements, treaties and arrangements like the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). It not only underscores the arrogance of US military forces all over the world for vicious crimes like rape but ultimately their impunity for international crimes against humanity, war crimes, aggression and genocide.
The US does this not only by refusing to be bound or by ignoring international humanitarian law and useful mechanisms like the International Criminal Court (ICC) but also foisting self-serving bilateral agreements or twisting them to suit its purposes of worldwide political, economic and military supremacy.
Even more despicable is the connivance of high Philippine government officials taking their cue from Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo who fall all over themselves in courting favor with the US in exchange for military exercises and plunderous investments that do not benefit the people.
By practically lawyering for the US criminal serviceman and barefacedly toeing the US line, Mrs. Arroyo and her cabal of spin doctors in her administration taunt the judicial system as it connives with the US in shameless mockery of our national sovereignty. It is the height of injustice to the Filipina victim and to the Filipino people who have been given, albeit short-lived, some glimmer of hope that in spite of the maneuverings and mendicancy of the government, some form of justice can still be achieved if they are vigilant.
The IAPL-Philippines strongly supports legal moves to cite in contempt the high government officials and their US masters even as it views as very disappointing the latest Court of Appeals ruling that the outstanding issue of custody as moot, thereby objectively falling into the grand design of conspiracy between servile high Philippine officials and their US masters or, worse, unwittingly justifying their actions.
Mrs. Arroyo will have to face sooner or later not only the judgment of the people that she has time and again betrayed in exchange for subservient ties with the US and in her inebriated obsession of staying in power but also the judgment of international law and of history.
From Bulatlat
