Wednesday, December 05, 2007 Speak out: Alston Report not one sided By Chris Pforr
(The letter is addressed to Sun.Star columnist Bobby Nalzaro)
Thank you for your column regarding the Philip Alston report.
I also read the report.
Without "putting words" into his mouth, may I address some of the questions and issues which you have raised?
"Alston was here for a few days early this year and he already had a conclusion on the issue?"
His 10-day visit was admittedly short, but was packed with meetings.
The visit was followed up with nine months of study and work on this report.
Meetings
"I don't know his basis for his report and how comprehensive was his investigation. Maybe, Alston only interviewed relatives of alleged human rights victims who are mostly supporters or sympathizers of anti-government groups."
As is clear from the report, Mr. Alston met with a very wide cross-section of relevant parties:
"During my stay here I have met with virtually all of the relevant senior officials of Government.
“They include the President, the Executive Secretary, the National Security Adviser, the Secretaries for Defense, Justice, DILG and the Peace Process.
“I have also met with a significant number of members of Congress on different sides of the political spectrum, the Chief Justice, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Chair of the Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman, the members of both sides of the Joint Monitoring Committee, and representatives of the MNLF and MILF.
“Of particular relevance to my specific concerns, I also met with Task Force Usig, and with the Melo Commission."
"Also, we can question Alston's background. Is he not a member of a human rights group aside from being a professor of a New York University? What is his political orientation? Is he not left-leaning?"
You can read about Mr. Alston's background at www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/about/people.html#alston
His credentials as law professor and human-rights advocate appear impeccable.
Based on his report, it would be erroneous to describe him as left-leaning.
"If an alleged subversive gets arrested even with a warrant of arrest and if a person gets killed in a legitimate encounter, these are always construed and listed by the left as human rights violations. That theory is unfair to the military, of course."
If it were the case, it would indeed be unfair. However, at least 90 percent of the cases listed by Karapatan, and those investigated by Professor Alston, do not fall into this category.
Abuses
"But why would the UN focus only on the abuses committed by the military against activists? Why won't it also conduct a study on the abuses committed by the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army, against innocent civilians, the military and the government in general? Don't these sectors have human rights also?”
This issue is indeed addressed in the report. See page 14, paragraphs 30-33.
He is direct in his criticism of the CPP/NPA/NDF.
"Who ordered the killing of former top communist leaders like Romy Kintanar, Nilo de la Cruz, Arturo Tabara and Felimon "Popoy" Lagman? Just because they abandoned the communist ideology does not mean they deserved to die violent deaths and at the hands of former comrades."
While significant, these historic issues are not directly relevant to the report.
Killings
"We cannot also point an accusing finger solely at the military for what happened to the so-called desaparecidos (disappeared) because those people could have been victims of the communist's Kangaroo Court."
As Mr. Alston points out, this claim gets tirelessly raised by the AFP leadership when responding to allegations of military abductions.
The report states that the government provided him with a list of 1,335 individuals allegedly killed by the NPA; however "I was unable to obtain any information from the Government that would indicate that any particular one of these individuals was killed as part of a purge."
Furthermore, "These pieces of evidence do not begin to support the contention that the CPP/NPA/NDF is engaged in a large-scale purge.
Indeed, I met no one involved in leftist politics---whether aligned with the CPP, opposed to the CPP, or following an independent course---who believed that such a purge was currently taking place.
The military's insistence that the "correct, accurate, and truthful" reason for the recent rise in killings lies in CPP/NPA/NDF purges can only be viewed as a cynical attempt to displace responsibility."
"If the UN is concerned with human lives, it must show concern for everybody, including the military, and not only to perceived anti-government personalities."
A careful reading of the report makes it clear that Mr. Alston's interest is in furthering of justice and the rule of law in the Philippines, not just the interests of “anti-government personalities.”
I encourage you to read the report at: www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/reports/A_HRC_8_Philippines_Advance_Edited.pdf
