By Peter Murphy, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
On March 30, 2019, the mass killing of 14 farmers in Negros Oriental shocked the world. The brutal killings happened around midnight, some at 2 a.m. Twelve others were illegally arrested. Relatives of the victims asserted that those slain and arrested were farmers and residents in the area.
More than 60 peasant leaders in Negros alone, 205 from across the country, have already been killed under the Duterte regime. Must those who till the land to feed a nation be slaughtered in the night like sick cows? Must those who have suffered from long years of neglect and who struggle for land and lasting peace be meted with death like the worst criminals?
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) says NO! ICHRP calls on all its members worldwide and appeals to all other groups and individuals in the international community to join the peasants’ and other Philippine organizations’ call for justice for the 14 farmers killed and for the 12 arrested. We urge you not to pass this opportunity to be in solidarity with the peasants in the Philippines.
We can take part in this Global Day of Action on April 10 by holding actions in our respective cities/countries. Let us send a loud message to the Philippine Embassies/Consulates in cities where we reside and let us lobby with governments all over the world to demand the Duterte administration’s accountability for these killings. The waves of killings must stop!