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NEWS RELEASE<br>
8 December 2006<br>
<br>
Reference: <br>
EMMI DE JESUS, GABRIELA Secretary General, 09279320122, 3712302<br>
<br>
<u>On granting custody of US marines and deportation of ASEAN foreign
delegate<br>
</u> <br>
<b><i>Arroyo gov’t: protector of rapist, enemy of human rights
defenders<br>
</i></b> <br>
The militant women’s group GABRIELA describes as “outrageous” the
deportation of a foreign labor leader who arrived in the country to
attend an alternative conference to the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Cebu
.<br>
<br>
Atty. Brian Campbell from the US-based International Labor Rights Fund
arrived in Manila en route to Cebu on December 6 to attend the
International Conference on the Neo-Liberal Labor Marketing
Restructuring, Labor Rights and Workers’ Resistance but was immediately
deported back to US the evening of the same day. <br>
<br>
This incident happened in the light of Malacanang’s declaration that
foreigners who will be joining the protests against ASEAN will be barred
from entering the country. <br>
<br>
“This action by the Arroyo government only reflects the subservience of
the Philippine government to US wishes including the prevention of
foreign delegates in international events that expose its self-serving
agenda in the ASEAN Summit,” said Emmi de Jesus, secretary general of
GABRIELA.<br>
<br>
“This government’s puppetry is incomprehensible that it has acted so fast
in granting US’s wishes such as stopping these freedom-loving and
justice-seeking respected foreigners and agreed to the US
government’s custody over the US Marine convicts of the Subic rape
case. While is poses itself as a democratic country, the Arroyo
government makes a mockery of the very foundations of human rights by
disrespecting the rights of the people to freedom of speech and
expression and commits grave violations of its own constitution by
allowing a rapist US soldier to go scot-free despite a guilty verdict by
the court.”<br>
<br>
<b>GABRIELA also decries the inclusion of several prominent women
foreigners in the list of those barred from entering the country. Among
those in the list are Attys. Rachel Lederman and Tina Monshipour Foster,
two of the US women lawyers who visited the country in May-June for a
mission to look into the human rights situation in the country and
recently released a recommendation to the US Congress to investigate the
use of U.S. funding for Philippine military operations against the legal
Left that are being conducted under the guise of the War on Terror. Their
visit in the country was assisted by GABRIELA and the Gabriela Women’s
Party.<br><br>
</b>De Jesus concluded, “The “list” indeed confirms that this government
has a lot to hide from the international diplomats, human rights workers
and business groups. And it has gone to the frantic point that it now
declares these foreigners as communists and terrorists or threats to
security so as to stop them from forming solidarities with the
Filipinos.” ###<br>
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