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DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- Civil society organizations and several churches in Canada have asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ?press the Philippine Government to take action? on the latest wave of killings in the country that involved grassroots activists and journalists.
In a July 16 ?letter of concern? addressed to Harper, the Coalition to Stop the Killings in the Philippines (STKP) said that Canada ?has a great deal of leverage? given its strong bilateral relations with the Philippines.
Copies of the letter were also furnished to Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon, Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose Brillantes, and a number of parliament members - especially those with positions in committees in charge of foreign affairs.
STKP counts among its members the Anglican Church of Canada, Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights, KAIROS, and the Chaire d'études asiatiques - Université de Montréal.
The group noted that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has some C$25 million (about P1.1 billion) in current annual disbursement for the country.
?In this context, it is imperative that the Canadian government condemn these killings and take action to ensure that Canadian tax dollars are not complicit in funding the political assassinations and human rights violations perpetrated by the Philippine government,? the coalition?s letter read.
STKP also pointed to the C$1.5 billion (P66.7 billion) annual bilateral trade between the two countries as another source of the Canadian government?s leverage to ?publicly press the newly elected government of President Aquino to take immediate and tangible steps to end the extrajudicial killings and to take effective action to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.?
?We sincerely hope that the Canadian government will take action to promote the protection of the human rights of (the) Filipino peoples? We also call on the Government of Canada to continue diplomatic pressure on the Government of the Philippines in this regard,? the group stressed.
The STKP call came after the death of four activists this month.
Some five days after President Aquino took power, Bayan Muna provincial leader Fernando Baldomero was shot to death in his home. Four days after, Masbate public school teachers Mark Francisco and Edgar Fernandez were shot dead. Both were affiliated with the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
On July 11, Nueva Ecija peasant activist Pascua Guevarra of Anak Pawis was gunned down.
Apart from the four grassroots activists, two journalists were also killed at about the same period.
?The impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these attacks and the extrajudicial killings in the last few years have only aggravated the violence,? the coalition said.
?Your actions and statements will also reassure and gain the confidence of members of Canada?s large Filipino community, which numbers over 400,000,? the STKP added.
