November 7, 2006

The Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) - BAYAN Cordillera, Tongtongan ti Umili- BAYAN-Metro Baguio, Migrante, Anakbayan and their allied organization Cordillera Ecumenical Movement for Action and Transformation (CEMAT) express militant solidarity with the People’s Protest set on the 12th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in Cebu City from December 10-14, 2006.

The CPA contingent will join the caravan from Luzon going to Cebu City dubbed VOYAGERS FOR PEACE and will participate in the various activities in line with the said People’s Protest that carries the theme: “Resist the US War of Terror and Imperialist Plunder! US Out of Southeast Asia! GMA – Number 1 Puppet in ASEAN!” The militant organizations from Cordillera will sponsor activities including an indigenous peoples’ caucus and will run a series of documentary film presentations and exhibits exposing the impact of globalization on indigenous peoples.

“Imperialist countries, especially the United States, use the ASEAN as an instrument to tighten their control and domination over the politics and economy of the Southeast Asian region through globalization. It will step up liberalization, privatization and deregulation of Philippine’s economy at the expense of its national patrimony and sovereignty. And as far as indigenous peoples are concerned, this would mean intensification of development aggression and militarization, aggravating the violation of their rights to their ancestral lands and to self-determination”, said CPA Chairperson Beverly Longid, adding that it would also pave the way for more destructive large scale projects such mining, dams and logging concessions to cater to foreign interest.

Longid said that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been pushing hard for the approval of the Anti-Terrorism Bill prior to the ASEAN Summit, which would escalate state terrorism and political repression perpetrated by the regime and its agents, further worsening the human rights situation in the country.

“The People’s Protest will make the ASEAN Summit an arena to expose the Arroyo government to the international community of the political killings, enforced disappearances and other forms of human rights violations including the plunder of natural resources”, she said.

The Summit, which coincides with the International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2006 , will hold the Arroyo Regime culpable of its grave human rights violations. ###

Reference :

BEVERLY L. LONGID
CPA Chairperson