(C) Common Dreams
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Global Witness strongly condemns the criminalisation of four land and environmental activists as ‘terrorists’ in the Philippines [1]
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Date: 2023-08
The four rights activists, Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Windel Bolinget, Jen Awingan and Stephen Tauli, are named only a month after a court threw out a rebellion case filed against them and several others for lack of evidence. The same judge also ordered that all warrants against the petitioners should be quashed.
Rachel Cox, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness, said:
“This recent government announcement appears to be part of a state sponsored pattern of ‘red tagging’ with the four defenders – vital members of the Philippines environmental movement - reporting years of harassment and state-backed smear campaigns aimed at undermining their work advocating for the rights of communities and Indigenous peoples in the Cordillera region.”
In the Philippines, the criminalisation of activists through a sinister tactic known as ‘red-tagging’ is often used to intimidate, defame, and vilify legitimate activists for their work. State apparatus like the Anti-Terror Law can be used as pretence for arrest and can compound the precarious situation of land and environmental defenders by legally formalising the practice – leading to further cases of harassment, intimidation, and attacks. This mirrors a trend of criminalisation of land rights and environmental activism not only in the Philippines but globally.
Jon Bonifacio, National Coordinator of Kalikasan Peoples Network, a network of environmental organisations that includes CPA, said:
“This resolution highlights the defectiveness of the Anti-Terror Law itself, which unfairly targets activists instead of addressing genuine acts of terrorism. The law’s overbroad definition of terrorism allows law enforcers to label environmental defenders as ‘terrorists,’ undermining their vital role in protecting the environment. It creates a chilling effect, stifling dissenting voices and hindering their efforts to safeguard natural resources and communities.”
For nearly four decades, the CPA has worked with communities in the Cordillera region to prevent environmental destruction by extractive industry projects and advocating for ancestral land rights. Through community mobilization, awareness campaigns and legal action, the CPA continues to challenge harmful projects and promote sustainable practices like organic farming.
Global Witness expresses its support for the CPA and is calling upon the Philippines government to urgently comply with human rights standards that protect fundamental freedoms, including ensuring human rights-compliant counter-terrorism legislation.
The government should guarantee the security of CPA staff and members and ensure that due process is followed in any and all judicial processes brought against rights activists in the country.
Global Witness is also calling on all foreign embassies present in the Philippines whose governments have committed to the UN Declaration of the Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” (commonly known as the “UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders” act in support at risk land and environmental defenders, and raise its concerns over the harassment and criminalisation of environmental organisations.
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[1] Url:
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/global-witness-strongly-condemns-the-criminalisation-of-four-land-and-environmental-activists-as-terrorists-in-the-philippines/
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