The big news today was the release of the US State Department of the Human Rights report. The pcij offers a very good explanation and summary of the pertinent parts contained in numerous pages of printout (yes, I printed the report on the Philippines but have yet to read through them so I’m cheating a little bit and simplifying my life by reading the pcij).
What else is new? Filipinos have been suffering this reality, the reality of human rights violations, the past years, even after we supposedly restored democracy. Makes one want to lynch Marcos if he was still alive for screwing us over and us suffering the consequences of that screw up decades after.
Since I’m on the subject of Marcos, let me digress a bit and note for posterity the statement by Imee Marcos on the S of E:
The daughter of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos has accused President Arroyo of plagiarizing her father’s martial law with her recent declaration of emergency rule.
“Madame President, you’re a second rate, trying-hard copycat!” said Imee Marcos, Ferdinand’s eldest daughter and an opposition member of Congress, quoted in the Philippine Star.
I can’t find it right now but I read it in INQ7 that Imee goes on to say that Arroyo’s declaration of the S of E was a poor copy of her dad’s declaration of Martial Law. Well, at least someone got her facts right. No one has rivaled Marcos in human rights violations against the Filipino people. But Madame Prez is certainly waiting in the wings to hopefully remain in power.
On the human rights report. The pcij blog highlighted these general observations from the human rights study of all the countries:
The State Department made the following general observations based on the 196 reports:
First, countries in which power was concentrated in the hands of unaccountable rulers tend to be the world’s most systematic human rights violators and these states ranged from closed, totalitarian systems like Burma and North Korea to authoritarian systems like Belarus and Zimbabwe, in which the exercise of basic rights is severely restricted.
Well, here is a plausible, scientific observation of why our country is going to the dogs. It is still the concentration of power in the hands of unaccountable rulers (we all know who they are) that perpetuate the violations.
Second, human rights and democracy are closely linked and both are essential to long-term stability and security. Free and democratic nations that respect the rights of their citizens help to lay the foundation for lasting peace. In contrast, states that severely and systematically violate the human rights of their own people are likely to pose threats to neighboring countries and the international community. And Iran is a case in point.
The very reason why our own democracy is unstable because our human rights are not respected. We are still a nation where journalists are killed for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and where earnest politicians are shot in broad daylight by their rivals, who go scott free.
Fourth, where civil society and independent media are under siege, fundamental freedoms are undermined. In 2005, a disturbing number of countries from Cambodia to Venezuela and Russia, Belarus to Zimbabwe and China, passed or selectively applied laws against NGOs and the media, including, in China’s case, the internet, restricting or having a chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.
Well, well, well. Here we are again. The state of emergency has managed to put us in the same map as Iraq for instability (supposedly) and the rules for media will put us in the same league with countries with ties to communism, Russia and China.
Fifth, democratic elections by themselves do not ensure that human rights will be respected, but they can put a country on the path to reform and lay the groundwork for institutionalizing human rights predictions.
Yes, that is given that the elections were not dirty. But how about in our case when the elections were probably rigged?
Sixth and finally, progress on democratic reform and human rights — and this is critically important — progress is neither linear, nor is it guaranteed. As a reading of the various reports will show, some states still have weak institutions of democratic government and they continue to struggle. Others have yet to fully commit to the democratic process. Democratically elected governments do not always govern democratically once they are in power. But despite hard realities and high obstacles, they’re an increasing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom and for adoption of democratic principles of government.
We are definitely still in the struggling stage. Until when?
To read the full report on the Philippines, you can log on to the US state government.
