Nakikiisa ang Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS) sa mga Human rights defenders (HRD) sa Pilipinas sa pag-gunita ngayong December 10, 2021 ng International Human Rights Day.
Sa opisyal ng pahayag ni San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza ang Chairperson CWS ay inalala ng Obispo ang mga pinaslang na HRDs na nagsusulong ng mga karapatan ng manggagawa, pinakamahihirap sa lipunan at indigenous peoples sa loob ng anim na taong pamumuno ng Administrasyong Duterte.
“Human rights group International Federation for Human Rights reported that at least 25 human rights defenders (HRDs) were killed in 2020 in the country, and in the first 6 months of 2021 alone, 15 HRDs have been murdered. Added to these are the unsolved cases of hundreds of activists, union leaders, community organizers, including 61 lawyers killed since 2016,” ayon sa pahayah ng Obispo.
Ikinababahala din ni Bishop Alminaza ang pag-taas ng mga kaso ng pag-atake sa mga inosenteng mamamayan.
“The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is notorious for the series of attacks against political dissenters and innocent civilians. Earlier this month, a series of aerial bombing in a forested area in Brgy. Alimodas, Miag-ao, Iloilo led to the death of dozens of people. Similar scorched-earth tactics happened a few months ago in Las Navas, Northern Samar where a 500-pound bomb was dropped. On October 30 and November 2, farmers had to evacuate their lands in Bukidnon province in Mindanao when military forces bombed their communities, allegedly to flush out or finish off the group of slain communist leader Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos,” ayon kay Bishop Alminaza.
Nandigan rin ang Obispo na kailanman ay hindi magiging kasagutan ang militaristic approach sa mga suliranin na may kaugnayan ang mga rebelde.
“CWS believes that a militarist approach will not solve the five-decade insurgency problem. CWS reiterates its stand that a negotiated socio-economic-political reform program that addresses the roots of the armed conflict remains the only viable option” Ani Bishop Alminaza.
Umaasa rin ang CWS na mananatiling kaanib ang Supreme Court sa pakikiisa upang buwagin ang Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL) na inilalagay sa panganib ang seguridad ng bawat isa.
Panawagan din ni Bishop Alminaza sa bawat mananampalataya ngayong International Human Rights Day na isabuhay ang mga katuruan ng Kaniyang Kabanalang Francisco upang ipagtanggol ang mga pinakamahihirap, nagugugutom at pawang mga nasa laylayan ng lipunan.
