The new Aquino administration’s decision to officially extend the national counter-insurgency program known as Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) can only signal an aggravation of the already acute human rights crisis in the Philippines. As today marks the 27th anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared, a day created by Latin American groups to draw international attention to the fate of individuals imprisoned in places and under poor conditions unknown to their relatives, BAYAN USA reiterates its call to the Aquino government to ensure justice for the over 1,205 cases of extrajudicial killings and over 206 cases of abductions by terminating Oplan Bantay Laya once and for all.

OBL was concocted and launched during the previous Arroyo government in 2001 and re-launched in 2007. In both cases, it failed to meet its objective to annihilate the so-called armed insurgency in the Philippine countryside. OBL was also heavily scrutinized and condemned worldwide by international human rights bodies, including the United Nations, for its general tactic of targeting unarmed civilians critical of the Philippine government. As essentially an assassination, abduction, torture, and red-baiting campaign, OBL bears strong resemblance to the US-funded and designed Operation Phoenix during the 1960’s in Vietnam.

Because of this, instead of quelling armed rebellion, OBL made over 206 promising lives disappear– including bright, young minds such as University of the Philippines student Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, agriculturalist Jonas Burgos, indigenous right advocate James Balao, and many more whose whereabouts remain unknown and whose families remain tortured because they were never able to say goodbye. Last year, Filipina American activist, Melissa Roxas, was disappeared and tortured by the military for six days. This is the real effect of OBL.

While the Philippine government claims its intent to stop so-called armed rebellion in the countryside, the reality is that armed rebellion cannot be stopped by counter-insurgency programs. The counter-insurgency programs have only claimed more casualties and disappeared unarmed civilians exercising their most basic democratic rights. Further, the counter-insurgency programs do not solve the root problems of the poverty, landlessness, and government corruption that plague the country. Until such time these deeper problems are solved, no Philippine president should expect to quell armed struggle in the country.

Moreover, peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front of the Philippine (NDFP) and the Philippine government prove that many of these armed groups have taken up arms for principled reasons, including land, livelihood, and to oppose intensified state repression. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines continue to violate the rules of war as outlined in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, while a policy of impunity for known human rights abusers persists in the government.

As a cause-oriented organization that has been arduously advocating for human rights in the Philippines as its main campaign since 2005, BAYAN USA will not cease to seek justice for the victims of OBL and their families who are still suffering. We will continue to hold Aquino accountable to his promise of change and call on US Congress to cut military aid to the Philippines for its link to human rights abuses in the country. ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reference: Valerie Francisco, Vice Chair of Mass Campaigns, GABRIELA USA
gabrielawomen@gmail.com

GABRIELA USA participates in the Montreal International Women’s Conference and the founding of the International Women’s Alliance

Montréal, Québec, August 16, 2010 — In Montreal, women of GABRIELA USA joined over 350 participants representing 32 different countries, including Pakistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Mali, the Czech Republic, Germany, Cuba, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexicothis past weekend to actively participate in the Montreal International Women’s Conference and the founding of the International Women’s Alliance.

GABRIELA USA was joined by local allies from all across the U.S. including members of VietUnity, Tadaima, Women’s Fightback Network in Boston and New York City, Million Workers March, Picture the Homeless, the International Action Center , Latin American Workers’ Project (NYC), Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST), Transit Workers’ Union,  Cihuatl Tlatocan- Maiz, and the May 1st Coalition.

From August 13 to 15, delegates participated in plenaries, workshops, and discussions surrounding a wide variety of themes, including women workers, peasant women, indigenous struggles, developmental aggression, violence against women, racism, discrimination and genocide, as well as resistance to wars and imperialist aggression.  From these workshops and plenaries, drafts of resolutions have been created to tackle these struggles on local and international levels.

During a plenary session, delegates unanimously endorsed a declaration in support of the 490 Tamils from Sri Lanka who arrived aboard the MV Sun Sea in Vancouver, Canada, decrying their ongoing detention while calling upon the Canadian government to accept them as refugees.  In addition, participants also affirmed their solidarity and demanded the release of the 43 health workers who were illegally detained in the Philippines in February this past year.

On August 16, delegates of the conference formalized the assembly by creating the International Women’s Alliance which will build coordination of local, regional and international campaigns, to promote mutual support and the sharing of resistance strategies, and to mobilize women around the world in the struggle against imperialism, violence and capitalist globalization. The first assembly of the International Women’s Assembly will take place in July 2011 in the Philippines.

“As Filipina  women, it is our duty as mothers,  daughters, and sisters to come together and strengthen the movement against the  exploitation and oppression of women rooted in the global imperialist system. We can no longer take the brunt of the economic crisis brought about by this system which causes so much hunger, unemployment, forced migration, and militarization all over the world.  The time is now to bridge our struggles and  strengthen the solidarity of women’s organizations worldwide.  The formation of the  International Women’s Alliance will help fortify the growing people’s movement against imperialism,” stated Raquel Redondiez, chairperson of GABRIELA USA.

GABRIELA USA is a national alliance of progressive Filipina women’s organizations including Samahan ng Kababaihan (San Francisco), babae (San Francisco), Pinay sa Seattle (Seattle), Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (New York City), and Sisters of Gabriela Awaken (Los Angeles).http://miwc2010.wordpress.com/.

The initiative for the MIWC and IWA came out of a resolution of the women’s commission of the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) which met during the 3rd International Assembly of the ILPS in Hong Kong in 2008.For more information about the conference and alliance, please visit

News Statement
August 4, 2010
Reference: Bernadette Ellorin, Chairperson, BAYAN USA, email: chair@bayanusa.org

FIL-AMS TO P-NOY, OBAMA: STOP MAKING THE PHILIPPINES A US MILITARY PLAYGROUND! NO TO U.S. MISSILE OFFER!

The recent announcement of the US Congress’ plans to provide an $18.4 million-worth package of US precision-guided missiles to the Philippine military alarmingly propels the new Aquino administration onto the failed path paved by the Arroyo administration. Though Aquino benefits from his public criticisms of graft and corruption under Arroyo, his fledgling presidency seems conditioned to ensure that the costly and ineffective so-called “War on Terror” remains alive and kicking in the Philippines.

To classify the “War on Terror”, as launched by the Bush-Arroyo tandem, as a failure would be a gross misnomer. The cost in innocent human lives, trillions in public funds, public morale, ethics, and humanity that has been spent by both the US and Filipino people makes it downright unconscionable for Aquino to consider accepting the deadly US missile offer or maintaining US military presence in the Philippines through the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty.

The US government has no genuine intention to fight terrorism or to help the Filipino people. By using the pretext of counter-terrorism to maintain a hyper-funded, hyper-facilitated US military state in the Philippines, the US government can continue to maintain the Philippines into as a geopolitically strategic military outpost. It can continue to exert its dominance over the domestic affairs of the Filipino people through a US-funded death squad democracy. This has been the intention of the US government since its launched its first war of aggression to colonize the Philippines back in 1899.

In the nine years the Bush administration funded and deployed US troops to “advise” the Philippine military’s so-called efforts to defeat the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah, the Filipino people have reaped no significant benefits nor sense of national security. Instead, they have been subjected to Arroyo’s vicious counter-insurgency campaign Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) that has brought about the politically-motivated killings and disappearances of over 1100 innocent civilians, international scrutiny against the Philippine government for its poor human rights record, as well as the cooptation of the Philippine judicial system’s duty to convict and punish US military personnel that rape Filipinos, young and old, or break Philippine laws. The recent case of Gregan Cardeno, a Filipino who worked as an interpreter for US Special Forces in Mindanao, begs the investigation of what looks like the cover-up of a summary execution and torture at the hands of US military personnel.

With nothing positive gained from nine years US and Philippine joint military exercises in the country, Philippines egregiously remains among the world’s largest beneficiaries of US military aid.

Both the US and Filipino people must challenge Obama and Aquino to implement a foreign policy that is mutually beneficially to both countries rather than the one-sided, master-and-servant, killer-and-victim character of the past 100 years of US-Philippine relations that is safeguarded by US military intervention in the country.

Though he catapulted to the top political decision-making seat of the country with a big push from his family name, inherited fortune, lipservice against his predecessor, and the sweet-sounding rhetoric of change, Aquino has yet to prove that he will not follow in Arroyo’s footsteps where it counts most by implementing real meaningful change that will improve the quality of life in the country. Inextricable to this is the withdrawal of US military presence in the country.

We must let both Aquino and Obama know that we holding them both to this challenge.

Filipino Americans Demand an End to the Philippine Military’s Attacks on Youth Activists

Contact: Eric Tandoc
Anakbayan-Los Angeles
info@anakbayanla.org
August 1, 2010

Two weeks ago, Anakbayan-Los Angeles member Hiyasmin Quijano received alarming news that her cousin, Ivee Tañedo, was being stalked and harassed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Quijano stated, “I’ve heard of these attacks on activists before, but it didn’t become real to me until I had to deal with it in my own family.”

Thousands of flyers demonizing Tañedo, a 24-year-old student leader at the University of the Philippines, as well as fellow students Mark Velasco and Randili Elec, were posted and distributed in several barangays and college campuses in Southern Tagalog. The flyer warns that Tañedo is “an ordinary and simple woman, but hidden in sheep’s clothing is a fierce enemy of the people.” Tañedo is a compassionate leader of Gabriela and Anakbayan in Southern Tagalog. She works tirelessly with the community to promote youth empowerment, protest the displacement of people whose homes were demolished for development, and call for an end to all human rights violations.

Under the policies of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL)—the U.S.-funded counter-insurgency program that seeks to “strategically defeat” the New People’s Army, the AFP targets legal progressive organizations and activists like Tañedo as “enemies of the state.” As a result of OBL, thousands of activists and community leaders have been harassed, abducted, and killed. Among these victims are University of the Philippines student activists Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, who were abducted and tortured by the military in June of 2006 while conducting research.

After only one month in office, President Aquino’s administration has already committed five extrajudicial killings, following the same program implemented by former President Arroyo. The victims include college students and two teachers. Aquino must end Oplan Bantay Laya and recognize that these killings are not the result of “personal feuds” but are a direct result of the repressive state policy that falsely tags legal progressive organizations as communist fronts and state enemies. The Aquino administration must implement measures to hold its armed forces accountable and ensure a policy of “no harassment, abduction, or killings” of activists.

Nearly $1 billion worth of U.S. military aid and materiel has been granted to the Philippines since 1999. “I don’t understand why our tax money is being used to target activists like my cousin when we have such a serious financial crisis here in the United States,” said Quijano. Anakbayan-Los Angeles demands that President Barack Obama immediately terminate any U.S. funding of the Philippine military and instead allocate funds for much-needed social services and education in the U.S.

Quijano and Anakbayan-Los Angeles invite the community to gather in support of her cousin and other victims of government harassment this Tuesday, August 3, 2010, at 7pm in front of Seafood City at 131 W. Carson Street, Carson, CA 90745. Community members can show their support by signing petitions to end the U.S. funding of harassment, abductions, and killings in the Philippines.

##

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Weight Loss Plan for Aquino: Drop Arroyo’s Baggage and Adopt the 4K Program
Filipinos in the U.S. Urge Philippine President Aquino to Present Plan to Address the People’s Needs at This Year’s State of the Nation Address

BAYAN-USA will conduct actions in four cities across the United States on Monday, July 26, to mark the first annual State of the Nation Address delivered by Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. President Aquino’s term began ominously this month with the killing of five activists in less than two weeks, a troubling sign in the wake of the violence-ridden presidency of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“We want action, not excuses, from President Aquino,” said Bernadette Ellorin, Chair of BAYAN-USA. “If President Aquino feels weighed down by the mess left by Arroyo, he can shed the former president’s legacy by abandoning Arroyo’s failed policies and implementing programs that provide decent jobs, redistribute land, safeguard national sovereignty, and end state-sponsored terror by the armed forces and paramilitary.”

The demonstrations in the U.S. will coincide with actions conducted by BAYAN in the Philippines as well as in Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia where millions of overseas Filipino workers reside. Demonstrators will express their concern about the continuing human rights violations targeting activists, as well as present the “People’s Agenda for National Survival.” The Agenda includes specific recommendations to increase the “4K’s”:

• Katarungan [Justice] – investigate and prosecute Gloria Arroyo and all perpetrators of human rights violations; free the Morong 43 and all political prisoners; justice for victims of human rights violations
• Kalayaan [Sovereignty] – terminate the U.S.-R.P. Visiting Forces Agreement; eject all foreign military personnel from the Philippines; repeal the Mining Act of 1995
• Karapatan [Rights] – end state-sponsored violence; stop the killings of activists; terminate Operation Plan Bantay Laya and all counter-insurgency programs; advocate for the rights of Filipino migrants abroad including comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S.
• Kabuhayan [Livelihood] – institute a living wage increase; end the Value Added Tax on basic commodities; implement a genuine agrarian reform program; scrap the unfair stock distribution option

“The Filipino people suffered far too long under the deepening crisis of poverty and rampant state-sponsored violence perpetrated by the US-backed Arroyo regime. We need immediate relief, and President Aquino has the power to deliver it, if he so chooses,” stated Ellorin. “Aquino needs to stop the killings, prosecute GMA, and end the culture of impunity by conducting thorough investigations of past human rights abuses and prosecuting the abusers now.”

Los Angeles, CA – Reporting from the UCLA Downtown Los Angeles Labor Center, delegates of the People’s International Observers Mission from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) presented eyewitness accounts from the Philippines elections. Witnessing electoral fraud and military intimidation, they concluded the Philippine national election was neither fair nor free.  NLG delegates participated in the largest People’s International Observers Mission to date, joined by church, labor and community leaders from Asia, North and South America, and Europe. NLG, BAYAN USA, and GABRIELA USA presented the latest updates regarding the 43 detained health workers and the ongoing spate of human rights violations post-inauguration of President Noynoy Aquino two weeks ago.

Attorney Radhika Sainath opened the forum declaring,“This is more than a reportback because what we found, what we witnessed, has significance outside of Philippines.” Atty. Sainath described electoral fraud that she witnessed in the forms of vote-buying and illegal vote-casting and confirmed that these were also documented in every region that NLG delegates observed elections. Military intimidation, lack of staff, defects with the electronic voting system, and a gunfight within the polling place were just some of the issues noted in their report. Lincoln Ellis, an NLG member from Los Angeles said, “Too often election observers simply base their conclusions on what they saw on the day of the election,” referring to COMELEC observers who generalize their positive individual experiences to the whole of the country.  “We looked deeper to interview candidates and human rights activists about intimidation, harassment, fraud and violence that took place months or years before the 2010 Philippines election. These problems affected everything from the names that did or did not appear on the ballot, to the make-up of the election commission (COMELEC), that eventually tabulated the results,” concluded Ellis. Ellis observed elections on the island of Panay where Fernando Baldomero of Bayan Muna party-list was assassinated last July 5, 2010.

The NLG delegation put forward several recommendations including investment in social infrastructure so that people’s basic needs are met, restructuring appointments of COMELEC, and fully investigating and prosecuting politically motivated human rights violations.

BAYAN USA and GABRIELA USA addressed the latest human rights violations including the assassination of Fernando Baldomero earlier this month. “President Noynoy Aquino has just been inaugurated and already his term is marked with more extra-judicial killings under the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) counter-insurgency plan started during the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime,” said Kuusela Hilo, Vice Chairperson of BAYAN USA.  “Violently dispersing farmers camping out in front of Malacanang Palace to demand land reform and expanding the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Oplan Bantay Laya will only exacerbate the problems of poverty and impunity that plague Philippine society, but these are the actions of the newly inaugurated Aquino administration. Aquino’s commitment to seek justice will hold no water if it carries on with Arroyo’s OBL,” explained Hilo.

Farnoosh Hashemian, one of the NLG delegates, was able to visit the detained 43 healthworkers who were illegally arrested, tortured and detained on February 6, 2010. “One of the women I met, Judy, is expected to give birth soon in detention if not released,” said Hashemian. “Hearing their stories and their willingness to continue their community health work once they are released is inspiring,” said Hashemian. Hashemian showed one of the necklaces beaded by the detained health workers and shared that solidarity, even in the form of sending beads, will help to raise awareness about their fight for freedom.  Terrie Cervas, Vice Chairperson of GABRIELA USA, emphasized the need for international solidarity from people in the United States. “The issue of the 43 health workers is not an isolated incident, and we must let our Congressperson, Representative Howard Berman, know that we do not want our taxpayer money funding human rights violations in the Philippines,” declared Cervas. Cervas invited the audience to sign postcards for Rep. Berman who is the current Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Riko Maniago, lead vocalist of Flattbush and member of Habi Arts, concluded the program with the song calling for the end to government corruption. The final National Lawyers Guild report on the Philippines International Observers Mission findings will be available at http://nlg.org.  To sign onto to the Free the 43 Petition, visit http://petitiononline.com/FreeD43/petition.html.

A body count of six activists murdered within two weeks this June marked the countdown to the end of Gloria Arroyo’s presidency—a grim yet fitting conclusion to Arroyo’s nine-year presidential term infamous for extrajudicial killings, torture, mass arrests, and disappearances perpetrated by military, police and paramilitary forces. BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino American organizations, condemned the rash of killings and the brutal record of Arroyo.  The Alliance also challenged president-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to make good on his campaign promises and take concrete steps to right the wrongs of the Arroyo administration.

End Counter-Insurgency Ops, Investigate HRVs Starting at the Top

“We can’t resurrect the dead or erase the scars of torture, but we can prosecute the perpetrators and attain justice for the victims,” said Bernadette Ellorin, Chair of BAYAN-USA.  “Aquino must start on July 1 by immediately investigating Gloria Arroyo for the bloodshed committed under her watch,” Ellorin stated.

One of Arroyo’s signature policies was the Operation Plan Bantay Laya (“OBL”) counter-insurgency program. Dubbed a “blueprint for impunity” by human rights advocates, OBL has been blamed for 1,201 cases of extrajudicial killings, 205 enforced disappearances and more than a thousand cases of illegal arrests and torture.  The Philippine military, including the likes of Major General Jovito Palparan, has been implicated in the vast majority of the cases.

“Aquino must abandon the failed OBL and all other counter-insurgency schemes if there is to be any hope for genuine peace and democracy in the Philippines.  Aquino can demonstrate his commitment to change by freeing all political prisoners, including the Morong 43,”  stated Ellorin, referring to the 43 health workers who were arrested en masse on trumped up charges with an illegal search warrant on February 6, 2010.  The health workers remain in jail up to this day, despite an international outcry by prominent leaders of large human rights, labor, health care and faith organizations, as well as dignitaries and former elected officials.

“It would make far more sense for Aquino to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) than to pursue the disastrous counter-insurgency programs that Arroyo and her generals concocted,” said Ellorin. Arroyo’s administration has been criticized for paying lip service to peace talks while undermining them with unrealistic demands.  “The peace negotiations as laid out by the NDFP provide a framework for attaining comprehensive social and economic reforms to end widespread poverty and exploitation, which all agree are at root of the conflict,” said Ellorin.

Treat Migrants Like Heroes, Not Criminals

“With her labor and economic policies, Arroyo pushed more Filipinos out of the country than any of her predecessors, but she never lifted a finger to ensure their safety,” said Ellorin. “Arroyo never advocated for immigration reform in the U.S., even though tens of thousands of Filipinos have been waiting for more than 20 years to reunite with their families because they are stuck in the immigration backlog, and about a million undocumented Filipinos work in slave-like conditions for American employers.”  Immigration policies in the U.S. have been harshly criticized worldwide especially in the wake of September 11, 2001 when the already law enforcement-heavy system turned more openly racist and militaristic.

“Filipino migrants are the backbone of the Philippine economy, but Arroyo was spineless when it came to standing up for migrants’ rights.  Aquino needs to take a position in favor of protecting the safety and well-being of migrants.  That includes advocating for immigration reform in the U.S., which receives more Filipino migrants than any other country,” said Ellorin. Since 2005, BAYAN-USA has been part of the immigrant rights movement calling for comprehensive immigration reform and legalization for all, elimination of the visa backlogs, an end to collaboration between local police and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and a stop to the skyrocketing deportations.

End Corruption at All Levels

“From ‘Hello Garci’ to NBN-ZTE, corruption was the lifeline of the Arroyo presidency,” said Ellorin, referring to two of the dozens of corruption scandals that plagued Arroyo throughout her nine years in office.  “Aquino should ensure that Arroyo and her cronies are held accountable for the elections, lives and billions of pesos that they stole from the Filipino people.  He can start by investigating the wholesale electoral fraud committed in both the 2004 and 2010 elections.”

People Over Profits, Sovereignty Over Subjugation

“Under Arroyo, Filipinos got hit with the Value Added Tax (VAT), rice shortages, and tuition fee hikes.  Government spending for health care, education and housing shrunk, while spending on national debt and military increased.  Is it any wonder that poverty is at a record high while Arroyo’s approval rating is at a record low?” said Ellorin.  “Aquino can stop the nation’s endless downward spiral by repealing the senseless automatic appropriation law for debt servicing, and redirecting funds to meeting the people’s basic needs.  He should also provide immediate relief to the poor by scrapping the VAT and increasing wages to a livable level.”

“The Philippines will remain an outpost and launching pad for imperialist ambitions unless Aquino changes course immediately,” said Ellorin.  “Arroyo did nothing to stop the rapes of countless ‘Nicoles’ by U.S. soldiers, the injury of Filipino children by U.S. war games, the displacement of thousands of Bicolanos for the Balikatan exercises, or the death of Gregan Cardeno while working for the U.S. military.  Aquino needs to stop the hemorrhaging of the Philippine nation by terminating the R.P.-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement, which has sold off Philippine sovereignty and turned the entire Philippine archipelago into one big military base for the U.S. to use at will.  He should also evict all U.S. forces currently in the country and thoroughly investigate all allegations of human rights violations committed by U.S. military personnel in the Philippines,” stated Ellorin.

Spread the word! BAYAN-USA and GABRIELA-USA workshops and events at the USSF!!!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

10:00am-Noon | Cobo Hall: O3-45
“For a Militant Global Women’s Movement in the 21st Century”
(GABRIELA-USA)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

10:00am-Noon | Wayne County Community College - 133
“I Vow to Fight Violence Against Women. Connecting Filipino and Black Bodies in Resisting Exploitation”
(GABRIELA-USA)

1:00pm-5:30pm | Cobo Hall W2-62
“People’s Resistance Against Empire: A Global Forum on Mass Movements Fighting US Intervention & People’s Cultural Work as Weapons of Resistance.”

(BAYAN-USA)

Friday, June 25, 2010

3:00pm-5:00pm | AFSCME Building
“Dukot” film showing

In his words and in his actions, John Delloro was an advocate for the workers and the struggle for social justice. As a labor organizer, teacher, writer, executive director and many other roles, John Delloro committed his life to empowering communities to empower themselves and advance the struggle of the working class.

Delloro was an effective and inspirational educator, inspiring students, stirring them to the bone, and challenging students to embrace the struggle of the workers and migrants. He also prioritized developing leaders from the rank-and-file of the various unions he worked for, recognizing the importance of workers organizing themselves to be the leaders of their union and organizations.

BAYAN USA also highlights one of Delloro’s last international contributions as national President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance for the workers in the Philippines facing state violence and repression. APALA, under President Delloro’s leadership, was one of the first international organizations and the first labor organization in the United States to issue a solidarity letter in support of 43 community health workers that were illegally arrested, detained and tortured in the Philippines last February. The campaign, Free the 43 Health Workers, has since garnered more support from other unions in the U.S. and was formally taken to the United Nations last week.

Delloro lived his life to the fullest to advance the movement for social justice and we recognize that his words and actions have made an impact locally, nationally and globally.

MABUHAY ANG DIWA NI JOHN DELLORO!
LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF JOHN DELLORO!

With the news of John Delloro’s passing, the Free the 43 Health Workers Alliance in the Philippines also joins the family, friends and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance in mourning the loss of John Delloro. A letter of condolence from the Free the 43 Health Workers Now Alliance in the Philippines will be delivered to the Delloro family and APALA this week.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

BAYAN-USA Vehemently Condemns Massacre by Israeli Armed Forces of Volunteers Delivering Humanitarian Aid for Gaza
Filipino Alliance Joins Protest Actions Nationwide in Solidarity with Palestine

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations in the US, vehemently condemns the barbaric killings of at least 19 humanitarian aid workers aboard the Freedom Flotilla which sought to bring much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. The six ships had more than 700 civilians from more than 40 nations on board, including Nobel laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators, American citizens and diplomats including former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck.

BAYAN-USA joined emergency rallies in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City in response to Israel’s brutal assault on civilians. “We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims aboard the Flotilla who were murdered by the US-backed Israeli military,” stated Bernadette Ellorin, Chairperson of BAYAN USA. “The attack on these volunteers further exposes Zionist-Israel’s complete disregard for the human rights of the people of Gaza and the people that stand in solidarity with Palestine,” elaborated Ellorin.

The Israeli government extended its violent aggression to international waters after it blocked and boarded the six aid ships and opened fire on the passengers. There is absolutely no justification for using force on any civilian conducting humanitarian relief missions.

“Let us also not forget that those aboard the flotilla were intent on delivering urgent humanitarian aid to thousands of devastated Palestinian families in Gaza,” Ellorin continued. “Reminding us that those who will ultimately suffer from the Israeli government’s unconscionable actions are those being starved by the Israeli government’s blockade– the suffering people of Israeli-occupied Gaza.”

The establishment of Israel and its systemic massacre and forced displacement of the Palestinian people is one of the greatest offensives of the US government in the Middle East that duly serves the interests of US imperialism to control the region economically and politically. Since the mass expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 and Palestine’s subsequent occupation by Israeli settlers, the US-backed Israeli government has violated the rights of the Palestinian people in their ancestral land. In recent years, the Zionist-Israeli state’s crimes against humanity include the inhumane economic blockade on Gaza and the unjustified 2008 bombings and massacre of more than 1000 Palestinians in Gaza, which have gone unpunished.

“The weak response of ‘regret’ from the White House further exposes the political and economic agenda of the US to allow the Zionist-Israeli state to get away with murder, even in international waters,” said Ellorin. “President Obama has a responsibility to serve the interests of the American people and ensure the safety of the American volunteers on the boats, including the American flagged-ship, the last ship of the Flotilla that is still en route to Gaza.”

Israel has been the largest recipient of direct economic and military aid from the US government since World War II. The hard-earned tax dollars of the people of the US are fueling these continuing attacks of the US surrogate government of Israel against the Palestinian people. At the same time, the global economic crisis is hitting the people of the US hard with massive job lay-offs, foreclosures, evictions, and budget cuts to health care and education.

BAYAN-USA calls on President Barack Obama and the US government to stop providing economic, political and military aid to the Israeli government. BAYAN-USA calls for an end to the occupation of Palestine by Israel and demands an immediate end to the inhumane blockade on Gaza.

JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE US-ISRAELI ATTACKS ON THE FLOTILLA!
END THE BLOCKADE OF GAZA!
FREE PALESTINE!
WITHDRAW US ECONOMIC AID TO ISRAEL!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!

Photos courtesy of BAYAN-USA, Kuusela Hilo, Mike Luat, and Christina Tam at protests in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.