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By Maricel V. Cruz Reporter
Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Crispin
Beltran on Thursday is worried that militant legislators like him
could also be detained illegally on the basis of false testimonies.
Beltran on Thursday demanded that
the government dismiss the charges filed against Bayan Muna Rep.
Satur Ocampo as well as other progressive representatives Rafael
Mariano of Anakpawis, Liza Maza of Gabriela Women’s Party and
Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, unless President Arroyo wants to
maintain her “reputation in the international community as a clone
of dictators and fascist presidents throughout history.”
Beltran, who is under detention
on rebellion charges, said the Philippine National Police and the
Armed Forces should be ordered to immediately stop their hunt for
Ocampo, who is facing multiple murder charges over the mass killing
of New People’s Army rebels in the 1980s.
“Malacañang cannot keep back
the tide of international outrage. Civil libertarians and human
rights advocates all over the world are appalled and aghast at the
constantly worsening human rights situation in the Philippines. My
continuing incarceration, the persecution against Ocampo and other
progressive lawmakers expose the extent of the Arroyo
administration’s worsening tendencies for dictatorship and
fascism,” Beltran said.
He said the 838 victims of
political and extrajudicial killings and their families have yet to
gain closure or justice on the murder of their loved ones.
“I fear that if Ocampo surfaces
and turns himself in . . . his case, like mine, will be deliberately
put in the back burner and before we know it, a year has passed,”
Beltran said. Beltran was arrested in February 2006.
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