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The government is under pressure from some
congressmen and military officers to lodge a protest before the
United Nations. The purpose of this diplomatic move is to ask the
world body to investigate alleged atrocities committed by the New
People’s Army, the military arm of the Communist Party of the
Philippines.
I doubt the soundness, or
effectiveness, of such a proposal. The United Nations is an
organization of states and governments and does not usually
interfere in the acts of political entities that have yet to acquire
power. It is even safe to assume that the UN will first investigate
the acts of the Philippine government—rather than the rebel group
that opposes such government.
It appears that the proposal by
Congressmen Federico Sandoval (Malabon-Navotas) and Eduardo Veloso (Leyte)
the other day to urge the UN to investigate the so-called mass
graves and killing fields does not have the benefit of expert
advise. The statement by the two solons sounded more like a part of
the propaganda war than an earnest effort to solve the killings and
improve the international image of Manila.
Had they consulted the experts in
our DFA, particularly the UN division that liaises with Ambassador
Hilario Davide, they would have found out that the idea won’t
reach first base in New York. Do we notice that the pros in the
foreign office are not talking?
This is not first time that our
country is asking the UN to investigate the rebels. At the height of
charges against the Marcos regime in the late seventies, Manila also
thought of lodging a similar complaint to the UN. But the answer
came outright. Manila’s case won’t prosper because the subject
of the complaint is not a state.
The United Nations only
investigates human rights violations by states. The presumption of
international law is that there are no human rights violations by
rebels because they are not signatories to UN covenants like the
declaration on political rights. Only states sign UN-sponsored
covenants.
If you notice, the UN does not
investigate “human-rights” violations by organizations like the
al-Qaeda and the many rebel movements all over the world. The reason
is simple, the UN does not have jurisdiction over these groups. (For
its own national interest reasons, the US government investigates
rebel groups.)
The NPA and similar groups are
trying to acquire international standing by the diplomatic work of
its people abroad. In comparison, the MILF and the MNLF have a
better diplomatic standing abroad because of their connections with
the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
In the several negotiations with
the GRP, the NDF wants a bilateral accord that would, in effect,
give the rebel alliance a status of belligerency. Only when that
belligerency is acquired can it have the chance of being
investigated for human rights violations. But the Philippine
government is totally against any move to grant that status to the
rebels.
BRIEF NOTES. Something is
happening in Pangasinan, the home base of Speaker Jose de Venecia
and former President Ramos. It seems that the two are caught in the
intense rivalry between Kampi and Lakas. In Quezon City Rep. Anna
Rose Susano is planning to run for mayor against incumbent Sonny
Belmonte. Susano, also a loyal follower of the President, has been
displeased by the candidacy of Mr. Kit Belmonte, a close relative of
the mayor. It seems that the followers of Susano do not believe the
line of the mayor that he does not know the acts of his relatives.
An observer said that there is a Belmonte running either for
congressman or councilor in every district of the city. One report
said that Susano may coalesce with the Mathay family which has still
big following in the city. Gov. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. saved the
day for the Genuine Opposition (GO) bets during a recent sortie in
the north. Acting on a request from former President Joseph Estrada,
Bongbong showed Ilocano hospitality by welcoming them in the capitol
and assigning somebody to help the group campaign.
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