Photo from Katutubong Lilak’s Facebook page
Ms. Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Beverly Longid and Joan Carling, Philippine indigenous women, are not terrorists.
LILAK stands by the three Indigenous Women leaders the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to be declared as “terrorists”, and we call on the DOJ to drop their names off the list it submitted to the court.
In February 21, 2018, the DOJ filed a petition to the Court to have the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA) declared as terrorist organizations. Along with the petition submitted to the Manila Regional Trial Court (MRTC) by DOJ is a list of 600 names of alleged communists, and therefore should also be declared “terrorists”. As such, State forces can go after these persons in the pretext of suspicion of them committing a terrorist act, as stipulated in the Philippines Human Security Act of 2007 or Rep. Act 9372.
LILAK and its partner indigenous women have been working with each of these three indigenous women on different issues and campaigns. Previously as the Executive Director of Tebtebba Foundation, and now as UN Special Rapparteur on Indigenous Peoples rights, LILAK has undertaken joint activities with Ms. Vicky Tauli-Corpuz particularly in promoting indigenous women’s rights at different levels – local, national and international.
Ms. Beverly Longid, previously as Secretary General of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), has been part of the different activities of LILAK particularly in learning sessions and national gatherings of indigenous women. With Ms. Joan Carling, as the Secretary General of the Asian Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), she and her organization have supported the different activities and advocacies of indigenous peoples we work with – providing emergency funds to families of indigenous peoples (IP) victims of extra judicial killings and IP human rights defenders; and giving training support for communities to be able to access different international and UN human rights mechanisms. Aside from these, the indigenous women and indigenous communities that LILAK works with have had longer relationships with each of them, in the assertion of the latter’s human rights as indigenous peoples.
Is this terrorism?
This act of the DOJ to push for the declaration of these three indigenous women as terrorists is irresponsible, and deadly. It gives license to armed force of the State, and practically to everyone, to intimidate, and yes, to kill them. In a speech before the Lumad, or the indigenous peoples in Mindanao, (February 11, 2018 / Davao City), President Duterte offered them P20,000 for every communist that they kill. A few days after, in a speech among soldiers in Malacanang, (February 13, 2018), he ordered soldiers to shoot female communist rebels “in the vagina”.
This is terrorism.
Every woman, every one, has the right to act and work for change and for social justice. Every indigenous woman has the right to organize and empower indigenous communities to collectively assert their right to defend their territories, and to practice self-determination.
This is what Vicky Corpuz, Beverly Longid, Joan Carling is all about.
LILAK stands by them, as we call on the Duterte government to take them off the list of alleged terrorists; their safety as they go about their legitimate activities of being human rights defenders must be ensured.
We demand a stop to these acts of terror against human rights defenders.
We have the right to defend our rights, as we work for a more humane society, free from violence, poverty and discrimination.
