PENANG, Malaysia – We support the appeal of our partner Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas or Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP) for the immediate release of their detained vice chairperson Joseph Canlas.
Canlas is a determined leader of the Filipino farmers’ struggle against land grabbing. His arrest and detention by the Philippine police on March 30, based on what appear to be questionable grounds, undermine not only his civil and political rights. It is also a blow to the assertion of the collective rights of Filipino farmers to land and resources.
One of the major campaigns that Canlas has been leading is the campaign to stop the Balog-Balog Multipurpose Dam project of the Philippine government. Estimated to cost USD 327 million, the dam is being constructed by a joint venture involving the Chinese firm Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co. Ltd. The project is located in the province of Tarlac (almost 129 kilometres north of Manila).
The case of Balog-Balog is one of the case studies that PANAP featured in our recently published book “No Land, No Life! Land Conflicts and Struggles in Asia”. As a leader of the campaign against the dam, Canlas was among the key resource persons for the research done on the Balog-Balog case.
Canlas is fighting for the more than 2,000 families of peasants and indigenous peoples from about 33 sitios (a territory within a village) feared to be displaced by the construction of the Balog-Balog dam. Thus, tens of thousands of rural people affected by Balog-Balog dam are also in a way attacked with his arrest and detention.
We echo the call of many civil society groups worldwide and of various UN human rights bodies for a stop on the apparent political repression of activists in the Philippines, including leaders and members of cause-oriented peasant groups.
Free Joseph Canlas and respect the Filipino farmers’ legitimate right to oppose land and resource grabbing. ###
Reference: Sarojeni Rengam, PANAP executive director, nolandnolife@panap.net
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