We express deep concern about the reported incidents of surveillance and red tagging that Danilo Ramos, chairperson of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP), has recently faced. As fellow advocates of rural peoples’ rights, food sovereignty, agroecology, and genuine agrarian reform, we believe that such blatant acts of harassment put Ramos’s life at risk and undermine the legitimate peasant rights and demands, such as the right to land, that he and KMP stand for.
Red tagging of activists, including peasant leaders like Ramos, is alarmingly pervasive in the Philippines. The country’s human rights and cause-oriented groups point to the government’s anti-communist insurgency task force behind the campaign that targets critical organizations and individuals. Many cases of human rights violations, including political killings, involve activists red-tagged by the government. We are outraged that Ramos is facing real threats to his life for standing up for the rights of landless Filipino peasants.
Red tagging links activist leaders like Ramos to the more than five-decade-old communist insurgency in the Philippines. This armed struggle, led by the country’s poor and landless peasants, has been fueled by systemic oppression, exploitation, and poverty. We recognize the right of peasants and all peoples to wage war against a system that oppresses, exploits, and chains them to utter destitution. But as KMP chairperson, Ramos is not an armed participant in this war. Red tagging sets him up as a fair target for state forces, which is condemnable.
We take note of the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in her recent visit to the Philippines. In her report, Khan called for abolishing the government’s anti-communism task force, stressing that red tagging suppresses political activism and freedom of expression. Her report echoed an earlier call by the UNSR on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change Ian Fry, who visited the country last year. Fry pointed out that red tagging made people suffer dramatically. We support these calls by the UN experts on human rights to stop red tagging and abolish state instruments that perpetrate it.
We demand that those behind the surveillance, intimidation, and red-tagging of Ramos to stop their nefarious activities immediately and be held accountable.
We ask the Philippine government to guarantee that Ramos will not be harmed because of his political activism and role in country’s peasant movement for genuine agrarian reform.
We appeal to policymakers to repeal oppressive laws like the Anti-Terrorism Act and Executive Order No. 70 (which created the anti-insurgency task force) that justify such attacks on the civil and political rights of the Filipino people.
Finally, we urge the Philippine government to divert its attention and resources to addressing the structural issues that feed the peasant unrest in the country instead of targeting unarmed civilians advocating for peasant rights.
Hands off Danilo Ramos, stop the attacks!
Links:
Factsheets on the Jan 3 and Jan 15 incidents of harassment and surveillance against Danilo Ramos
Urgent Appeal for Action: Hands-Off Danilo Ramos
Signed by:
- Asian Peasant Coalition (APC)
- Asian Rural Women’s Coalition (ARWC)
- Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI)
- PAN Asia Pacific
- People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
- Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), Bangladesh
- Andhra Pradesh Vyavsaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), India
- National Alliance of Agriculture Allied Workers Union (NAAWU), India
- National Agricultural Workers Forum, India
- Society for Rural Education and Development, India
- Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA), Indonesia
- Bina Desa, Indonesia
- INDIES, Indonesia
- JPIC Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Seruni, Indonesia
- Setara Jambi, Indonesia
- Yayasan CAPPA Keadilan Ekologi, Indonesia
- Bir Duino, Kyrgyzstan
- North South Initiative, Malaysia
- Tenaganita, Malaysia
- Caritas Nepal
- Social Work Institute (SWI), Nepal
- Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC), Nepal
- Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT), Pakistan
- Roots for Equity, Pakistan
- Sojhla for Social Change, Pakistan
- IGOROTA Foundation, Philippines
- MASIPAG, Philippines
- Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Philippines
- Council for People’s Development and Governance, Philippines
- National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), Sri Lanka
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