PENANG, Malaysia – In a letter addressed to the Philippines’ justice ministry and human rights body, civil society leaders in Asia called for a probe on the brutal killing of peasant advocate Randall Echanis.
Echanis was killed inside his home on August 10 by still unknown assailants. Human rights and farmers’ groups in the Philippines believe that Echanis’s murder was a case of extrajudicial killing. Echanis was the deputy secretary-general of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP).
“We respectfully ask your office to investigate the brutal killing of Mr. Echanis and hold the perpetrators accountable. It is imperative that people responsible for his death be identified, apprehended, prosecuted and jailed,” read part of the letter endorsed by members of the Steering Council (SC) of the regional network PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP).
The letter was addressed to Secretary Menardo Guevarra of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Chito Gascon. KMP is a longtime partner of PANAP, including in its regional campaign against land grabbing and rural repression.
The PANAP SC members who signed the appeal were Mr. Anwal Fazar of the Friends of the Earth (FOE), Malaysia; Dr. Fatima Burnad of the Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED), India; Ms. Glorene Das of Tenaganita, Malaysia; Mr. Jayakumar Chelaton of Thanal, India; Ms. Satnam Kaur, Malaysia; Ms. Nasira Habib of Khoj Society for People’s Education, Pakistan; Dr. Romeo Quijano of PAN Philippines; Dr. Koa Tasaka of PAN Japan; and Ms. Sarojeni Rengam, PANAP executive director.
“We are deeply alarmed by allegations that the murder of Mr. Echanis was a case of extrajudicial killing amid reports from the Philippines of persistent assaults on the rights of rural sectors and their advocates”, the PANAP letter further read.
The regional group noted that based on its monitoring of killings and other human rights violations that are related to land conflicts, “the Philippines has figured prominently in the past few years in terms of the number of victims who were farmers, farm workers, indigenous people and land rights activists.”
“We hope that your prompt action would help ensure that justice will ultimately prevail for Mr. Echanis,” the civil society leaders concluded in their appeal to the DOJ and CHR.
Based in Penang, Malaysia, PANAP campaigns for food sovereignty and supports the call for genuine agrarian reform and rural development in Asia Pacific. It is also dedicated to the elimination of harm upon humans and the environment by pesticide use and the promotion of biodiversity-based ecological agriculture. ###
Reference: Sarojeni Rengam, PAN Asia Pacific, Executive Director, sarojeni.rengam@panap.net
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