International pressure to release ‘Morong 43’ mounts

International pressure to release the so-called Morong 43 continues to mount on the first month of the health workers’ detention, including calls from a group of international lawyers for the Philippine government to “respect the rule of law." “We call on the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to respect the rule of law and to instruct its military and police to respect the basic rights of its citizens irrespective of the trumped-up charges and fabricated evidence against these health workers," said the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) in a statement released Saturday. The group also expressed outrage against alleged human rights violations against the 43 health workers, who were arrested last month in Morong town in Rizal province on suspicion that they are members and supporters of the communist movement. Lawyers and families of the workers, which include two doctors, a nurse and a midwife, insist that those arrested were doing legitimate health training. The Belgium-based IADL vowed to assist the detainees’ lawyers in seeking justice and help put a stop to what they called “brazen display of impunity" by the military. IADL, an organization of lawyers from over 80 countries, currently holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Children’s Fund. As this developed, a workers’ union in North America claiming to be the biggest with 2.2 million members has asked the United States government to assist in ensuring that the rights of due process for the health workers are protected. In its letter to Kurt Campbell, US Department of State’s assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) expressed concern with the 43 detainees’ case, citing Filipino-American health workers who are union members. “The Morong 43 should be released unless the police obtain valid, legally obtained evidence that merits their being arrested in accordance with Philippine law," the union wrote. A Canada-based religious group has likewise joined calls for the release of the 43. Kairos Canada, an ecumenical justice initiative, voiced concerns over reports of torture and indignities which the health workers continue to be subjected to a month after their arrest. Apart from calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the 43, Kairos-Canada also urge the government to “ensure the safety of these detainees, provide unlimited access to their family members and legal counsel while in custody of the military," and “conduct an impartial investigation into the legality of their arrest and detention, and the allegation of torture and indignities inflicted on them while in detention." It also called on President Arroyo, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to protect the citizens from persecution, intimidation and violence, and to ensure that violence and fraud do not mar the national elections in May. - Jerrie Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV