Rights group calls on Aquino to end killings
In the wake of the killing of three activists and a journalist since June 30, a United States-based human rights group called on President Benigno Aquino III to take immediate steps to fulfill his promise of ending such incidents. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said ending the killings should now top Aquino's agenda, while reforms should promote accountability and disband "death squads." "President Aquino takes office at a time when the Philippines faces daunting human rights challenges. Now he needs to turn his promises into action by taking immediate steps to end the widespread killings and hold the killers and those who deploy them accountable," Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in an article posted on the HRW website. The HRW also sent a letter to Malacañang outlining possible measures for Aquino to take in stopping the killings. It lamented that since June 9, when Congress proclaimed Aquino the 15th president, three journalists and a key witness to the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre have been killed. Since Aquino's inauguration on June 30, another journalist and three leftist activists have been killed. The latest killing occurred Friday last week when an activist-teacher was killed following an ambush in Masbate province. (See: Activist killed, third since Aquino assumed office) The former lawyer of a massacre witness and a journalist survived separate murder attempts, it added. On Monday, Aquino told the Armed Forces of the Philippines to prioritize human rights after the string of extrajudicial killings during his first week in office. Aquino is commander-in-chief of the military and police. (See: Make human rights a priority, Aquino tells AFP top brass) Letter to Aquino The HRW, in a letter signed by executive director Kenneth Roth, called on Aquino to take six specific steps to combat extrajudicial killings. "Until these killings and enforced disappearances are effectively, impartially, and transparently investigated, perpetrators are held fully accountable, and the military genuinely recognizes its subordination to civilian authority, an ultimate return to high levels of extrajudicial killings seems inevitable. The experience of the Philippines in the 1990s, when extrajudicial killings also dropped significantly and then returned with a vengeance, serves as a warning," Roth said. (View letter here.) "We urge you not to follow in the footsteps of the Arroyo government, which created an appearance of combating abuses by generating numerous commissions and taskforces, while ignoring genuine structural reforms recommended by United Nations bodies, human rights organizations, and the government's own Melo Commission. You and your government should immediately initiate and implement the comprehensive reforms needed," he added. The suggested measures include: