Palace exec: PHL's absence at Nobel rites not a big issue

UPDATED 5:30 p.m. - The Philippines' decision to skip the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo should not be treated as a big issue, a Palace official said on Thursday. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang pointed out that attendance at the ceremony was optional. He also said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was the best authority to speak about the issue. "From what I understand our ambassador to Norway is going to be attending another function at hindi siya makakapunta sa Peace Prize awarding. The attendance of that is optional so I dont think that's going to be, that should be a big issue," Carandang said in an ambush interview in Malacañang on Thursday. Human rights activists earlier slammed the Philippine government, an American ally which prides itself for being pro-democracy, for not sending a representative to the Nobel ceremony in Oslo, Norway on December 10. "The Philippines prides itself on its democratic values, which is why it is shocking to see this government turning its back on Liu Xiaobo's nonviolent struggle for free expression in China," said Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, in a statement. The Philippines is among 19 countries that will be skipping the ceremony "for various reasons." Aside from the Philippines, these countries are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iraq , Iran, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco. "Chinese pressure" The Center for International Law earlier issued a statement urging the Philippine government not to bow to Chinese pressure to withdraw its participation in the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremonies. "More than ever, we are called to uphold free expression is a cornerstone of democracy," said Prof. Harry Roque, Centerlaw chairperson. "The last thing the Philippines should be known for is as a supporter to the repressive policies of the Chinese government," he said. The idea of China possibly exerting pressure on other countries is not novel. In a leaked diplomatic cable uploaded by WikiLeaks early this month, the US embassy in Beijing told Washington in January 2009 that China might exert "economic pressure" on the Philippines. According to the cable message, China might put pressure on the Philippines to gain support against Japan's rising military strength in the Asia-Pacific region and the US' own military initiatives. Carandang, however, said he was "not aware of any pressure from China for us not to attend." No Philippine representative The DFA had earlier refused to say whether Beijing, a key trading partner, had pressured Manila to stay away from the event. DFA spokesman Ed Malaya said in a statement to the Associated Press that he can confirm only that no Philippine representative would attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The DFA, and not Malacanang, made the decision to decline the invitation to attend the Nobel rites, according to a New York Times report that quoted a senior adviser of the president. In an interview with reporters on Thursday, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III kept saying he would have to refer to the DFA when asked about the decision to skip the Nobel rites. "Can I just check with the DFA just to make sure? That would be in their purview more than mine," Aquino answered when asked whether the decision to skip the ceremonies was made in support of the China-led "boycott" of the event. Citing various reports, the New York Times said the DFA decided to skip the event to avoid annoying China, as relations between the Philippine and Chinese governments were already strained after the August 23 hostage crisis in Manila where eight Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, as well as the Filipino hostage-taker, were killed. The Philippine government tried to seek an audience with leaders in China to explain the penalties Aquino decided to mete out to those involved in the bus siege. However, the Chinese government reportedly could not accommodate into its schedule the Philippine delegation led by Vice-President Jejomar Binay that was supposed to fly to China. Nobel Peace Prize The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2010 to Liu for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. Liu took part in the Tiananmen protests in 1989 and was a leading author behind Charter 08, the manifesto of such rights in China. This manifesto was published on December 10, 2008 — the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following year, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison and two years’ deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power." He consistently maintained that the sentence violates both international human rights charters and China’s own constitution. – VVP, GMANews.TV