International Women's Day marchers beaten up in Manila

Some 300 militant women tried to march to Mendiola near Malacanang to mark International Women's Day but got a beating from riot police instead, dzBB radio reported Thursday. Traffic was snarled near the corner of Recto and Morayta Streets in Manila as Manila Police District riot police clashed with about 300 marchers following a shoving match. Militant women's groups, joined by the Alliance of Progressive Labor, tried to march to Mendiola but riot police blocked their path at the corner of Morayta and Recto. Police allowed them to hold their program at the corner but the militants insisted on marching to Mendiola. Before this incident, women's group Gabriela issued a statement condemning government action against women. “As the Arroyo government unleashes its own brand of terrorism on women, the hundreds of thousands of Gabriela members all over the country remain steadfast in our fight to resist the government’s attacks on our lives," Emmi de Jesus, Gabriela’s secretary general, said. In Metro Manila, members of Gabriela started their commemoration of Women’s Day at dawn by paying tribute to women martyrs at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City. The women’s group afterwards tied purple and red ribbons by the roads leading to Liwasang Bonifacio where Gabriela members and allies plan to assemble. The women protesters denounced the enactment of the Human Security Act as a cover to legitimize the government’s intensifying violation of the people’s civil liberties and democratic rights. The women’s group also said that the smear campaign against their organization is nothing new. “We are being attacked because we raise the legitimate issues of Filipino women, which is precisely why, despite decades of attempts to besmirch us, our organization continues to grow and strengthen," said de Jesus. - GMANews.TV