Protesters hound Arroyo in New Zealand forum

Activists in New Zealand met President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was to attend inter-faith dialogue with banners and crosses denouncing extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Militants placed banners reading "Stop the Killings, Gloria" and "Stop the Killings in the Philippines" near the venue, according to the National Distribution Center. In a statement on the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) website (kilusangmayouno.org), the group said several dozen white crosses were also planted in the ground at the entry to the treaty grounds. The crosses, it said, were meant to symbolize 858 extra-judicial killings since Mrs Arroyo assumed power in 2001. The group also showed photographs of slain Aglipayan bishop Alberto Ramento and other victims. For her part, Mrs Arroyo has insisted that there has been progress in addressing extrajudicial killings and said she welcomed the help of other nations, including New Zealand, in helping put a stop to the slays. Jane Kelsey, a law professor, said that the crosses planted at the entry to the Copthorne Hotel made it impossible for Arroyo to miss the protest when she arrived to address the conference. "Our noisy reception sent President Arroyo a clear message to stop the killings, for which the UN rapporteur holds her ultimately responsible ... Equally, (New Zealand Prime Minister) Helen Clark was challenged for hosting someone with a proven record of gross human rights violations," she said. She added it is no longer acceptable for the Prime Minister to claim that she has raised these issues with Arroyo. A local Maori leader, Arthur Harawira, welcomed and led the protest on his ancestral grounds. Harawira drew links between the struggles of Maori with the struggles of the indigenous peoples and workers in the Philippines. "I challenge the hypocrisy of the New Zealand government for holding this event on the sacred grounds of Waitangi in an attempt to give legitimacy to an illegitimate occasion," he said. Dennis Maga, spokesman of the "Free Ka Bel" movement, urged inter-faith participants not to sit at the table with governments, like that of Arroyo. He cited the "arrest" of UCCP pastor Berlin Guerrero, whom he said was abducted and found tortured by the Philippine National Police and charged with inciting to sedition dating back to 1991 and 1992. "This reality flies in the face of President Arroyo's assurances repeated at the press conference yesterday that her government was fighting to improve its record in the killings," he said. Meanwhile, the KMU warned immigration officials and Malacañang to refrain from any form of harassment or arrest against Maga upon his arrival from New Zealand on June 2. "Reliable sources have informed us that the Philippine government is planning to arrest Dennis Maga upon his arrival from New Zealand on June 2. Obviously, Arroyo was embarrassed in New Zealand that's why Malacañang is posing to arrest Maga and further suppress the advocates of democracy," said KMU International Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Dioquino. Maga was among the protesters who rallied against Arroyo at the Parliament during her state visit to New Zealand. He had himself placed inside a cage that was placed outside the New Zealand Parliament as his symbolic protest against the Philippine government's continued detention of Beltran. The incident stirred massive media mileage from New Zealand, Philippine and international media. -GMANews.TV