Accents
The rule of law
Bluffton, South Carolina, USA—Today Dec.10, as I write this, is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day. A historic date, it is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) when the United Nations General Assembly called upon its Member Countries to publicize the text of the Declaration, "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded…" as what I'm putting in now.
Lines from the PREAMBLE give us pause to see where the Arroyo government has failed the people: "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world/ Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people/Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, human rights should be protected by the rule of law…" (underscoring supplied) The UDHR Preamble along with the Articles goes on intense and profound, and leave us with unanswered questions.
Where was the rule of law when Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado disappeared on the face of the earth? Snatched from the dead of night in my hometown, Oton in Iloilo on April 12, 2007. Will one Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo please answer that? Luisa is/was (don't wanna use past tense, meaning dead? already rotting six feet under the ground?) the spokesperson of SELDA (Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya ). Nilo is/was (again the confusing tense) a national council member of AnakPawis (Peasant Organization), a party-list in Congress.
Where was the fundamental, sacred, revered rule of law when activist Jonas Burgos and the rest of the 201 desaparecidos disappeared in thin air? Or the 977 cases of extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings from Jan. 2001 to Oct. 2008? All occurring during the 8-year reign of Her Glory. Figures are from Karapatan, the "alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people's organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people's rights and civil liberties." If Arroyo is too busy to be bothered by questions such as these, she certainly has all the time in the world to answer and explain to the victims' loved ones when she steps down from Malacanang in 2010. The distressed (and bereaved?) relatives demand explanations.
Two articles in the UDHR are very explicit and need to be implanted in the skulls of those who, with the barrel of the gun, take the law into their own hands: Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. Fair and public hearing! I toast to the beauty of that phrase. Not snatching their victims or exterminating them in the dead of night.
I say, hale Luisa and Nilo to court for whatever wrongdoing they might have committed. Hale activist Jonas Burgos to court and show where he erred. Give the protesters, dissenters, the rebels their day in court. Give them a court trial, yes, try them, and let justice be done—indeed, the civilized thing to do, the democratic thing to do. We live in a democracy, don't we? I still believe that, although many have gone callous and believe otherwise—especially because the very people who are mandated to uphold the rule of law are the ones who break it. Law-enforcers become law-breakers. To the law-abiding, those who apply the fundamental, sacred, revered rule of law, my apologies.
Relevant to quote excerpts from the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on the UDHR 60th anniversary: "All across the world, a growing number of journalists, NGOs and other civil society organizations exert ever greater and more effective vigilance over their governments' implementation of human rights. The advent of the Internet means that those who wish to abuse their citizens behind closed doors find it much harder to do so, and those who wish to expose such abuses can do so more easily. Nevertheless, for many people, the Universal Declaration remains an unfulfilled promise, as States' political will to fulfil their obligations lags lamentably behind their pledges." (again underscoring supplied)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has the Arroyo government right on target for the transgressions committed within an 8-year period. It must shed light to the 201 desaparecidos and 977 extrajudicial killings, and numerous other human rights violations that took place during the term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: illegal arrest, illegal detention, illegal search and seizure, torture, etc. all documented by Karapatan. Of course, the rule of law should be observed—fair and public hearing for the suspected perpetrators of the aforementioned crimes. And if found guilty, let justice be done, though the heavens fall. (Email: lagoc@hargray.com)