Migrante Europe

Author: MigranteEurope

Haiyan’s first anniversary

One Year of Anguish, Desperation and Abandonment…What does the future hold for Haiyan’s Survivors?

It has been a year ago, on 08 November 2013, since Haiyan struck Eastern Visayas, It was the strongest typhoon on record to ever hit the Philippines.

In the city of Tacloban, almost nothing was left, only destroyed establishments and livelihood, wrecked houses and vehicles, and lifeless bodies, an estimate of 10,000 dead. .

Survivors had to contend with cold and hunger — there was no food, no clean water. Facilities and medicines for the injured was so scarce that a lot more died even after the typhoon. “The Aquino government was very slow to respond, and the survivors were neglected and abandoned!” said by Sister Stella Matutina OSB of RMP and SAMIN, during a human rights forum last May in Rome.

Foreign aid for the Haiyan victims came from international communities, the British public alone gave £25 Million. Were these financial aid really distributed to the rightful recipients?

Philippine Congress has passed a P14.6 B (US$324 Million) supplemental budget for the survivors and the Aquino government has received a pledge of P24.9 B (US$553Million). Where are these funds now?

After one year of promised funds and new homes, the Yolanda survivors have received practically nothing from the Aquino government. Some may be fortunate to rebuild their homes and livelihood, but a great majority are still living in tents and sub-standard temporary shelters. They have no electricity, no sanitation facilities, no running water, and no hope of receiving aid from the Aquino government.

The Yolanda victims needed help a year ago and they still need help and our solidarity now!

On Sunday, November 9, 2014, in Rome, there will be a Tribute for Yolanda victims during the Cultural Night with Inter-ethnic group and Italian friends. This event is organized by the Metropolitan Council (Consiglio Metropolitano), in collaboration with other migrant groups, UMANGAT-Migrante and ICHRP Rome.

Press Statement
November 9, 2014

Buboy Salle
Spokesperson, ICHRP Rome
Cel: +39 329 3289652

8 November 2014
Mapping the European Union’s Massive Crackdown on Immigrants

This month saw the largest single-operation crackdown on undocumented immigrants in European Union history. Dubbed “Mos Maiorum” (a Latin phrase referring to the “ancestral custom” of the Roman Empire), the initiative, which ran from October 13 to October 26, saw EU member states join forces to clamp down on illegal immigration and the organized criminal syndicates that facilitate it.

Operations of this kind happen twice a year and are growing in size as the number of migrants in Europe increases. But this was the first time people knew it was going to happen in advance, thanks to some documents from the European Council published by the Statewatch website in July. The documents stated that border guards were to reprimand immigrants and record information relating to ethnicity in a bid to better understand the flow of immigrants into and across Europe—and in order to eventually plug up that flow.

The publication of the documents gave migrant solidarity activists time to develop a tool that enabled people to track the goings-on of law enforcement as they happened. Called Map Mos Maiorum!, the live map, which was created by a group associated with the Berlin-based anti-racism collective Nadir, let people see pictures, read testimonies, and receive updates when Mos Maiorum activity was reported. If the reports are anything to go by, this activity mostly involved cops hassling people getting on public transport to produce their IDs and arresting them if they failed to come up with the goods. As you can imagine, in many cases the police were accused of using racial profiling in the process.

“We wanted to make this visible to people,” explained Alex, a representative from Nadir. “It would be great if we could reach the immigrants themselves with this information, as a kind of warning, but for many reasons this is not possible at the moment. Instead, we wanted those people whose countries were investing in this initiative to know what was going on.”

The operation was started by the Italian Presidency of the EU Council and the Italian Ministry of the Interior, in association with Frontex, the EU agency for border security. Frontex has stressed that it merely served an advisory role in the operation. Nevertheless, its involvement has raised eyebrows; the agency has faced criticism because there’s a perception that it cares more about border enforcement than tackling human trafficking and upholding human rights. Its rescue work is often regarded as being incidental to giving vulnerable migrants a hard time.

Take Frontex’s Operation Archimedes, for example. Carried out in September by Europol with the cooperation of 34 EU member states, its aim as outlined by the authorities was to infiltrate and eradicate organized crime. Yet of the 1,150 arrests made, only 90 were related tohuman trafficking, with the vast majority being dealt to those guilty of and facilitating illegal immigration. This has given rise to the belief that the initiative was in fact an excuse to increase border security, and gather information relating to immigration routes, under the guise of a pan-European anti-trafficking and crime initiative. It is predicted that the number of migrants affected by Mos Maiorum will be at least double that of Archimedes, which only lasted one week.

Alex admitted that the Mos Maiorum map wasn’t complete. “What is shown on the map is still only a small part of the whole picture, because we do not receive reports of all of the controls,” he said. “We don’t have good connections in Eastern Europe, for instance. Language barriers are a problem, and we do not have connections to activist movements in every country.”

Nevertheless, there has been quite a lot of international cooperation, leading to the operation being healthily documented. “People and organizations from all over Europe are helping us,” he said. “There is a very active group in Sweden and many in Italy and also France. These groups documented these controls and regularly contributed to the map. But by far the most common report has been from anonymous individuals. It’s a crowdfunded project, and we receive donations from all over Europe.” In addition, protests against Mos Maiorum were coordinated in Germany, Sweden, and Brussels.

Italy, which kicked off the initiative, bears the brunt of immigration from Tunisia and Libya, with migrants crossing the Mediterranean, where they are commonly held on the island of Lampedusa, whose coasts have witnessed a series of tragedies, most infamously the drowning of 300 Eritrean immigrants in October last year. Frontex has largely failed to curtail this. Fortress Europe is reinforcing its balustrades to an ever-growing number of displaced people in a seemingly unwinnable struggle.

As the number of migrants grows, it seems that the EU is toughening its stance on immigration. The European Commission is already developing an electronic entry/exit system to prevent immigrants from overstaying their visas. Several member states are pushing for this to include the gathering of fingerprints and medical details from non-European passport holders. These details could then be shared with law enforcement agencies. The mass retention of personal data has been criticized by the European Court of Justice, but the Italian government thinks it has already found a way around their legal objections. Mos Maiorum might be the biggest initiative in the EU’s ongoing pushback against undocumented immigrants, but it seems that it could be only a taste of what’s to come.# (photo from website)

http://www.vice.com/read/the-eu-held-its-biggest-ever-anti-immigrant-crackdown-933
By Nathalie Olah
Oct 28 2014

28 October 2014
We condemn EU’s anti-migrant ” Mos Maiorum ” – ILPS

ILPS-Phils Statement
23 October 2014

The ILPS-Philippines joins migrant Filipinos in condemning before the European Union Office in the Philippines the on-going police operations launched by 26 European countries to detect, detain and deport what they brand as “irregular migrants”.

This herding cracked by the whip of the incumbent Italian presidency of the Council of the EU is particularly vile. It coined the operations as “Mos Maiorum” (ancestral custom, way of the elders or social mores of ancient Rome). It harks back to Imperial Rome whose “legal citizens” are only those ruling inside the city walls and living by the sweat of slaves. All others are “barbarians” and deserve to be expelled or conquered by the sword, this time by the Carabinieri and 20,000 troops.

The current immigration problem in Europe comes not from discrimination alone but from the crisis itself of modern imperialism. The most recent influx of European immigrants came from the implosion of the Soviet Union and the Balkanization of Eastern Europe. The current surge of immigrants into Europe, and more particularly Italy, comes mainly from the conflict areas such as Syria and Eritrea – countries whose peoples have fallen prey to imperialist wars of intervention and aggression.

Migrants are not questions of security and criminality. They are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa. They grow with the inequalities and underdevelopment under imperialist rule from Latin America to Asia.

According to the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. In 2013 alone, there were 17 million people fleeing. “Fortress Europe” has not stemmed this stream of human beings even with costly walls.

About two billion Euros were invested in the buffer zone around EU. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euros. Europe launched Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next six years approximately 250 million Euros.

According to research, the amount of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is an over-kill. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria, even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.

To solve the “illegal” migrant problem with detect-detain-deport solutions will only repeat and compound the problem. The migrant problem, from outside Europe, and from within Europe itself, must be approached with full respect for refugee and migrants rights.

When Jean-Claude Juncker won the backing of the European Parliament to become the new head of the EU Commission, he promised a complete restructuring of the financial supervision by the “Troika” – the EU, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. This is a step in the right direction. However, this should not be for their own “democracy” but for more democracy by the direct actions of migrants and the peoples of host nations in Europe.

23 October 2014
Migrante International condemns criminalization of undocumented migrants in EU-wide crackdown

October 20, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reference: Sarah Katrina Maramag, Campaign Coordinator, 0921-7417469

Global alliance of overseas Filipinos Migrante International condemns in strongest terms the ongoing crackdowns resulting in the criminalization of undocumented migrants and refugees being implemented by the European Union.

The EU-wide crackdown called “MOS MAIORUM” has launched massive police operations to hunt down undocumented or irregular migrants and refugees in the region. Operations have started last October 13 and is set to end on October 26. MOS MAIORUM has been approved by the Council of the European Union last July 10, 2014 and is being implemented under Italy’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Overseas Filipino workers and Filipino migrants in Europe have expressed grave concern as more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed in massive operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, main roads and highways to house raids. The main objective of the operations is to actively hunt down undocumented migrants and arrest as many as possible within the time frame of its implementation.

“We call on the European Union to call for a stop this inhumane operation. Under the guise of going after crime and trafficking syndicates, MOS MAIORUM is giving license to EU authorities and police to indiscriminately arrest and violate the rights of irregular migrants, and promote xenophobia and racial discrimination,” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.

Martinez said that MOS MAIORUM is in direct violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. These conventions do not discriminate against undocumented and irregular migrant workers, he said.

“Being undocumented is never reason to be stripped of one’s fundamental human rights. Undocumented migrants and refugees, who inevitably provide solutions to labor shortages or the clamor for cheap labor in host countries, especially in times of economic crisis, should not be marginalized and exploited. They are already less able to assert their claims and are more vulnerable to abuses. MOS MAIORUM will only make them more susceptible to grave abuses and human rights violations.”

Martinez said that while they fully support moves to prevent human trafficking, Migrante believes that MOS MAIORUM will not solve but rather further exacerbate the problem. Instead of arresting irregular migrants and treating them as criminals, their status should be rectified because it makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by crime syndicates.

Further, MOS MAIORUM is being implemented at a time when health epidemics, civil wars and conflicts in the Middle East-North Africa region and elsewhere in the world continue. Millions of people are on the run because of these. Such a situation makes it a tool for crime and trafficking syndicates to intensify their activities. Constricting borders and implementing stringent immigration policies will not only cost lives but will also worsen trafficking in persons in the region, Martinez said.

Migrante International supports the international campaign for the de-criminalization and legalization of undocumented migrants and refugees.

According to December 2011 data of the Department of Foreign Affairs, there is an estimated 746,701 Filipinos in Europe, 138,088 are undocumented. ###

Website: http://migranteinternational.org
Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
Telefax: 9114910

20 October 2014
Stop the criminalization of undocumented migrants! Stop the “Mos Maiorum!” No to creeping fascization in Europe!

We, the undersigned organizations, view with grave concern the plan of the Council of the European Union to launch a Joint Police Operation called Operation “Mos Maiorum” in the EU countries, from October 13-26, 2014.

We are concerned that in the guise of going after organized crime syndicates involved in the traffic of drugs and humans, the operation is used to indiscriminately round up irregular migrants who are merely doing socially necessary work that benefit the countries in Europe.   Their irregular status is not of their own fault but the result of erroneous policies stemming from xenophobia and narrow nationalism instigated by extreme right-wing and neo-fascist political parties. Instead of deporting them and treating them as criminals, their irregular status should in fact be immediately rectified because it makes them vulnerable to abuse.

Since 9/11, a climate of fear and intolerance has been created oftentimes encouraged by governments to justify the enactment of draconian laws and measures and make them acceptable to their citizens.   The EU Return Directive is one such measure that rides on this climate of fear and intolerance, treats irregular migrants as criminals and leads to the setting up of fortress Europe.

This EU Return Directive has set a dangerous tone that has given rise to a myriad of stringent measures resorted to by EU states that run counter to the letter and spirit of universally recognized conventions on human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We, organizations of migrants and advocates for migrants rights, see a dangerous trend of the EU countries turning into police states brandishing absolute powers to search, question, secure personal details, arrest, detain and deport persons without due process.

There are enough effective means available to the states and their agencies to fight against criminal syndicates. Governments must resort to those means that effectively zero in on the target and catches the real criminals. They should not resort to shotgun methods that victimize innocent people. The planned Joint Police Operation “Mos Maiorum” is one such shotgun method.

We remind governments to abide by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, among others.

We call on all concerned citizens, individuals, organizations and institutions to join hands in opposing this measure and for calling for an immediate stop to this dangerous police action against migrants. We call on progressive politicians and political parties to throw their weight behind our call. We call on human rights groups, migrant advocates, anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations to oppose this Operation “Mos Maiorum” and defend the rights of migrants against oppressive laws and measures!

1 October 2014

Signatories:

(International)
*THE REVEREND CANON BARRY NAYLOR
Urban Canon and Parish Priest
Chaplain to Trinity Hospital
Chairperson, Global Council -International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
Honorary Chairperson of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)

(Europewide)
*International Migrants Alliance-Europe Chapter
*MIGRANTE Europe

(Asia-Pacific)
*Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants-Hong Kong

(The Netherlands)
*Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
*Migrante-Netherlands (Amsterdam)
*Migrante-Netherlands (Den Haag)
*SAMAKA
*Pinay sa Holland
*Stichting LINANGAN (Cultural Network)
*Filipino Parish Netherlands

(United Kingdom)
*SHEILA TILAN
Chair,    Kanlungan Filipino Consortium-United Kingdom
*PHOEBE DIMACALI
Chair, Filipino Domestic Workers Association-United Kingdom

(Italy)
*LUZ MIRIAM JARAMILLO
Comitato Immigrati In Italia C.I.I.
Chair, International Migrants Alliance-Europe
Member, International Coordinating Body-IMA
*Umangat-Migrante Rome
*ICHRP-Rome
*Sri Lankan Front for Liberation
*Belarmino Saguing
*Makabayang Atas ng Supremo Andress Bonifacio (MASA) – Rome
*Dr. Carlos Tobar, PRESIDENTE ASO. MISIL
*Martin Carruba, Movimento Democratico per un Mondo Senza Confini

(Belgium)
*Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium

(Denmark)
*Migrante-Denmark
*Radio Pinoy 95.5 Fm./95.2 Hybrid Net,Copenhagen,Denmark

(Philippines)
*Migrante International
*MIGRANTE Party List-Philippines

(Austria)
MIGRANTE-Austria

(Greece)
*Greek Forum of Migrants

14 October 2014
“Mos Maiorum”: Yet another criminalization of people on the run

On the 13th of October, a large-scale European police operation starts that targets undocumented migrants.

It has become a tradition. Each time a country receives the presidency of the EU, it launches a large-scale action against migrants. Coincidence or not, with Latin or Old Greek names. Aerodromos, Aphrodite, Perkunas are the names of the actions of Greece, Cyprus and Lithuania respectively during their presidencies.

On the 10th of July, not even two weeks after Italy got the presidency of the EU, a police operation was announced. This action will be led by the Italian Ministry of Interior Affairs in ‘close cooperation’ with Frontex, Europol and the Schengen member states. The action received the name Mos Maiorum, which literally means ‘custom of the ancestors’. It refers to the first centuries of the Roman Republic.

In not one European media, mainstream or alternative, nor from any politician, have you heard about Mos Maiorum. In practice, between the 13th and 26th of October, approximately 20.000 police officers will be deployed in operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, highways to house searches. The main aim is to gain a better insight in the migration routes and to arrest as many undocumented migrants as possible.

The operation is presented as prevention against organized crime and human trafficking, but we know from the past that this is just an excuse. During previous operations, practically no human traffickers were arrested; only undocumented migrants who ended up in detention centers and ultimately were deported. In addition, Europe wants to extend the databases of Frontex and Europol through these kinds of operations.

Refugees are seen as a threat. The new migration streams are presented as questions of security and criminality while they are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa.

Since World War II, there has never been these many refugees. According to numbers of the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. Only in 2013, 17 million people were on the run. In Europe, we are convinced that all refugees of the world are coming here. However, in 2013, there were only 435.385 applications for asylum in the 28 European member states. Not that big of a deal.

On the other hand, Europe is the most dangerous destination for people on the run. According to research, since 2000 at least 40.000 migrants lost their lives on the way to Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has become a mass grave. This has to do with Fortress Europe. European countries and the EU have invested billions of Euros to protect their borders. In the buffer zone around the EU approximately 2 billion Euros were invested. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euro. Europe launched last year Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next 6 years approximately 250 million Euro. The number of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is exaggerated. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.

The security and criminalization policies that Europe is executing and operations such as Mos Maiorum are a violation of the European Agreement to protect human rights, in particular the right to freedom and security. According to researchers and refugee organizations, human traffickers are the ones that take advantage of the current European policy. As soon as a route is closed, the smugglers are looking for new routes that are more dangerous and more expensive for migrants.

It is evident that action should be taken against human traffickers. But to achieve this, operations such as Mos Maiorum are not necessary. There are sufficient laws at the level of states and at the European level to tackle crime. Police and justice need to be more effective. The top persons of human trafficking are still walking the streets and we know who they are.

There are millions of people on the run because of wars, but since recently the amount of refugees is even greater because of natural disasters. The billions of Euros that are spent on the security of borders, could be used to establish legal trajectories to Europe. By enabling safe access routes, not only more lives will be saved, but it will also help to fight human trafficking.

The current European policy considers migrants as a threat, but without them Europe would be in an even deeper crisis. Tens of recent reports and researchers demonstrate that migrants play a crucial role in the European economy. In the UK, for instance, migrants have contributed 32 billion Euros to the economy. In the new Swedish government, there are four ministers with a migration background. Aida Hadzialic arrived at the age of 5 as a refugee from Bosnia and at age 26 she is the youngest minister in the government. Migrants are people who want an opportunity, but today these opportunities are taken away by Europe, while it actually really needs these people.

Bleri Lleshi is a political philosopher and author of various books.

Translated to English from Dutch by Natalie Lefevre

http://blerilleshi.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/Bleri.Lleshi
@blerilleshi

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8 October 2014
EU-wide crackdown on irregular immigration on the way

Africa-news.eu

Human rights organisations have strongly condemned the EU’s plan to launch a massive EU-wide police operation called “MOS MAIORUM” to hunt irregular immigrants from 13th to 26th October 2014.

The operation, which was approved by the Council of the European Union on 10th July 2014, will be implemented in the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

According to the Council of the European Union, the “MOS MAIORUM” operation will be “aiming at weakening the capacity of organized crime groups to facilitate illegal immigration to the EU and will be focusing on illegal border crossing.”

It will also be used “to collect information for intelligence and investigation purposes, regarding the main routes followed by migrants to enter in the common area and the modus operandi used by crime networks to smuggle people towards the EU territory, focusing also on the secondary movements.”

COSPE (Co-operation for the Development of Emerging Countries), an Italian non-profit association condemned the operation “MOS MAIORUM” and asked the Italian government not to prosecute the people rescued from drowning by the Mare-Nostrum operation.

It further urged the Italian government to avoid participating in this “inhumane and unnecessary” operation.

In a joint statement, organizations of Filipino migrants and advocates for migrants rights across Europe said they were concerned that “MOS MAIORUM” operation would be “used to indiscriminately round up irregular migrants who are merely doing socially necessary work that benefits the countries in Europe. “

They accused the “erroneous policies stemming from xenophobia and narrow nationalism instigated by extreme right-wing and neo-fascist political parties,” of forcing many to become irregular immigrants.

“Instead of deporting them and treating them as criminals, their irregular status should in fact be immediately rectified because it makes them vulnerable to abuse,” the organisations said.

In order to avoid arrest and deportation, human rights organisations are advising irregular immigrants to keep a low profile from 13th to 26th October 2014. They are advised to avoid places mainly frequented by immigrants. They are also advised to avoid places such as airports, highways, railway stations, subway stations, etc.

By Stephen Ogongo Ongong’a

http://www.africa-news.eu/immigration-news/italy/6267-eu-wide-crackdown-on-irregular-immigration-on-the-way-advice-for-irregular-immigrants.html

7 October 2014
Message of Solidarity to the Voice Refugee Forum of Germany on its 20th anniversary

1 October 2014

The International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) – Europe, sends its most militant greetings and solidarity with our comrades in struggle in the Voice Refugee Forum of Germany, as they celebrate their 20 years of tirelessly fighting for the rights of refugees in Germany and against racism, discrimination, human rights violations, fascism and corporate totalitarianism.

The events and activities around the anniversary theme “Unite against Deportation and against Social Exclusion in Germany” are a continuing testimony to the organization’s steel determination, humanitarian vision, deep respect for human dignity and appreciation for the political empowerment of the exploited and oppressed.

It has been an absolute privilege for the IMA-Europe to have worked with and cooperated with the Voice Refugee Forum of Germany. That solidarity has provided the IMA-Europe with a deeper grasp and appreciation of the bigger social, economic and political realities engulfing the lives of the so-called uprooted people – the basic reality not only of struggling for migrant rights in countries of the diaspora, but also and more importantly, the struggle for genuine freedom, democracy, social justice, development and peace in the migrants’ home countries.

The Voice Refugee Forum of Germany provided the IMA-Europe the opportunity to touch base with the human beings forced out of their homes and countries because of political reasons, which under present conditions are driven by aggression instigated by advanced capitalist and racist coutries of the west in their selfish lust to exploit and plunder the people and resources of the planet.

The plight of the refugees, has clearly delineated and spelled out to those in the thick of the struggle for migrant rights, the parallelisms in the global migration and the very same endresults that both refugees and migrants find themselves in – violations of their human rights, the same poverty and misery, exploitation and oppression in places where they have been forced to seek refuge and to migrate. And yet, bourgeois-defined international laws do not reflect reality on the ground by making cruel distinctions between refugees and migrants, and treat them according to those definitions.

Indeed, the unity that binds together the refugees represented by the Voice Refugee Forum of Germany and the migrants represented by the International Migrants Alliance, is the struggle for comprehensive social change, an end to racism and discrimination, and building a world without exploitation and oppression.

That solidarity will be further fleshed out as we persevere and stand firmly determined in our resistance struggles and in forging ahead in strengthening the international progressive movement of migrants and refugees. As part of the progressive movement of migrants and refugees, it is both a challenge and a task for all of us to forge a higher unity and solidarity as we confront political persecution, economic exploitation, social exclusion, and opppression.

Together, we shall be able to strengthen our solidarity, forge ahead, gain greater victories in our struggles, and achieve a world we all dream of – a world abounding with genuine equality, social justice, economic bounty, and lasting peace!

Long live the Voice Refugee Forum of Germany on its 20 years of struggle and resistance!
Long live international solidarity!
Long live the progressive movement of Migrants and Refugees!

Luz Miriam Jaramillo
Comitato-Italy
Chair, International Migrants Alliance-Europe chapter
IMA-International Coordinating Body member

Grace Punongbayan
Migrante Europe
Secretary-General, IMA-Europe chapter
IMA-International Coordinating Body member

dlm/30092014

1 October 2014
More protests vs. human rights and corruption continue to hound BS Aquino in Paris, Berlin, Rome and Vienna

Activists in Paris say “oui!” to oust Aquino; Spanish organizations assail Aquino

20 September 2014

More protests greeted BS Aquino as he swings around Europe, this time in Paris, France.

According to Cora Guibernas, a member of the Nagkakaisang Pilipino Sans Papier (NPSP) in Paris, France, which belongs to the MIGRANTE Europe network, Aquino was taken aback when several French solidarity activists for the Philippines and NPSP members raised posters and a big tarpaulin of Aquino’s face with the words “Human rights violator” and “Pork barrel king” as he was greeting compatriots outside the church venue where he was to deliver a speech.

A major Philippine TV network showed Aquino surprised and was immediately whisked away by his security when he saw the protesters.

“Aquino was exposed for his lies about his human rights record and his scandalous corruption as he swings around Europe. Our problems and plight are not in the agenda of Aquino, especially us Filipinos here in France who always face the threat of arrest and deportation because many of us are undocumented”, Guibernas stressed.

To emphasize the point that the situation in the Philippines is even worse now under Aquino, Guibernas cited records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) report that 1.8 million Filipinos left the country for work in 2013 which is equivalent to a record 5,031 leaving the country every day. This is more than the daily average of 4,937 leaving in 2012, she said.

Filipinos protest even in Italy and Austria

Even in countries such as Italy and Austria which BS Aquino avoided during his European junket, Filipinos conducted protest actions. In Rome, Italy, members of Umangat-MIgrante held a picket infront of the Philippine embassy in Rome last September 19, to protest OWWAs anti-migrant policies, Aquino’s human rights record and continued use of pork barrel which the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.

In Austria, Migrante Austria wrote an open letter to the Filipino people to coincide with the Europe visit of Aquino.

In the letter, copies furnished to the European Parliament president Martin Shulz, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, Migrante Austria denounced BS Aquino’s European tour as “a costly junket, an absolute waste of time and money”. It said Aquino lacks the dignity and integrity needed to effectively foster better relations with foreign governments.

“He has a human rights record that is incompatible with democracy. From July 2010 to March 2014, Karapatan, a Philippine-based human rights watchdog, has documented cases of 192 victims of extrajudicial killings, 21 cases of enforced disappearance, 94 of torture and 631 cases of illegal arrests and detention. Included in these figures are twenty-six journalists reportedly murdered since President Aquino took office. It is no wonder that the Asian Human Rights Commission ranked the Philippines as the 3rd most dangerous place for journalists and activists – from trade union activists to human rights defenders alike. We underscore the fact that up to now there is still no justice for two European citizens murdered under Aquino’s counterinsurgency scheme — missionaries Fr. Pops Tentorio of Italy and Willem Geertman of the Netherlands. All of these are attributable to his Oplan Bayanihan,” Migrante Austria said.

Migrante Austria adds: He remains deaf and blind to the plight of an ever-growing number of Filipinos who are exploited cruelly as undocumented domestic helpers here in Europe and any other place imaginable or even risk their lives in war- torn countries rather than return to the Philippines. This is the harsh indication of Aquino’s Labor Export Policy (LEP) failure to uplift the economy and solve unemployment and poverty in the Philippines.

Biggest organizations in Spain express concern over human rights and corruption under Aquino

In Spain, nine big national organizations, led by the APDHE (Human Rights Association of Spain), which holds consultative status to the ECOSOC of the United Nations, wrote a strongly-worded letter to BS Aquino in time for his visit in that country last September 14-15.

The letter was personally delivered to the Philippine embassy in Madrid by Hon. Mauricio Ots, a member of the regional parliament in Madrid representing the Izquireda Unida political party, on the day of Aquino’s visit.

In the letter, the Spanish organizations expressed deep concern about the human rights situation in the Philippines.

“From July 2010 (the year of his presidential inauguration) until June 2014, 204 extrajudicial executions; 21 forced disappearances, 99 cases of torture; 207 of frustrated extrajudicial killings, 664 illegal arrests and detentions; 39,800 forced evictions; 65,712 cases of threats, harassment and intimidation; 141,490 cases of using civilians as a human shield or guide for the armed or security forces; 141,490 cases of military use of public places such as schools, medical or religious centers, were documented,” the Spanish organizations said.

They asked Aquino to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, end pork barrel corruption and account for the monies his government received for the victims of typhoon Haiyan.

The organizations that signed the letter were: APDHE (Human Rights Association of Spain), COMADEHCO (Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia), ICID (Initiatives for International Cooperation for Development), IEPALA (Institute of Political Studies for Latin America and Africa), IU (United Left), Justice for Colombia, OSPAAL (Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America), GM-Greens Confederation, CDHHG (Human Rights Commission Hispano-Guatemala).

Filipinos and Germans in Berlin join protests

Filipinos and Germans in Berlin, Germany also joined the bandwagon of protests during Aquino’s visit to Germany, Sept. 19-20, the last leg of his Europe junket. The German-Philippine Solidarity Group, the MLPD party, the Concerned Filipino-Germans in Berlin and Filipino Scholars in Berlin conducted the protests.

BS Aquino leaves Europe Sept. 20 for the United States leg of his foreign junket where more protests are expected to greet him there.#

Reference:

Grace Punongbayan
MIGRANTE Europe
[email protected]
+31633056411

20 September 2014
Protesters hound BS Aquino in Belgium over his dirty record on human rights and corruption

Progressive Filipinos and their Belgian solidarity friends picketed President BS Aquino as he delivered a speech at the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels, Belgium yesterday Sept. 16.

The protest picket was spearheaded by Migrante Europe and joined by members of the Ugnayang Pilipino sa Belgium, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and the Belgian solidarity organization INTAL. The protesters carried placards that stated: BS Aquino human rights violator, Aquino king of thieves, Keep off disaster funds, Justice for Willem Geertman and Fr. Pops Tentorio, and No to EDCA!

They also distributed the statement “Enough of BS Aquino, Corrupt and Brutal Ruler! Never again to another Marcos dictatorship”, which was signed jointly by several European human rights, solidarity and Filipino organizations across Europe.

Queried by the media covering the event, Rev. Cesar Taguba of Migrante Europe asserted: “We are here to raise concerns over the corruption, human rights abuses and tyranny of Aquino.” He said Aquino is misinforming the EU about the real situation in the Philippines and that the protest is one way of exposing this.

According to Reverend Taguba, BS Aquino obviously took the backdoor to enter the venue to avoid the protesters. The meeting, he said, was supposed to start at 6:30 pm, but Aquino’s entourage delayed their arrival at the venue at around 6:50 pm.

The protesters shouted such slogans as “Noynoy, shame on you!” BS Aquino, Taguba stressed, could not hide his regime’s corruption, human rights violations, puppetry to the US and trying to follow Marcos with his term extension scheme, during this Europe visit.

Inside the Egmont Institute, one of the members of INTAL Brussels Philippine Group who listened to BS Aquino’s speech, questioned Aquino on his human rights record, during the question and answer that followed.

“I am delighted to hear that the protection of human rights is part of your government program. Because the numbers are not good: 204 activists murdered, 208 others in prison, 21 cases of enforced disappearances … all since the beginning of your presidency,” Johan of INTAL said.

Another INTAL participant in the Egmont meeting, Fanny Polet, writing on her blog afterwards said: “He (Aquino) also answered to another question about the economic partnership agreement, ensuring us of his will to accelerate it. This is not really something we are looking forward to, when we see the social damages such a policy would give rise to…..” She said critical leaflets for distribution titled “Time for President Aquino to tackle the Philippines’ dirty, open secret” and “Stop torture”, made their way on the registration table at the Institute.

A team of Belgian policemen tried to disperse the picket, but the protesters stood their ground and asserted their right to express their views over serious developments in the Philippines.

Major Filipino news channels (GMA News, TV5, ABS-CBN) covered the protest. However, two Filipino media persons were harassed and almost prevented from entering the Egmont Institute by Aquino’s security personnel after they were allegedly observed “sympathizing” with the protesters.#

Reference:

Grace Punongbayan
MIGRANTE Europe
[email protected]
+31-6-33056411

[photos by Jon Bustamante]

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17 September 2014