SIGN ONTO THE UNITY STATEMENT at tinyurl.com/UnitetoRejectMarcos
As people in the US, we reject the US government’s ongoing support for the Marcos Dynasty and its failure to address the murderous and corrupt record of the Marcos Sr. regime.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rose to power in the Philippines through a calculated and decades-long disinformation campaign which attempted to “clean” the Marcos name and erase the crimes of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The previous Marcos dictatorship brought gross human rights violations under Martial Law, bankrupting the Philippine economy, abuse of power, ill-gotten wealth, unequal foreign treaties and massive plunder of the land and people; all of which they continue to deny as part of their decades-long attempt to erase history and reframe their rule as “golden years” that will be restored by Marcos Jr.
The US government has deemed the elections in the Philippines as free and fair, ignoring the widespread concerns of massive fraud, cheating and violence that took place. Before the official results were even released, President Biden called Ferdinand Marcos saying “that he looks forward to working with the President-elect to continue strengthening the US-Philippine Alliance.” U.S. State Department Rep Wendy Sherman publicly announced that the U.S. will grant Marcos Jr. immunity despite the contempt of court case against him, while many legislators are taking a “wait and see” approach to the Marcos Administration. Now, President Biden has invited Marcos Jr. to come visit the United States, and Marcos Jr. is set to address the UN in New York on Sept 20th.
As the deepening human rights crisis and violations by state forces have become institutionalized, we cannot rely on the Philippine justice system to provide justice or create genuine change and must mobilize the broadest array of solidarity support to demand accountability and justice.
The current position of the US on the Marcos Administration sacrifices basic human rights in exchange for political convenience and the maintenance of military and economic influence of the US in Asia Pacific. Ongoing US military aid to the regime will only exacerbate the human rights crisis in the country. As recorded in Investigate PH, an independent international investigation on the Philippines, human rights violations by state forces are now institutionalized in Philippine society; the judicial system has proved incapable of rendering justice and holding human rights abusers responsible. With Marcos Jr. at the helm, we can only expect the human rights crisis to further deteriorate.
With an increased stripping of human rights on a global level, building international solidarity among peoples of the world is crucial in the fight for peoples’ rights. As people in the US, we will not loiter along while lives are at stake in the Philippines. Further, the US push to further militarize Asia Pacific and beat the drums of war against China do not serve the interests of poor, working class and marginalized people in the United States. While many in the United States across the globe struggle with basic access to food, housing, health care, freedom from discrimination and a fair wage, the US backing of Marcos only serves the a few privileged groups who gain from the profits of war and economic dominance.
As ICHRP-US, our interest and solidarity is with those poor and oppressed sectors of Philippine society against elitist rule and political dominance. We have common goals with the Filipino people or a peaceful and just society, and express our solidarity in action this fall as we approach the 50th anniversary of Marcos Sr.’s declaration of Martial Law. In this time, we join in unity to issue the follow demands:
To the US government:
1. To give due justice to the victims of Martial Law and uphold the contempt of court case against Marcos, revoking his immunity as the head of state of the Philippines.
2. To halt US tax dollars going to military aid in the Philippines and to halt arms sales to the Philippines.
To the United Nations:
1. To hold President Duterte for his egregious human rights violations and war crimes. Push for the ICC probe and a full investigation of his regime.
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