Rights advocate says U.S. helping Arroyo kill enemies

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A former political prisoner in the Philippines who leads a prominent human rights group finished a two-month tour of American and Canadian cities Tuesday night aimed at exposing human-rights violations documented by her group.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, general secretary of the human-rights alliance Karapatan, spoke at Harris United Methodist Church in a forum sponsored by the Harris Church and Society Commission, Philippine Workers Support Committee and American Friends Service Committee Hawai'i.

Beforehand, Hilao-Enriquez said U.S. military support of anti-terrorist operations in the Philippines has led to the deaths of people not linked with terrorism, including six members of her watchdog alliance.

Hilao-Enriquez may be best known here for her activism in legal battles to claim compensation for victims of abuse and torture during the Marcos era.

Her latest concern has been to shed light on what she describes as President Gloria Arroyo's two-year crackdown on organizations critical of her administration's support of foreign investment and U.S. military intervention.

Since Arroyo took office, Karapatan has counted 176 people killed by Philippine army or paramilitary operatives hired by the government, Hilao-Enriquez said.

Abu Sayyaf, the Muslim extremist group that U.S. and Philippine authorities allege is linked to al-Qaida terrorists, is used as a pretext for a crackdown that targets critics of the regime, she said.

Some training exercises by the U.S. Pacific Command are aimed at supporting the Philippine army, she said, and Hawai'i residents "should be infuriated by the fact that U.S. forces are using their land to violate other people's rights."

The largest target, she said, is the Bayan Muna political party, which gained support in recent elections. Thirty of the 176 victims are party members, she said, and the death toll includes 22 women and seven children.

Hilao-Enriquez said her family "paid a terrible price" for its activism, with a sister who died in detention and four relatives incarcerated under Marcos.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.