QUEZON CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 01 June) The Philippine government has assured New Zealand that authorities will not arrest a local political activist who led a huge protests there during a state visit of the Filipino leader.
Dennis Maga, of the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno and spokesman for the Free Ka Bel Movement in the Philippines, is facing possible arrest after staging anti-Arroyo protests this week.
“The Prime Minister is aware of Mr Maga's claims that he believes he is likely to be arrested on his return to the Philippines,” a spokesperson for New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark told Scoop on Friday.
Canberra said it has been given assurance by its Philippines counterpart that Maga will not be arrested on his return home later this week.
New Zealand's Ambassador to the Philippines sought clarification from senior Philippines' officials and was told there are no charges pending against Maga and no warrant has been issued for his arrest," the Prime Minister's spokesperson said.
Scoop understands a request was issued Friday from the Council of Trade Unions to the Prime Minister Helen Clark's office asking that diplomatic channels be used to seek assertions or clarification from its Philippines counterpart - that Maga does not face arrest.
That clarification has now been given.
However, Philippines trade unionist and human rights activist Maga has applied to remain in New Zealand for another month while he and his supporters seek assurances he will not face arrest nor death on his return home.
Maga had planned to return to the Philippines on Sunday.
For the next month, Maga will be a guest of both the National Distribution Union and Unite Union where he will continue to visit work sites, union meetings, and gatherings to educate New Zealanders about human rights abuses in the Philippines.
Maga also received expressions of solidarity from unions in Australia. He traveled to New Zealand especially to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the Philippines.
He said Arroyo ought not take part in the InterFaith Dialogue as she is partly responsible for human rights abuses.
Speaking to Scoop Media, Maga said: “I called my family because it was my sons 1st birthday. Then my father came on the line and told me that it is not safe to return.”
Maga was told by his father that a family member working for the ministry of immigration had told them that there are orders for Maga's arrest when he arrives back in the country.
His father also told Maga that their house had been under surveillance by the police.
Maga spent last week touring New Zealand, speaking on political repression in the Philippines, and then travelled to Waitangi to protest with human rights groups about the involvement of Arroyo in the dialogues.
The Interfaith dialogues are aimed at increasing understanding between different faiths in order to reduce religious “radicalization” and terrorism.
Maga said the union movement in the Philippines had tried to find out what his status is from the Philippines government and the Bureau of Immigration. But Philippines officials refuse to deny or confirm plans for his arrest.
Arroyo, while attending the InterFaith Dialogue Forum in Waitangi, was asked to explain her position on political killings. In reply, she said her government has been trying to stop the violence.
“We share the values of human rights and democracy same as New Zealand,”Arroyo said. “We are in a fight to turn around our history of political violence andretribution. We are slowly breaking down the cycle of violence.”
Recent reports by both the United Nations and Amnesty International havedocumented killings in the Philippines including the murders of political activists, journalists and politicians. Both reports attribute many of the killings to the Philippine military.
The United Nations report released earlier this year showed how people responsible for the killings acted with “virtual impunity” and many of the deaths were “convincingly attributed” to the Philippines military.
A researcher for the Amnesty International report Tim Parritt found that many of the senior military officials were openly talking about “neutralizing” left-wing groups.
"No-one deserves to die for their political affiliation,” Parritt said.
Contemplating his return home, Maga explained there are two things that could happen: one will see him arrested and charged with rebellion. Or two: he could be taken away and killed. (With reports from Selwyn Manning and Joseph Barratt, www.scoop.co.nz)
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