Free the People's Law Maker!

One year ago today, veteran labour leader and twice-elected Congressman Crispin Beltran ("Ka Bel") was falsely imprisoned by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime in the Philippines. The 74 year old law maker remains imprisoned despite false charges, a court-ordered release, and international condemnation of the Arroyo government's practice of using incarceration to silence political opposition.

The arrest took place within a broader context of massive human rights violations and political repression by the US-backed Arroyo regime. To date, there have been over 800 extra-judicial killings, almost 200 forced disappearances, and other arbitrary arrests and threatened arrests. Police and prosecutors have failed to solve any of these crimes and their lackluster attempts to do so have been criticized by the UN Development Program, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings.

We condemn the illegal and unjust imprisonment of Ka Bel. The Congressman's health has deteriorated over the past year and he is now being held under police guard in a hospital in Manila. To add to the injustice of this detention, Ka Bel must pay personally for his hospital bills. Ka Bel has also spent his 74th birthday and his 50th wedding anniversary under police guard.

At the same time, Ka Bel's constituents – workers, peasants and urban poor – are being deprived of representation in Congress. Ka Bel is running for a third term in office as a member of the state-harassed Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Party. He has been unable to consult with his constituents or campaign on their long-standing issues of concern.

Today as we pass the one-year mark of Ka Bel's unjust imprisonment, we stand with individuals and organizations in the Philippines and around the world in demanding the immediate release of Ka Bel.

In particular, we call on the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay to do more than express concern over the obvious injustice of Ka Bel's imprisonment. It is time to act decisively to pressure the Philippine government to immediately release Ka Bel and to end rampant human rights violations and political repression.

Free Ka Bel!
Stop the Killings!
End the Political Repression!
Never Again to Martial Law!
Long Live International Solidarity!

Committee for the Immediate Release of Congressman Crispin Beltran-Canada
Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of Congressman Beltran's Arrest
February 25, 2007