AMID CONTINUED NPA ATTACKS, KILLINGS OF LEFTIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 005346 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/CRA, DRL/IL, S/CT NSC FOR H. MORROW E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2015 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER PINS PREL PINR RP SUBJECT: AMID CONTINUED NPA ATTACKS, KILLINGS OF LEFTIST ACTIVISTS ON THE RISE REF: A. MANILA 5096 ¶B. MANILA 1401 ¶C. MANILA 1151 ¶D. MANILA 1086 Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: About 40 leftist activists have been killed in the Philippines so far in 2005. These killings, a jump from the number recorded in 2004, come amid a flurry of attacks by the New People's Army (NPA),which have killed and injured many. "Legal" left politicians and activists have harshly criticized the attacks, asserting that the GRP is "sponsoring" the killings. The government denies involvement and says it is investigating. Mission continues to urge the GRP to investigate each case thoroughly. The killings highlight the high level of violence associated with the long-running NPA insurgency, which has no end in sight. (See forthcoming Septel review of the status of the NPA insurgency.) End Summary. 40 Activists Reported Killed in 2005 -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Killings of leftist activists in the Philippines, perennially a matter of human rights concern, have spiked this year. In March, Mission reported that gunmen had killed up to 18 members of leftist groups since the beginning of 2005 (ref b). The leftist Bayan Muna party reported on September 29 that 53 of its members have been killed since 2001, including ten members this year. According to the left-wing labor movement Kilusan Mayo Uno (KMU),or "May First Movement," 33 of its activists have been killed this year, as of mid-September. Since that date, at least six more members of leftist parties (including three Bayan Muna members) have been slain, bringing the total number of activists killed this year -- according to observers -- to at least 40. This compares to the figure of 10-20 activists who were believed killed in all of 2004. (Note: Some of the slain activists were members of groups believed to have links with the NPA, while others were members of groups without apparent links to the NPA. End Note.) ¶3. (U) The killings include two ministers of the United Church of the Philippines (UCCP) who were associated with leftist groups. The UCCP reports that there have been at least seven other attacks on its members during the year. 
¶4. (U) Details of some prominent incidents since ref b (March 2005) follow: -- November 13: Ben Bajado, a local leftist, was killed in Maydolong, Eastern Samar, in the central Visayas region. -- October 25: Unidentified assailants killed Ricardo Ramos, the local leader of the sugar workers' union at the Hacienda Luisita plantation located in Tarlac Province, north of Manila (see ref a). -- October 15: Two men on a motorcycle shot dead Florante Collantes in Camiling town, Tarlac. He was Bayan Muna's General Secretary in Tarlac Province. -- October 2: Unknown persons shot dead Armandao Javier Jr., a leftist leader in central Luzon. Celia Esteban, a local Bayan Muna leader in the same region, was also abducted and later found dead. -- September 22: Two unidentified gunmen shot and killed Diosdado Fortuna, local Chairman for the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in Cabuyao, Laguna Province, located south of Manila. -- September 1: Two armed men on a motorcycle shot and killed Norman Bocar, regional chairman of a leftist party, in Borongan, Eastern Samar. -- August 20: Two armed men shot UCCP minister Rev. Raul Domingo, a provincial officer of a leftist group, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan Province, in the west of the country. He died of his injuries on September 4. -- May 12: Assassins killed UCCP minister Rev. Edison Lapuz, the former Bayan Muna coordinator for Eastern Visayas, in Tacloban, Leyte Province, in the central Visayas region. -- May 8: Unidentified gunmen killed Ambrocio Matias, a left-wing municipal coordinator in Nueva Ecija Province, north of Manila. Left Accuses GRP -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Leftist representatives in Congress and activists publicly accuse the GRP of "sponsoring" the killings of the activists. Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo has described the attacks as "political repression masquerading as counter-insurgency and antiterrorism operations." Ocampo and other leftist leaders have repeatedly urged national and local authorities to ensure the safety of members of their party and for the GRP to apprehend the perpetrators of the attacks. On April 14, Ocampo tabled a resolution asking President Arroyo "to take immediate steps to stop the escalation of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, illegal arrests and harassment committed against leaders of progressive party-list Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela and their allied organizations." The resolution has not yet been considered by the House. GRP Reaction -------------- ¶6. (C) For its part, the GRP has asserted that it is investigating the killings. On March 26, President Arroyo stated in a press release that law enforcement agencies are investigating the "alleged assassinations of Bayan Muna leaders and other killings," and asked persons with information to come forward and help the authorities. The GRP has issued few other public statements on the killings. The October 25 killing of a well-known labor activist (see para 4),however, prompted a press uproar; in response, the chief of the Philippine National Police visited Tarlac and the President's spokesman promised a full investigation. Two soldiers were questioned by police (ref a) and have now been charged with murder -- the first for any killings this year. ¶7. (C) Flora Atilano, the head of the Commission on Human Right's Legal and Investigation Division, acknowledged during a recent meeting with poloff that a weak government witness-protection mechanism (or at least ineffective implementation of it) hinders thorough investigations of these killings and potential prosecutions. The UCCP's national office in Manila also said that witnesses fearful for their own safety were precluding any progress in cases where UCCP members were killed. Increasing NPA Violence -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The killings are taking place in the context of increased violence between the Communists and the government. Clashes between the NPA and the security forces appear to have increased since exiled CPP leader Jose Maria Sison announced in late September that the NPA would intensify its attacks on government targets, apparently as part of its drive to undermine the Arroyo administration by forcing her to resign. (Note: In a further sign of increased tensions, the GRP on October 5 formally canceled immunity guarantees that it gave to 97 communist rebel negotiators for the second time in three months, citing "aggressive" NPA activities and difficulties in arranging peace talks. End Note.) ¶9. (U) During the first eight months of 2005 (January-August),the NPA killed 80 PNP and AFP personnel and 40 civilians, according to government figures. Major incidents included: -- On June 13, NPA cadre killed nine soldiers of the 50th Infantry Battalion and injured three others in an ambush in the northern Luzon province of Ilocos Sur. -- During the last two weeks of September, at least seven NPA rebels and three AFP soldiers were killed during separate clashes in Aurora and Nueva Ecija Provinces in the north/central Philippines. Separately, NPA rebels mounted seven simultaneous attacks on government outposts in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur, provinces in Mindanao. -- On October 30, at least 10 NPA rebels were wounded in clashes with the AFP in Surigao del Sur. -- On November 10, NPA rebels torched a public bus in Bataan Province, located west of Manila, for not paying "revolutionary" taxes. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Mission continues to urge the GRP to investigate each killing thoroughly. Unfortunately, the spate of killings serves to highlight the high level of violence associated with the long-running NPA insurgency, which has no end in sight. (See forthcoming Septel review of the status of the NPA insurgency.) As noted, the GRP says it is trying to do its best, but it is the case that historically few perpetrators of extrajudicial killings have ever been arrested, much less convicted of crimes. Authorities, for example, have not convicted anyone for the recent rash of murders of journalists in the Philippines (ref c). The killings of the left-wing activists could also have the unfortunate consequence of driving the "legal" left underground, which would only polarize the situation further and lessen the chance that the left could be brought into the political mainstream at any time soon. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ Jones