GMA faces arbitrary detention raps at UN By Michael Punongbayan The Philippine Star 03/18/2006
President Arroyo has been accused of arbitrary detention by a group of human rights lawyers petitioning the United Nations (UN) Committee on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. The group Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (Codal) filed the case against Mrs. Arroyo, accusing her of violating existing treaties in the arrest and detention of Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran. Codal spokesman Neri Colmenares said Mrs. Arroyo is violating the international covenant that protects citizens of UN member countries against political persecution. "We filed the arbitrary detention charge in New York which was received by Markus Schmidt of the Petitions Unit," Colmenares told The STAR yesterday. "We have been informed that the case has already been forwarded to Geneva where the UNs Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is," he said. Codal is asking the UN to investigate Beltrans arrest by sending a representative to the country to submit a report before the general assembly. The group said the case stems from the fact that the Philippines is a signatory to international treaties concerning the protection of civil and political rights. "We told the UN that this (Beltrans case) is politically motivated," Colmenares said. He maintained Mrs. Arroyo has violated the civil and political rights of a duly elected member of Congress. Notwithstanding differences in political beliefs, Colmenares said the Arroyo administration has no right to detain Beltran. "Under international law, you cannot be detained or arrested for your political beliefs," he stressed. Codal is also asking the UN to order the release of Beltran who is still under the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) at Camp Crame after the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a rebellion case against the 73-year-old militant lawmaker two weeks ago. The government has accused Beltran of pushing the revolutionary armed struggle of Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA) in the legal front. Top security officials suspected Beltran of being a member of the CPP-NPAs central committee and using his position as a lawmaker to propagate a revolutionary struggle for the overthrow of the government. For his part, Beltran said his pleas for freedom had apparently fallen on deaf ears which prompted him to seek outside help. He told the UN agencies that the Arroyo government violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international human rights laws by arresting him on the basis of his political beliefs. Beltran claimed he was arrested on the strength of a 1985 warrant issued in connection with a case that had been dismissed after the Marcos regime was overthrown in 1986. By using the same warrant, Beltran said the Arroyo government had put him behind bars for his political beliefs. Beltran claimed he was being held in jail despite a release order issued by a Quezon City court. The militant lawmaker expressed concern over his "arbitrary arrest and continuing detention" and urged the UN to look into his case. Agents of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested Beltran just after Proclamation 1017 was issued by President Arroyo, declaring a state of national emergency. Beltran was arrested on Feb. 25 on the strength of a 1985 warrant. Five other militant party-list lawmakers are also targeted for arrest but they sought protective custody inside the House of Representatives. In an apparent effort to justify the continued detention, the CIDG later filed a case for inciting for sedition against Beltran, an offense punishable by imprisonment of less than six years. Under the Constitution, a member of Congress is immune from arrest while the legislature is in session if the penalty for the crime he or she is accused of is six years imprisonment or lighter. Faced with the prospect of releasing him, police later amended its case against Beltran to rebellion. Beltran is being held at the PNP hospital near his Camp Crame detention cell. He was rushed to the hospital weeks ago after his blood pressure shot up. His wife has asked the authorities to release him, saying at 73, Beltran is too old and too sick to commit mischief. In July last year, Beltran suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left part of his body and slurred his speech. His doctors said the stroke could recur if his rising blood pressure is not controlled. Among those who have joined calls for Beltrans release is Sen. Joker Arroyo, his lawyer during the martial law years. Arroyo said the police arrested his former client illegally by using a l985 warrant since the Aquino administration had pardoned and granted amnesty to people that the Marcos regime kept in jail for their political beliefs, including Beltran. UN complaint filed Codal, meanwhile, said they also filed a complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee against President Arroyo for the summary execution of activists Eden Marcellana, Choy Napoles, Benjaline Hernandez and Eddie Gumanoy. Codal claimed the Arroyo government failed to follow judicial procedure in conducting arrests and in cracking down on the media. The group accused the Arroyo administration of being "brutal" in stifling political dissent and dealing with the political opposition. Codal filed the complaint weeks after opposition Sen. Jamby Madrigal accused Mrs. Arroyo before the UN of human rights violations in the implementation of Proclamation 1017. Madrigal took the initiative from the United Opposition (UNO), which earlier announced its intention to file a human rights complaint against the President before the UN body. Madrigal sought intervention from the UN on behalf of the victims of human rights violations allegedly committed by the Arroyo government. UNO had said the complaint would be for human rights violations committed under the implementation of Proclamation 1017 which declared a state of national emergency for a week. UNO claimed that "blatant acts of repression and curtailment of civil liberties" ensued after Mrs. Arroyo implemented the state of emergency, specifically the ordering of arrests of Beltran and other opposition political leaders who were merely exercising their civil rights. With Jess Diaz, Katherine Adraneda
