Camp Bagong Diwa Political Prisoners Join Nationwide Coordinated Fasting in Act of Protest During Human Rights Week

We, political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa, are among some 500 presently documented political prisoners all over the country.

 

About half of these have been arrested and detained under the present ruling regime, while the other half have been arrested under previous ruling regimes and have remained behind iron bars for about or even more than a decade by now.

 

More than 40 are women, another 40 are elderlies, more than 50 are sickly, and six are minors.

 

We, political prisoners — who have been made victims of arbitrary and illegal arrest and detention; of torture; of trumped-up criminalized charges; of one of the world’s most rotten, sluggish and practically unmoving system of justice; of undue repressions, restrictions, abuses; of poor prison conditions; and of other violations of our political and human rights — stand in protest against all these.

 

We urgently demand the return of our freedom. We also urgently demand the redress of the injustices against us; of the violations of our rights and our work for the people; and of the undue sufferings that we, our loved ones, our supporters and constituencies, and the people we are devoted to serve but are separated from, are made to suffer for long as iron bars and prison walls cruelly stand in the way.

 

Miradel Torres, a fellow political prisoner here at Camp Bagong Diwa, who had been separated by iron bars from her first born, has again just given birth two weeks ago and needs to be long confined in a hospital with her newborn child, because of their continuing difficult and precarious conditions.

 

We ask, that she and her newborn whom she has to continue nursing, be among those who should urgently be given first priority to be freed and no longer made to continue suffering their present difficult conditions. We ask for this in the interest of justice and on humanitarian grounds.

 

At the same time, we urgently press for the release of all political prisoners. All the more so should all political prisoners be released soonest, if the Government of the Republic of the Philippines is really opting for progress in the peace process.

 

As a way of pressing our urgent demand for the return of our freedom and for the redress of the injustices and violations against us, and as a way of linking with and joining in the similar and related protest actions and struggles for the cause of political prisoners and also for the respect of human rights of advocates and fighters for political and social changes, as well as that of the mass of the impoverished, exploited and oppressed people, both in our country and abroad, we, political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa, together with other political prisoners all over the country, will be going through sunrise to sundown fasting on the occasion of this international human rights week, starting from today December 3, the International Day of Political Prisoners, up to December 10, the International Day of Respect for Human Rights.

 

This collective protest action of ours is also in solidarity with mass protests and campaigns in the open against unresolved, continuing and further increasing violations of human rights, victimizing advocates and fighters for political and social changes and the mass of our long-suffering impoverished, exploited and oppressed people.

 

December 3, 2014

Political Prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa,

Taguig City, Philippines

 

Jesus Abetria Jr.

Tirso Alcantara

Emeterio Antalan

Modesto Araza

Alex Arias

Cesar Balmaceda

Leopoldo Caloza

Gemma Carag

Eddie Cruz

Philip Enteria

Marissa Espedido

Voltaire Guray

Fidel Holanda

Alan Jazmines

Pastora Latagan

Edward Lanzanas

Rolando Laylo

Evelyn Legaspi

Eliseo Lopez

Alberto Macasinag

Loida Magpatoc

Jared Morales

Denis Ortiz

Rhea Pareja

Miguela Piñero

Hermogenes Reyes Jr

Andrea Rosal

Felicardo Salamat

Aristides Sarmiento

Antonio Satumba

Elmer Torres

Ma. Miradel Torres