 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
10 December 2009
delivered by
LEILA M. DE LIMA
Chairperson
MESSAGE
Good morning to all of you.
First of all, let me thank Green Dream, for bringing us together on this day, to remember the victims of the Maguindanao massacre, to honor them by committing these 57 trees to the ground, and to vow that we will not allow the perpetrators of this vile act to go unpunished.
For the mass killing to take place so close to today, December 10, the day on which the world celebrates human rights day, is a travesty. More than 60 years ago, on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
That Declaration forms the foundation of International Human Rights Law, and enunciated the human rights, to life, to security of person, to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and to freedom of opinion and expression.
These are human rights which the countries of the world, including the Philippines , have recognized for decades, as absolutely requiring respect and protection. And these are the human rights which were cruelly disregarded, trampled and crushed underfoot, and buried in a dirt-filled grave, on that fateful day in Maguindanao.
We cannot allow this to go on. As good and decent human beings, we cannot allow such brutal violence, such callous disregard for the rule of law, such contempt for the dignity of persons, to simply continue.
And it could continue. Women, members of media, human rights defenders, civilians and human beings, could continue to face abduction and torture, rape and mutilation, injury and death, if we do not at this moment and at this time, as individuals and institutions, take it upon ourselves to say, no more, not this time, not ever again.
No more to the killing of persons, whose only crime is to challenge the interests of entrenched political authority, who merely seek to protect the lives and the human rights of others, and who simply wish to report on the events which affect us all, and uncover the truth. The murders must end. No more wanton deaths. No more meaningless loss of life.
Accountability must be brought to bear on the perpetrators of the massacre in Maguindanao. We cannot allow these wrongdoers to evade justice, this time. The rule of law must be strengthened. The importance of forensic evidence must be recognized. We have borne witness to too many murders, where the persons responsible are never found. We have seen too many cases fail, for lack of proper evidence. We cannot allow this to take place once again, in Maguindanao. Not this time, and not ever again.
Like the trees that we plant on this important day, may the actions currently taking place, aimed at investigating the atrocity in Maguindanao, thrive and prosper. May the existing probe into the mass killing, as well as its political, social and economic underpinnings, bear fruit. And may the indignation at this act of violence, send out deep roots, so that the outraged response to what happened in Maguindanao, can serve as a catalyst, for the strengthening of the rule of law, the reinforcement of our democratic institutions, and the meaningful protection of human rights and human dignity.
Thank you very much for being here today, and thank you for your efforts and your advocacy.