Action Alert: GABNet3 Off the List

Action Alert:

GABNet3 Off the List



Dr. Annalisa Enrile, Gabriela Network USA chairperson, was barred from taking her flight from the Philippines back to the USA last August 5. According to the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, she is on a watchlist and must first secure clearance from the Department of Justice, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Security Agency, and the Office of the President.



Apparently, two other GabNet US officers, acclaimed novelist Ninotchka Rosca and human rights activist Judith Mirkinson, are also on the watch list. Annalisa, Ninotchka and Judith came to the Philippines for the 10th Women’s International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines (WISAP ’07) sponsored by GABRIELA Philippines.



GABRIELA Philippines believes that the government watch list which prevented Annalisa from leaving the country is part of the implementation of the Human Security Act and its first victim is GABRIELA. This only validates opposition on the Human Security Act, an anti-terror law passed in February this year and implemented last July 15, as a government’s mechanism to legalize further repression of the rights of the Filipino people and suppress the growing dissent among the populace including support for the Filipinos from the international community.



In May 2006, GabNet3 were in the Philippines to lead the US lawyers mission to investigate the massive political killings in the country. This, together with other efforts of other international human rights advocates, lead to an international condemnation of the Philippine government for its culpability in the unabated human rights violation of the Filipino people.



In December 2006, during the ASEAN Meeting in the Philippines, the names of Annalisa, Ninotchka and Judith were included in a so-called watch list.



GABRIELA Philippines strongly denounce the inclusion of these women in the Philippine government watch list and the government’s refusal to allow these women to return to the United States. This is clearly a violation of their rights and meant to harass these women and GABRIELA as well. GabNet3 is being attacked because of their work and advocacy in support of GABRIELA and the issues of Filipino women and the people.



There is no reason for these women to be included in a watch list supposedly reserved for unwanted elements who are threats to the national security. Annalisa, Ninotchka and Judith are upstanding citizens who earned the ire of the Philippine government for standing up with the Filipino people.



The inclusion of GabNet3 is a test case for the Human Security Act and but more so for the international community to defend the human rights wherever and whenever it is being violated.



Siginify your support. Email or fax the following letter of demand to:



Office of the President

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

New Executive Building, Malacañang Palace Compound,

J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila, Philippines

Fax #:(63)-2-735-8005

Email: corres@op.gov.ph

Website:http://www.kgma.org/



Hon. Raul M. Gonzales

Secretary of the Department of Justice

DOJ Main Building, Padre Faura Street, Manila 1004

Philippines

Fax No.: (63) 2-521-1614

Email: ssad@doj.gov.ph





Dir. Gen. Cesar P. Garcia Jr.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency

No. 5 V. Luna Street, Quezon City

Philippines

Fax No.: (63) 2-435-6930



Copy Furnished:

Gabriela Philippines

Fax No.: (63) 2-374-4423

E-mail: internationalrelations@gabrielaphilippines.org

publicinfo@gabrielaphilippines.org



Gabriela Network-US

E-mail: gabnet3offthelist@gabnet.org





Let our united voices be heard:

GabNet3 Off the List!

Stop political harassment of GABRIELA!





LETTER OF DEMAND

TO TAKE GABNET3 OFF THE WATCH LIST



It has come to our attention that Dr. Annalisa Enrile, chairperson of Gabriela Network USA, who was in the Philippines to attend the GABRIELA’s 10th Women’s International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines, was barred from leaving the Philippipes last August 5. The Philippine Bureau of Immigration said that her name is in a watch list issued by the Philippine government.



Two other officers of Gabriela Network US, Ninotchka Rosca and Judith Mirkinson, are in the Philippines and are scheduled to leave on August 14, 2007. We have reason to believe that Ms. Rosca and Ms. Mirkinson’s names are also included in the watch list may also be barred from the leaving the country.



We find it reprehensible that the names of these three women, upstanding citizens and advocates of women’s rights and human rights, should be included in the Philippine government watch list supposedly reserved for persons who are threats to national security. Their inclusion in the watch list is a clear violation of their rights and a form of political harassment not just to them but to the women’s organization GABRIELA, of which they are affiliated.



We, therefore, demand that Dr. Annalisa Enrile, Ms. Ninotchka Rosca and Ms. Judith Mirkinson, be taken off the watch list immediately and be allowed to leave the Philippines. We also demand a stop to the political harassment of GABRIELA, its leaders and members and for the Philippine government to uphold the democratic and civil rights of its people.



Signed:



_____________________ ________________________ ________________________

Name Organization Country