![are we going into martial law are we going into martial law](https://i0.wp.com/altermidya.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/SC-martial-law.jpg)
![are we going into martial law are we going into martial law](https://allnewspipeline.com/images/1911678_378402038967378_707763988_n.jpg)
Given the immensity and pervasiveness of violations, keeping records of violations, including precise figures, remains a difficult and unfinished task to this day. Reports made by these groups corroborate the findings of Amnesty International that there was a clear pattern of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations committed by the government during this period. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances also presented a damning report to the then Human Rights Commission after a visit to the country in 1990. Many other civil society organizations have also documented similar crimes under international law and human rights violations during martial law, including the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, the International Commission of Jurists, the Lawyers Committee for International Human Rights, and the Foundation for Worldwide People Power. In 1981, the organization released further research on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions that took place from 1976 onwards. Amnesty International also documented a pattern of torture in interviews with prisoners from that time. In an interview with the organization in 1975, President Marcos told Amnesty International that over 50,000 people had been arrested and detained under martial law from 1972-1975 those arrested included church workers, human rights defenders, legal aid lawyers, labour leaders and journalists.
![are we going into martial law are we going into martial law](https://jfwonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/amala-2.png)
![are we going into martial law are we going into martial law](https://offgridsurvival.com/wp-content/themes/church_10/images/2015/07/rioting.jpg)
During the martial law era (1972-1981), and during the remainder of President Marcos’ term, Amnesty International documented extensive human rights violations which clearly showed a pattern of widespread arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, killings and torture of people that were critical of the government or perceived as political opponents. The nine-year military rule ordered by then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 unleashed a wave of crimes under international law and grave human rights violations, including tens of thousands of people arbitrarily arrested and detained, and thousands of others tortured, forcibly disappeared, and killed. Here are five things to know about why the period under Martial Law matters in the ongoing fight for truth, justice and reparations in the Philippines. As we have seen over the years, sweeping past human rights violations under the carpet can never be the answer.ĭebates in the lead-up to 9 May elections offer opportunities for people and political candidates to discuss the needed changes in the political and justice systems, and other conditions in society, that would prevent the recurrence of human rights violations. However, forgetting a past of grave human rights violations without guaranteeing the rights to truth, justice and reparations is dangerous and will lead to further human rights violations. Indeed, the country must move on towards a radically different approach to human rights. This was a dark period of Philippine history and it is therefore crucial to ensure that, as part of the Philippines obligations to ensure the rights to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition, political narratives do not undermine memorialization processes that are central to the fight against impunity.Īttempts to downplay what happened during Martial Law include arguments that the country should move on and forget the past. News ApFive things to know about Martial Law in the PhilippinesĮlection fever is sweeping the Philippines as rallies and debates are held in the lead-up to the 2022 national poll, which will see the country elect a new president, vice-president and thousands of other positions including senators, congressional representatives and mayors.Īmnesty International is calling on all candidates to put human rights front and centre in their campaigns after six years of a murderous ‘war on drugs’, and the rise in impunity for these and other human rights violations during President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.īut as campaigns are under way, a disturbing revisionist narrative that is attempting to play down the numerous human rights violations committed during the Martial Law regime back in the 1970s has started to emerge.