Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 9 | Page 6

HEADLINES
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY May 1 - 20 , 2017

Human Rights Group concerned over use of Canadian military helicopters in Philippines

A human rights group based in Canada has asked the Canadian foreign affairs ministry to inquire if helicopters sold to the Philippine military are being used in aerial strikes that have alleged targeted civilian communities .
Bern Jagunos of the International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines ( ICHRP ) wrote to Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland following reports that air strikes during operations against communist rebels .
The strikes reportedly razed a forest and destroyed farms tilled by indigenous people in the town of Malibcong , Abra .
The Malibcong bombings and other incidents reported in Compostela Valley and Maguindanao provinces followed President Rodrigo Duterte ’ s order to the military early this month to “ go ahead , flatten the hills ” by launching air strikes against the New People ’ s Army and “ If there ’ s collateral damage , pasensiya ( too bad ).”
While acknowledging that no civilian deaths were
U . S . President Donald Trump was aware of the criticisms against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had received over his controversial war on drugs .
But Trump praised him when the two leaders spoke , according to a spokesperson of Duterte .
Philippine government spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Trump told Duterte that the Philippine leader was “ doing a great job considering the weight and the enormity of the conditions in the Philippines ”.
“ I ’ m sure he ’ s aware of all these considerations ,” Abella added , referring to Trump .
“ However , from his point of view , it seems like the president of the Philippines is doing a sensible job .”
Trump had invited Duterte to visit him at the White House .
The invitation unleashed a storm of criticism in Washington .
The White House defended the invitation made during a recent phone call , acknowledging that though
caused by the bombardment , Jagunos said they have terrorized communities and sent hundreds of families fleeing their homes .
Jagunos reminded Freeland that they had raised these concerns as early as 2014 , when the Canadian government announced the sale of eight Bell 412EP choppers to the Philippines , five of which have been deployed as combat utility helicopters .
While assurances were given then that the sale of the aircraft complied with
Canada ’ s military export control guidelines , she wanted to know , “ has there been follow-up to ensure respect of the guidelines ?”
“ Additionally , we ’ ve learned that another Canadian company , Calgary-based Eagle Copters Ltd ., has been involved in another helicopter deal to the Philippines ,” Jagunos pointed out .
“ We strongly urge the Canadian government to assess whether the criteria for the sale of the helicopters are being observed by the Philippine Army ; we call on
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM the Canadian g o v e r n m e n t to suspend all sales of military goods and all defense-related assistance to and cooperation with the Philippine G o v e r n m e n t and we urge the Canadian government to call on President Duterte to put an immediate stop to the military aerial bombings on civilian c o m m u n i t i e s and instead to vigorously pursue the continuation of the Peace Talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines ,” Jagunos said .
The Toronto-based ICHRP-Canada is a network of organizations who are concerned about human rights and committed to work for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines .
In the group ’ s letter to Freeland dated March 26 , 2017 , Jagunos said

Trump recognizes “ great job ” Duterte is doing

human rights were an important issue , Washington needed allies in Asia to address the global threat of North Korea ’ s development of nuclear weapons .
Ben Cardin , a ranking member of the foreign relations committee of the U . S . Senate , said he was “ deeply disturbed ” by the invitation , and said he would this week introduce bipartisan legislation to send a warning to Duterte , which would include a ban on arms sales to the Philippine police .
“ This is a man who has boasted publicly about killing his own citizens ,” Cardin said in a statement .
“ Ignoring human rights will not advance U . S . interests in the Philippines or any place else . Just the opposite .”
Duterte has received widespread condemnation in the West for failure to curtail the killings and address activists ’ allegations of systematic , state-sponsored murders by police of drug users and dealers , which the authorities reject .
Duterte has also received praise , however , the Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP ) have been conducting a number of aerial strikes on indigenous and rural communities .
The escalation of military aerial bombardment on civilians follows the decision of President Duterte on February 5 , 2016 to call off the Peace Talks between the Government of the Philippines ( GRP ) and the National Democratic Front ( NDFP ), according to the letter .
“ When the Canadian government announced the sale of the 8 Bell 412EP helicopters to the Philippine Army in 2014 , we raised our concerns to the government and parliamentarians that the helicopters might be used against civilian communities in military operations such as those now taking place ,” the letter recalled .
“ We call on the Canadian government to suspend all sales of military goods and all defense-related

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assistance to and cooperation with the Philippine Government ,” the letter also stated
for his handling of one of the world ’ s fastest-growing economies , and a policy agenda geared toward supporting farmers and small businesses , developing infrastructure and fighting poverty in a country where a fifth of the people live on less than $ 1 a day .
But critics said Trump had gone a step too far with an invitation that was tantamount to an endorsement of Duterte ’ s bloody approach to law and order .
Duterte is also known for his foul language in lambasting the United States on a near-daily basis for what he calls a history of hypocrisy . He last week called the New York Times “ assholes ” for its coverage of his anti-drugs campaign .
Spokesperson Abella also reiterated that Duterte had acknowledged Trump ’ s invitation , but had not accepted it .
Although Trump gave no timeframe for the invitation , Duterte told

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reporters he could not commit because he might be “ tied up ” with other overseas trips .