MILITARY TORTURE AND STATE TERRORISM IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
Despite the election of Benigno Aquino III to succeed the corrupt brutal Arroyo, 43 healthworkers continue to suffer military torture. Five are confined to the military camp alleged as self-confessed New People's Army guerillas, while 38 were transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, notorious for the massacre of Moro suspects. The five persons on which the fascist generals are concentrating their torture are: VALENTINO PAULINO, CHERRYLYN TAWAGON, ELLEN CARANDANG, JENNYLYN PIZZARO, & JOHN MARK BARRIENTOS. Carandang's children were taken from their home by the military," according to KARAPATAN, human rights monitor. Their relatives are threatened or offered bribes coercively to side with the military and incriminate themselves or their kin. We appeal to the international community to denounce this barbaric treatment and demand the immediate release of the Morong 43.
Torture Never Stopped Under Obama (tags)
What is Torture? It can be physical or physchological, quick or unhurried. It implies lasting trauma unbefitting a human. The U.N. defines torture as: “ ...any act by which severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession…” (U.N. Convention Against Torture). By this definition the U.S. continues to practice torture. Yes, Obama outlawed some especially shocking forms of torture — water boarding, for example — but other types of torture were not labeled “torture” and thus continue.
BTL:Amnesty International Reports to U.N. on Torture and Abuse (tags)
Interview with Joshua Rubenstein, northeast regional director of Amnesty International USA, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris