Accusers dialog with accused in new human rights project

It’s a bit like “mini peace talks" – the series of meetings between human rights advocates and law enforcers who are often accused of abuses that has gone largely unnoticed by the public in the past three months.

One of the meetings was attended by Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, whom activists have dubbed "the butcher" for his alleged involvement in several killings during his stint in the Philippine Army.

Another one was held with Satur Ocampo, former representative of the partylist group Bayan Muna, whose members have been victims of the killings.

A rare dialogue also brought together Karapatan, a militant human rights group known for exposing rights abuses committed by the military , and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta.

“We were a bit anxious that the two sides would be at each other’s throats, but the meeting turned out to be quite civil," said Rorie Fajardo, Program Coordinator of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an international media NGO.

The meetings are part of the “Target Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances: A Consensus-Building, Media Reporting, and Risk Reduction Project" (Target EJK), a project launched by IWPR last October in Quezon City.

In the days leading up to the first anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 23, which saw at least 57 people getting killed in the worst election-related violence in the country, these human rights issues are once again gaining public attention.

“But huge disagreements on the issue among human rights groups, the military and other groups hamper the forging of lasting solutions," Fajardo said.


(2010-11-19/GMANews.TV)