ON EVE OF NINOY'S DEATH ANNIVERSARY POLITICAL PRISONERS ASK FREEDOM
MANILA, August 16, 2005 (STAR) By Katherine Adraneda - Political prisoners appealed to President Arroyo yesterday to grant them freedom, timing their call with the commemoration of the 22nd death anniversary of Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, the opposition figure who was martyred during the Marcos dictatorship.In an open letter, the political prisoners, who are currently serving sentences at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City, urged the President to pave the way for the release of the "men and women of conviction who fought for social change and who are languishing in jail accused of criminal offenses."
"The government has accused us of committing common crimes and as a consequence society has ostracized us, treating us (like) ordinary criminals," they said in a statement.
They lamented that political prisoners are seen as enemies of the state, and that the government has continued to deny their existence in an attempt to obscure the legitimate cause for which they have fought — a far cry from the honors given to the slain Aquino.
"We may be prisoners but we are not criminals. Like Ninoy our only crime was that we struggled so that the rights of the common people would not be tramped upon," the political prisoners said.
"And our only guilt was that we chose to stand up against the yoke of injustice and oppression," they noted.
Aquino, the most prominent political prisoner when the late President Ferdinand Marcos was in power, is remembered as a fighter for democracy, and has been extended honors befitting a hero.
Marcos had Aquino arrested and detained from 1972 to 1979. He was charged with the crime of subversion, which was then punishable by firing squad. This sentence was commuted into exile to allow him to receive medical treatment in the United States in 1980.
In the US, Aquino continued to speak against the oppressive regime and vowed to return home to press his demand that Marcos step down. Upon his return, Aquino was assassinated as he emerged from an airplane at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.
"Ninoy was arrested and detained for his ideals; we share this same fate," the political prisoners said.
As this developed, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) said it will launch a series of protest actions to gain support for their campaign to release all political prisoners.
On every 21st day of the month beginning Sept. 21, when the nation remembers Marcos’ declaration of martial law in 1972, the group will conduct a "fasting for freedom."
TFDP said there are still 261 political prisoners in the country today.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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