Extrajudicial Beheadings

Where in the world are all those long-nosed United Nations Rapporteurs like Philip Alston when you really need them? Here we've had 17 extrajudicial beheadings already in 2007 yet there is not a peep from those exponents of international-humanitarian-lawyerliness about the culture of impunity that --SWISH-- is lethally alive in Basilan.''

Just to put a face and a name to what the Catholic bishops are calling SAVAGERY and BARBARISM in Basilan let it be ISNILON TOTONI HAPILON who has up to 5 million dollars bounty on his head under the United States Rewards for Justice program. Bob in Mindanao has the story of Hapilon's possible motive for carrying out the atrocity: vengeance.

I wonder if Karapatan has added the names of those beheaded this year to their list of extrajudicial killings? Or do they only count only whomever they want to count for propaganda purposes? No beheaded Marines, ambushed policemen, assassinated local government officials, recalcitrant farmers or suspected deep penetration agents allowed on the list of extrajudicial killings?

JOMA STILL ON EU TERRORIST LIST The Dutch Embassy (whose country has been the haven of the Communist Party of the Philippines, with virtually its entire Central Committee enjoying the hospitality of the Dutch welfare and legal systems) makes an important clarification following breathless news yesterday in the Leftist rumor mills:

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison is still on the European Union’s (EU) terrorism list and his assets remain frozen, the Royal Netherlands Embassy here said Friday.

“The judgment of July 11 of the ECFI bears upon an old decision which had already been withdrawn by the council. The judgment does not concern the latest review process of the EU terrorism list by the council, which culminated in a new list adopted on June 29, 2007,” the Dutch embassy said.

“This new decision, covering all persons and organizations on the EU terrorism list, includes Mr. Sison, the CPP, and the NPA (New People’s Army) on the list and maintains the freeze on their assets,” the statement added.

I think that the remarks of Rohan Gunaratna, a regional anti terrorism expert are pertinent to the expressed concerns of the left regarding the Human Security Act of 2007 (GMA TV News reports):

A much maligned new anti-terror law is needed for battling al-Qaeda-linked militants more effectively and to protect human rights by forcing authorities to operate within a legal framework, a terrorism expert said Friday.

Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, said the Human Security Act that takes effect Sunday has been watered down but could be revised later to make it a more potent weapon against terrorists.

"I think the counterterrorism law is very weak, but the government has to implement it," Gunaratna told The Associated Press by telephone. "It's a good starting point."

Military forces have dealt with terror threats for years but have been accused of extra-judicial killings. If enforced properly, the new law will protect human rights by drawing a legal line that anti-terror units must not cross, he said.

Considering the legitimate terror threats confronting the country, "people living outside the Philippines are shocked that the country did not have anti-terrorism legislation," he said. - AP

I have made a similar point on the Comment Thread of MLQ3 recently that with the anti-terror law, terrorism becomes a concern of Civil Society. It is not exclusively a concern of the military or police.