Some 500 migrants trying to make their way from Egypt to Malta by boat are believed to have drowned last week after people smugglers reportedly rammed and sank their vessel, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The IOM report is based on reports from the few survivors of the tragedy who say the group of Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese had hoped to eventually reach Europe.
In a separate incident, some 70 Libyans were feared drowned in a similar tragedy involving the sinking of a migrant boat.
The Telegraph says of the first tragedy that “if confirmed [it] would rank as the worst disaster in the Mediterranean for years.”
The newspaper says the story “was recounted by two Palestinians who spent more than a day floating in the water before being picked up by a Panama-flagged merchant vessel about 300 miles off Malta.
“They were brought to the port of Pozzallo in Sicily at the weekend, where they told their story to IoM officials.
“Nine other survivors were rescued by Greek and Maltese rescue vessels.”
The survivors said there had been a confrontation as smugglers tried to move migrants to a smaller boat. Christiane Berthiaume, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, told The Associated Press that traffickers “used one boat to knock the other,” apparently causing the sinking.
By way of background, the AP says: “Refugee numbers have swelled as thousands of people flee conflicts in Syria, Iraq and across the Middle East and Africa, boarding unsafe smugglers’ boats in Libya. Nearly 110,000 people have been rescued since January, but at least 1,889 others have died making the perilous crossing, according to the U.N. refugee agency.”
We have reported on a number of such incidents in the past, going back as far as 2011.
Last month, NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reported on Italy’s efforts to tackle the problem, saying: “Reports of migrant boats in distress have become a near-daily news headline over the past year.”
Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. 500 Migrants Feared Dead After Boat Sinks In Mediterranean
Ideastream.org, September 15, 2014
The International Organization for Migration says the incident took place last week when people smugglers rammed a vessel carrying hundreds of refugees hoping to reach European waters.
Some 500 migrants trying to make their way from Egypt to Malta by boat are believed to have drowned last week after people smugglers reportedly rammed and sank their vessel, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The IOM report is based on reports from the few survivors of the tragedy who say the group of Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese had hoped to eventually reach Europe.
In a separate incident, some 70 Libyans were feared drowned in a similar tragedy involving the sinking of a migrant boat.
The Telegraph says of the first tragedy that “if confirmed [it] would rank as the worst disaster in the Mediterranean for years.”
The newspaper says the story “was recounted by two Palestinians who spent more than a day floating in the water before being picked up by a Panama-flagged merchant vessel about 300 miles off Malta.
“They were brought to the port of Pozzallo in Sicily at the weekend, where they told their story to IoM officials.
“Nine other survivors were rescued by Greek and Maltese rescue vessels.”
The survivors said there had been a confrontation as smugglers tried to move migrants to a smaller boat. Christiane Berthiaume, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, told The Associated Press that traffickers “used one boat to knock the other,” apparently causing the sinking.
By way of background, the AP says: “Refugee numbers have swelled as thousands of people flee conflicts in Syria, Iraq and across the Middle East and Africa, boarding unsafe smugglers’ boats in Libya. Nearly 110,000 people have been rescued since January, but at least 1,889 others have died making the perilous crossing, according to the U.N. refugee agency.”
We have reported on a number of such incidents in the past, going back as far as 2011.
Last month, NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reported on Italy’s efforts to tackle the problem, saying: “Reports of migrant boats in distress have become a near-daily news headline over the past year.”
Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
Some 500 migrants trying to make their way from Egypt to Malta by boat are believed to have drowned last week after people smugglers reportedly rammed and sank their vessel, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The IOM report is based on reports from the few survivors of the tragedy who say the group of Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese had hoped to eventually reach Europe.
In a separate incident, some 70 Libyans were feared drowned in a similar tragedy involving the sinking of a migrant boat.
The Telegraph says of the first tragedy that “if confirmed [it] would rank as the worst disaster in the Mediterranean for years.”
The newspaper says the story “was recounted by two Palestinians who spent more than a day floating in the water before being picked up by a Panama-flagged merchant vessel about 300 miles off Malta.
“They were brought to the port of Pozzallo in Sicily at the weekend, where they told their story to IoM officials.
“Nine other survivors were rescued by Greek and Maltese rescue vessels.”
The survivors said there had been a confrontation as smugglers tried to move migrants to a smaller boat. Christiane Berthiaume, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, told The Associated Press that traffickers “used one boat to knock the other,” apparently causing the sinking.
By way of background, the AP says: “Refugee numbers have swelled as thousands of people flee conflicts in Syria, Iraq and across the Middle East and Africa, boarding unsafe smugglers’ boats in Libya. Nearly 110,000 people have been rescued since January, but at least 1,889 others have died making the perilous crossing, according to the U.N. refugee agency.”
We have reported on a number of such incidents in the past, going back as far as 2011.
Last month, NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reported on Italy’s efforts to tackle the problem, saying: “Reports of migrant boats in distress have become a near-daily news headline over the past year.”
Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Migrante Austria open letter on Aquino Europe visit
“It is clear that BS Aquino is undeserving of the office he holds – we need an honorable President to lead, represent and uphold the rights and interests of the Filipino people!”
An open letter to the Filipino people
copy furnished:
Philippine Embassy in Austria at [email protected]
Office of the President at [email protected] / [email protected]
Office of the Philippine Senate President at [email protected]
Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives at https://www.facebook.com/HouseSpeakerFelicianoBelmonteJr,
European Parliament President Martin Shulz at https://www.facebook.com/PresidentEP,
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel at [email protected] and Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo at [email protected] )
We at Migrante Austria denounce BS Aquino’s current European tour as a costly junket, an absolute waste of time and money.
BS Aquino definitely lacks the dignity and integrity needed to effectively foster better relations with foreign governments.
Here are just a few of the issues of concern to us, Filipinos in Europe:
He has a human rights record that is incompatible with democracy. From July 2010 to March 2014, Karapatan, a Philippine-based human rights watchdog, has documented cases of 192 victims of extrajudicial killings, 21 cases of enforced disappearance, 94 of torture and 631 cases of illegal arrests and detention. Included in these figures are twenty-six journalists reportedly murdered since President Aquino took office. It is no wonder that the Asian Human Rights Commission ranked the Philippines as the 3rd most dangerous place for journalists and activists – from trade union activists to human rights defenders alike. We underscore the fact that up to now there is still no justice for two European citizens murdered under Aquino’s counterinsurgency scheme — missionaries Fr. Pops Tentorio of Italy and Willem Geertman of the Netherlands. All of these are attributable to his Oplan Bayanihan.
Since he “took over, what can be seen is the indisputable trend of worsening poverty and living condition…
From 2010 to 2014 (first quarter), the number of Filipino families that consider themselves poor is growing by 700,000 a year (or 3.5 million Filipinos annually at 5 members per family)
From 2010 to 2013, the number of Filipino families that experience hunger is increasing by 200,000 a year (or 1 million Filipinos annually)
From 2010 to 2013, the number of jobless Filipino workers is expanding by 500,000 a year.” http://arnoldpadilla.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/poverty-trends/
He remains deaf and blind to the plight of an ever-growing number of Filipinos who choose to be exploited cruelly as undocumented domestic helpers here in Europe and any other place imaginable or even risk their lives in war- torn countries rather than return to the Philippines. This is the harsh indication of Aquino’s Labor Export Policy (LEP) failure to uplift the economy and solve unemployment and poverty in the Philippines.
He has been rightfully accused of the “highest betrayal of Philippine sovereignty” with the signing of the defense agreement, which it called “the resurrection of US military bases in the Philippines using the Chinese incursion hysteria to justify the return of (more) troops and nuclear-powered war vessels …“
He stubbornly refuses to give up the system of discretionary funds despite the decision of the Supreme Court declaring the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional. He willfully and knowingly disbursed the astronomical amount of P174B through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), his very own scheme that “became a source of corruption and a tool to control other branches of government.”.
Almost one year after the vast devastation caused in the Philippines by the tropical cyclone Haiyan (Yolanda), he takes a mendicant gesture and continues to ask assistance from international donors (including Europe) while snubbing survivors demanding the delivery relief and rehabilitation… there are still around 15,000 survivors living in tent cities, bunk houses and evacuation centers and hundreds of farmers are still asking for the relief while waiting for the harvest of their rice and other products… Hundreds of workers are unemployed because the business and commerce have not been fully restored…”
Contrary to his claims, he has failed to negotiate in good faith and to honour the ground rules of the peace talks between the government and the NDFP that is being mediated by the Kingdom of Norway: the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL), the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and other agreements since 1992.
BS Aquino has no business going on junkets – the Filipino people need public funds for social services, national industrialization and genuine land reform!
It is clear that BS Aquino is undeserving of the office he holds – we need an honorable President to lead, represent and uphold the rights and interests of the Filipino people!
Migrante Austria
Email: [email protected]
Letter of Spanish organizations to BS Aquino on his visit to Spain
(see rough translation below)
VIAJE A MADRID DEL PRESIDENTE DE FILIPINAS:
Carta de organizaciones españolas a Benigno S. Aquino III.-
Han entregado una carta en la Embajada de Filipinas pidiéndole, a la vista de las numerosas violaciones de derechos humanos documentadas en su país, que tome las disposiciones necesarias para ponerles fin y acabar con la impunidad existente en Filipinas desde la época de Ferdinand Marcos hasta nuestros días.
____________________________________________________________
Sr. Presidente de la República de Filipinas
BENIGNO AQUINO III
Madrid, 15 de septiembre de 2014
Sr. Presidente:
Con motivo de su visita a España y concretamente a Madrid, hubiéramos deseado ofrecerle una bienvenida más cordial como Presidente democrático de la República de Filipinas.
No obstante, nos vemos en la obligación moral de aprovechar su corta estancia en Madrid para hacerle partícipe de nuestra gran preocupación ante las informaciones que, por diversos conductos y al margen de ideologías, venimos recibiendo desde hace tiempo sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Filipinas:
De julio 2010 (año de su investidura presidencial) hasta Junio de 2014, se han documentado 204 ejecuciones extrajudiciales; 21 desapariciones forzosas, 99 casos de tortura; 207 de ejecuciones extrajudiciales frustradas, 664 de arrestos ilegales y detenciones; 39.800 desplazamientos forzados de población; 65.712 casos de amenazas, hostigamientos e intimidaciones; 141.490 casos de utilización de la población civil como escudo humano o guía para las fuerzas armadas o de seguridad; 141.490 casos de uso militar de lugares públicos tales como escuelas, centros médicos o religiosos. Las cifras podrían variar entre unas investigaciones y otras, pero la gravedad de los hechos permanece inalterable.
Las personas más vulnerables: campesinado, pueblos indígenas, trabajadoras, defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos…, son quienes con mayor frecuencia se suelen ver criminalizadas y son víctimas de estos atropellos a las libertades fundamentales.
Aunque somos conscientes de que muy pocos países en el mundo se ven libres de escandalosos casos de corrupción, Vd. conoce bien los sentimientos de ira y desesperación de la ciudadanía filipina, tanto en relación con el desvío de fondos del “Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)” (más conocido popularmente como “Pork Barrel”), sobre el que el Tribunal Supremo de su país se ha pronunciado de manera contundente, como en lo que tiene que ver con las donaciones, procedentes de la Unión Europea y de algunos de sus gobiernos, destinadas a las víctimas del tifón Yolanda/Haiyan, que causó tanta destrucción y dolor hace ya casi un año. Entendemos que durante su estancia en Europa, Vd. dará cuentas detalladas sobre su distribución.
Sr. Presidente:
Además de pedirle que la República de Filipinas firme y ratifique por fin la Convención Internacional para la protección de todas las personas contra las desapariciones forzosas,
Desde España le instamos, a que vele también por las grandes mayorías empobrecidas de su país y tome las disposiciones necesarias para poner fin a todas las violaciones de los derechos humanos en Filipinas, y que el Derecho a la Verdad, la Justicia, la Reparación y la No Repetición, se haga realidad tanto para las víctimas producidas durante su mandato como en períodos anteriores.
Sr. Presidente, ¡Vd. Puede!
Reciba un atento saludo.
APDHE (Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España)
COMADEHCO (Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Colombia)
ICID (Iniciativas de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo)
IEPALA (Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África)
IU (Izquierda Unida)
Justicia por Colombia
OSPAAAL (Organización de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de África, Asia y América Latina)
GM-Los Verdes Confederación
CDHHG (Comisión de Derechos Humanos Hispano-Guatemalteca)
———————————–
MADRID TRIP TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES:
Spanish Letter Benigno S. Aquino organizations III.-
They have delivered a letter to the Philippine Embassy asking, in view of the numerous human rights violations documented in their country, to take the necessary steps to stop them and end the impunity in the Philippines since the time of Ferdinand Marcos to the present days.
____________________________________________________________
President of the Republic of the Philippines
BENIGNO AQUINO III
Madrid, September 15, 2014
Mr. President:
On the occasion of his visit to Madrid Spain and specifically, we wished to offer you a warm welcome as a democratic President of the Republic of the Philippines.
However, we feel the moral obligation to take advantage of their short stay in Madrid to make him share our deep concern about reports, through various channels and outside ideologies, has long been receiving on the situation of human rights in Philippines:
July 2010 (the year of his presidential inauguration) until June 2014, has documented 204 extrajudicial executions; 21 forced disappearances, 99 cases of torture; 207 of frustrated extrajudicial killings, 664 illegal arrests and detentions; 39,800 forced evictions; 65,712 cases of threats, harassment and intimidation; 141,490 cases of using civilians as a human shield or guide for the armed or security forces; 141,490 cases of military use of public places such as schools, medical or religious centers. The figures could vary between a research and other, but the severity of the events remains unchanged.
The most vulnerable people: peasants, indigenous peoples, workers, defenders of human rights … are those most often criminalized and are often seen victims of these attacks on fundamental freedoms.
Although we are aware that very few countries in the world are free of scandalous cases of corruption, you. Knows the feelings of anger and despair of Philippine citizenship right, both in relation to the diversion of funds from the “Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) “(more popularly known as” Pork Barrel “), on which the Supreme Court of the country has ruled conclusively, as it has to do with the donations from the European Union and some of their governments, for victims of Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan, which caused so much destruction and pain almost a year ago. We understand that during his stay in Europe, you. Give detailed accounts on their distribution.
Mr. President:
In addition to asking that the Republic of the Philippines and firm finally ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
From Spain we urge you to also ensure the impoverished majority of their country and take the necessary steps to end all violations of human rights in the Philippines, and the Right to the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non Repetition reality for both victims occurred during his term as in previous periods.
Mr. President, you. You can!
Yours sincerely.
APDHE (Human Rights Association of Spain)
COMADEHCO (Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia)
ICID (Initiatives for International Cooperation for Development)
IEPALA (Institute of Political Studies for Latin America and Africa)
IU (United Left)
Justice for Colombia
OSPAAL (Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America)
GM-Greens Confederation
CDHHG (Human Rights Commission Hispano-Guatemala)
Enough of B. S. Aquino, Corrupt and Brutal Ruler! Never again to another Marcos dictatorship!
13 September 2014
(Statement on the visit of BS Aquino to Europe)
WE view with utmost indignation the visit of Philippine president BS Aquino to Europe from Sept. 14-20. His visit on an expensive chartered flight is a waste of the people’s money better spent on the victims of typhoons and housing and employment for the country’s urban poor and millions of jobless Filipinos.
He and his coterie will be traveling around Europe principally seeking to repair what is, in fact, the irreparably damaged image of his regime’s supposed ‘righteous path’ that has been exposed to be rotten and crooked before the eyes of the Filipino people and the international community. He will beg for increased political and material support from major European governments as his regime suffers political isolation in the Philippines and further sinks into the quagmire of corruption scandals involving the theft of public funds by his family and close allies not seen since the time of the Marcos dictatorship.
He is following the footsteps of the much-hated dictator Ferdinand Marcos by seeking an extension of his term despite being forbidden by the Philippine constitution, which he will try to dismantle by using the fiscal resources of the government that is under his absolute disposal.
As concerned citizens and residents of Europe, we demand answers on several urgent issues affecting the Filipino people:
*Where is the money raised in Europe for the rehabilitation of the victims of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)? Where is the rehabilitation, almost one year after the disaster?
*Where are the trillions of pesos of public funds used as “pork barrel” under such names as Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), etc.? Despite having usurped absolute control over public funds, how come essential social services remain starved of much-needed funds?
*Why all the posturing on defending Philippine sovereignty on the issue of China’s claims, while on the other hand, signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) allowing US troops to occupy every corner of the Philippines?
*Where is justice and human rights under Aquino’s regime? Gross and systematic violations of human rights persist despite having received large funds from the EU to enhance human rights in the Philippines! There is still no justice for two European citizens murdered under Aquino’s counterinsurgency scheme — missionaries Fr. Pops Tentorio of Italy and Willem Geertman of the Netherlands. He won’t rein in impunity, because he knows that his Oplan Bayanihan equals human rights violations.
*Why continue to hype about the country’s supposed economic progress, when it’s only Aquino’s clan and business allies that benefit, and that the majority of the people continue to suffer under very poor and inhuman conditions? Why hype about progress when the number of Filipino migrants in search of jobs continues to increase in Europe and the rest of the world?
*Why the continued intransigence in continuing peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) towards a just and lasting peace, which the European Parliament has endorsed?
We join in solidarity with the Filipino people in firmly opposing BS Aquino’s scheme to extend his term and become another Marcos. Aquino´s ambition to become another Marcos assassinates the democratic legacy not only of his parents, but all of those who fought and died fighting the Marcos dictatorship.
We join the people in calling for the prosecution of ALL involved in the pork barrel scam and all forms of corruption — from BS Aquino to his close political allies and family members. We call for an end to impunity and a stop to the political killings! We call on the solidarity of our European friends to join us in asking European governments: STOP political support and aid to the corrupt, oppressive, fascist, puppet and rotten Aquino regime!
Initial Signatories:
* International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
* BAYAN Europe
* Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
* Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
* ICHRP-Rome, Italy
* MIGRANTE Europe – (Migrante Austria, Migrante Denmark, Migrante Geneva, Migrante Milan, Migrante Netherlands, Umangat-Migrante Rome, Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium, Migrante-UK, Filipino Domestic Workers-London, Filipino Scholars in Berlin, Concerned Filipino-Germans in Berlin and Hamburg, Makabayang Samahan ng mga Pilipino-Netherlands)
References:
CANON BARRY NAYLOR
Chairperson, Global Council
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
and Honorary Chairperson of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
Office: +44 (0) 116 261 5371
Email: [email protected]
REV. CESAR TAGUBA
MIGRANTE Europe
Email: [email protected]
Filipinos in Europe say “Enough of B***S***!”
PRESS RELEASE
11 September 2014
Progressive Filipinos in Europe will hold protest actions against Philippine President BS Aquino when he visits several European countries from September 14 to 20. They want the governments and peoples of Europe to join them in telling the world “Enough of BS Aquino!”.
This was expressed by Rev. Cesar Taguba of Migrante Europe, which coordinates a network of progressive Filipino organizations in Europe. Majority of Filipino compatriots continue to support rehabilitation efforts of the victims of typhoon Yolanda, and are actively campaigning against the pork barrel.
“BS Aquino is going on a costly public relations tour in Europe to try to repair the irreparably damaged image of his supposed ‘righteous path’ that has been exposed to be rotten and crooked,” stressed Taguba.
Reverend Taguba said Filipinos in Europe are rightfully seething with anger since last year when the inutility of BS Aquino was exposed with his handling of the Yolanda (Haiyan) disaster, and later with the public exposure that he is the biggest user of the so-called “pork barrel” funds (DAP), which the Philippine Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.
“He (Aquino) has become a lameduck president, exposed as the number one user of pork barrel, a traitor to the Philippine Constitution for signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which allows the basing of US troops in the country, and an enemy of human rights,” Taguba says. The increasing number of undocumented Filipinos in Europe, working as domestic helpers, he says, is the starkest indication of Aquino’s failure to uplift the economy and solve unemployment and poverty in the Philippines.
Recently, Taguba says, Aquino wants to be another Ferdinand Marcos, for wanting to extend his term as president, which the Philippine constitution forbids, in order to divert public attention away from his corruption and coddling of his political allies involved in stealing billions of public funds. The term extension issue, Taguba explains, has prompted a scathing editorial from the influential New York Times, that warned him against “political mischief” and virtually blew up Aquino’s remaining reputation in the international community as a defender of his parents’ democratic ideals.
Taguba says Filipinos in Europe and their European friends will conduct meetings and discussions on the issues in the Philippines, hold mass actions, lobby European governments to stop aid to the Aquino government, and probably hound Aquino as he trots around several countries in Europe.
Aquino is scheduled to visit Spain (Sept. 14-15), Brussels (Sept. 15-16), France (Sept. 17-18) and Germany (Sept. 19-20). Meanwhile, Filipinos and environmentalists are preparing to picket BS Aquino during his attendance in the UN Global Climate Summit in New York after his Europe junket.
Reference:
Grace Punongbayan
MIGRANTE Europe
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
[email protected]
+31-6-33056411
A nice entry
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