by Stefan Christoff

As Canadian military aid to the Arroyo government continues to flow, the southern Philippines has been labeled a "new front" to the US-driven 'War on Terror' opened shortly after 9/11, in an effort to legitimate the heightened targeting of armed movements rooted in the minority Muslim community by both the Philippine military and US forces stationed in the country, according to human rights advocates.

You're invited to participate in the B.C. Committee for Human Rights (BCCHRP) upcoming educational series...

Workshop 3-Come out for a discussion about understanding human rights from the perspective of the Filipino people in their struggle for genuine freedom and democracy.

This workshop will also be an opportunity to look how as people in Canada we can continue to build people-to-people solidarity with the people of the Philippines.

All are welcome!

You're invited to participate in the B.C. Committee for Human Rights (BCCHRP) upcoming educational series...

Workshop 2-Join us in a discussion to learn about Philippine society today and the role the Canadian government and private interests, like Canadian mining companies, play in the deteriorating state of human rights and democracy in the country.

All are welcome!

In August 2002, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced with some fanfare that it had decided to declare [Jose Maria] Sison a "terrorist." The [Communist Party of the Phillipines] as well as the [New People's Army] were already on the list of "foreign terrorist organizations" prepared by the State Department and rubber-stamped by Congress every two years.

The [Philipines] government under ‘President’ Gloria Macapagal Arroyo...has gone to great lengths to physically annihilate political opponents and social movement leaders who are increasingly seen as the genuine representatives of the great majority of the Filipinos. Except for the unconditional support of the Bush White House, her regime faces increasing international ostracism and isolation.