xanana ventura en la red

special post - on the arrest and torture of musician alexis uy

This post is forwarded from a forwarded email message I got this morning. This regime's goin' down people, if not for the many human rights violations like this the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration is getting. Please forward this to as many people as you can. We just can't let another second pass to let out our outrage.


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Go Not to the Silence of the Graveyard

We in the Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST
Gloria) condemn to high heavens the arrest, detention
and torture of our fellow artist, Alexis Uy – an
gifted musician and recent UP Diliman graduate who
helped organize the Artistang Pangkultura ng
Mamamalakaya sa Timog Katagalugan (APLAYA), one of our
member organizations.

Uy, who also works as a researcher for the Kalipunan
ng Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan
(KASAMA-TK), was arrested April 30 in Lucena City
together with Joey dela Rosa, also a researcher for
the said peasant organization; and 12 peasant
activists from KOMPRA-Quezon. They were preparing to
join a caravan to Manila for the Labor Day rally when
arrested.

The 14 are now detained at the headquarters of the
military's Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) in Camp
Nakar, Lucena City, as confirmed by its chief Lt. Gen.
Pedro Cabuay Jr. Human rights workers handling their
case have disclosed that the authorities have refused
to allow counsel and visitors for them.

When Uy and his companions were arrested, they were on
their way to Manila to join a rally intending to
articulate the grievances of workers, as well as their
brothers and sisters in the rural areas, against a
government that has imposed a good number of the most
anti-people policies in decades.

This is a perfectly legitimate cause. For advocating
this, Uy and his companions were arrested and are now
detained.

We are concerned for the safety of Uy and his
companions. Too much have we seen of what is visited
upon perceived "enemies of the state" in the custody
of government forces. Because President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo is the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), we shall hold
her accountable for whatever happens to Uy and his
companions while in detention.

The arrest of Uy and his companions is an attack
against the freedom of _expression – a basic human
right held especially sacred by artists. It shows that
artists are free only for so long as they refrain from
challenging the ruling clique and the manner in which
it "orders" the country.

To prohibit dissent is to curtail the freedom of
_expression. As lawyer and historical conservationist
Trixie Angeles said, "Without freedom of _expression
there can be no artist."

We in ARREST Gloria cannot but condemn the arrest of
Uy and his companions – and not simply because Uy is a
member of our alliance.

We cannot bring ourselves to be silent at a time when
the forces of darkness have begun to haul artists to
the silence of the graveyard. To be silent at this
point is to put the gun to our heads and pull the
trigger.

Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST Gloria)
May 3, 2006

Southern Tagalog Exposure + KASIBULAN Women Visual
Artists' Collective + KUMASA (Kulturang Ugnayan ng
Manggagawa at Uring Anakpawis sa Timog Katagalugan) +
ARTIST, Inc. (Arts Research and Training Institute in
Southern Tagalog) + Kilometer 64 Poetry Group +
Tambisan sa Sining + APLAYA (Artistang Pangkultura ng
Mamamalakaya sa Timog Katagalugan) + UPLB Umalohokan +
Pokus Gitnang Luson + Paolo Martinez + Andrea Muñoz +
Gian Mayuga + Jeffrey Ferrer + Onin Tagaro + Bobby
Balingit + Winnie Balingit + Lourd de Veyra + Dong
Abay + Ninj Abay + Con Cabrera + Roselle Pineda +
Heidi Takama + Boom Dizon + Rommel Lozano + Mary Rose
Abano + Aba Dalena + Sari Dalena-Sicat + Gari
Buenavista + Tudla Productions + ADIOS GMA-NCR

posted by xanana ventura @ 12:48 p. m.