Free Liza Maza

Yesterday, Abril 25th, 2006, in the Phillipines, formal charges and arrest warrants were filled against 6 congresspeople, and 42 others, on charges of rebellion, which in the Phillipines is punishable with the death penalty.
The case dates back to Feb 24, 2006, with a state of emergency was declared, after the government led by president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo alleged it had been victim of a coup d'état. The plot would have coincided with demonstrations marking the revolution that toppled former dictator Ferdinand Marcos (on Feb 22-25, 1986).
Arroyo claimed there existed a “clear and present danger to our republic that we have discovered and thwarted … a plan by a few misguided elements in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in conspiracy with the Left represented by the National Democratic Front–Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA), to overthrow the government.” Yet what she was truely confronting during the first few days of protesting was massive desatisfaction with her corrupt, inept government that united many organizations and brought thousands to the streets to rally and march. She responded by issuing Proclamation nº1017, on Feb 24th, which led to dozens of arrests and the raid of the Daily Tribune and Abante, newspapers opposing Macapagal-Arroyo. 1017 also included a "no rally order". This was immediately defied in an opposition rally that included religious and political activists, among them former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Teodoro Bacani and Bishop Oscar Cruz. The rally at Ninoy Aquino Monument in Ayala Avenue, Makati City was met with violent dispersal by police and several protesters were arrested, including one of the rally leaders, University of the Philippines Prof. Randy David.
On Fev 7th, the PNP–CIDG (Philippine National Police-Crime Investigation and Detection Group) filed cases against 51 alleged communists, which includes four party-list representatives: Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran, Teodoro Casiño and Liza Maza. They were provided sanctuary by House Speaker Jose de Venecia who offered his office and conference room to be their detention cell as long as they are under the protective custody of the House. (For more details see, for instance, a regional human rights organization Solidarity Philippines Australia Network - SPAN)
Although the state of emergency was lifted on March 3rd, the crackdown on progressive peoples organization continues. There are reports of political assasinations, threats and persecution of political activists. Among the targeted groups is Gabriela National Women's Alliance, whose vice-chair, Liza Maza, was been under house arrest. Maza was tireless activist and lawmaker defending women's human rights, having sponsored the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (2003) and co-authored the Anti-Violence in Women and Children Act.
The Philippine people need your solidarity. Those unjustly arrested and facing potencial death penalty rulings, including Liza Maza, need your support. Visit the Gabriela website to find out more and how you can help.

Hunger strike for union rights

Janitors, housekeepers and groundkeepers at the University of Miami have been fighting for the right to join a union. Their employwer, the company UNICCO, is threatening and intimidating workers fighting for this recongnized basic human right. Worker have pleaded with the President of the University, Donna Shalala, a former Clinton administration official, to intervene, but she has refsed to do so.

The struggle became more intense when, two weeks ago, several workers and half dozen university students (in solidarity) started a liquids-only hunger strike. Four of the hunger strikers have already been hospitalized. For video footage of the strike go here.

Civil rights leaders, politicians and labor leaders have showed their support for the hunger strikers and, mst importantly, for the workers right to join a union. Workers are asking for expressions of solidarity, and directing supporters to write Donna Shalala.

Workers are simply asking Shalala to allow them to join a union through the card check procedure, whereby if enough cards signed by workers wanting to form a union are collected, the union must be recognized. The procedure is not formally recongized yet. Workers wanting to form a union must undergo several bureaucratic steps supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which tend to favor the union busting tactics employed by company owners. For this reason, more than 40 senators and 200 representatives in Congress have called for a new labor law, the Employee Free Choice Act which would make card check procedures the right of every employee. These hunger strikers are on the forefront of the fight for Union and Workers Rights in the US.