MIGRANTE airs concern for safety of Maita and its leaders

Migrante International wishes to express its solidarity with Melissa Roxas, the Fil-American activist who was abducted and tortured by masked men believed to be members of the Philippine military. Under an illegitimate and repressive regime such as that of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's, Melissa's act of pursuing charges against her abductors and torturers is an act of courage and dignity in a class of its own.  

 

Migrante International also condemns the malevolent attempts made by Pastor Alcover of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) and Bantay Partylist Representative, General Jovito Palparan, to discredit Melissa. In falsely accusing her to be a member of the New People's Army (NPA) to justify Melissa's abduction and torture, Alcover and Palparan, both rabid fascists, continue to affirm the heinous government policy of committing human rights violations against any suspected or imagined enemy of the state.    

 

We view both Alcover's and Palparan's statements against Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Satur Ocampo and a host of other legitimate organizations as a direct threat to all progressive organizations who have spoken up and stood against Arroyo's vicious regime.  

 

Maita was target

 

We are alarmed over the information that Melissa Roxas has been mistaken for Maita Santiago - a Filipino-Canadian and a former Secretary General of Migrante International - when she was forcibly taken by armed men in La Paz, Tarlac last May 19.

 

This is concrete proof that it was Migrante's Maita and not Melissa who was the target.

 

Thus, Migrante International raises its concern over Maita's safety and security - even as she is now back in Canada - and the safety and security of our officers, organizers and members here and abroad.

 

We are calling on the Canadian government to not stand idly by as one of its own citizens have been evidently targeted for abduction and torture. Putting a blind eye on this issue, we believe, could endanger more Canadian citizens who'll be taking part in future solidarity missions and exposure trips in the country.

 

Lastly, we demand that Melissa Roxas' abductors and torturers be brought to justice swiftly and that the government and the military immediately put an end to this terror campaign against progressive organizations and individuals.