UN blames AFP for murders; GMA gov’t in total denial

The inept corrupt Arroyo government is just doing a lip service to stop political killings and rampant human rights violations. Gloria Arroyo oversaw an unparallel series of political assassinations of journalists, lawyers, church workers, and peasant and labor leaders, militant activists. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has a constitutional mandate as protector of the people not annihilator of the Filipino people. Some rogue elements of the military (low level soldiers) cannot act alone without orders from their superior officers. The Arroyo regime all-out war against the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army may be responsible for political killings of suspected CPP-NPA supporters. The military death squads take the law into their hands without due process. Suspects of the so-called enemies of the state have the right to a fair trial in court. The military top honchos are untouchables. Military support is the key factor for the political survival of discredited Gloria Arroyo regime. Defense chief Ebdane and AFP chief of staff General Esperon are involved in massive electoral fraud in 2004 presidential election and its subsequent cover-up operations. Arroyo cannot afford to alienate the military hierarchy she depends on to stay in power.



Military must admit extrajudicial killings- UN special rapporteur
Melo Commission Report
Gov’t Readies Reply to UN Rapporteur
Melo Commission Ignored Key Policy Issues on Killings

DoJ chief: ‘Sonamagun’ Alston no RP expert

UN blames AFP for murders; GMA gov’t in total denial

Daily Tribune 02/22/2007

The United Nations, through its special rapporteur, Philip Alston, in a press conference held yesterday, placed the blame on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for many of the political murders that have rocked the country and pressed President Arroyo to rein in the bloodshedm stressing that the AFP and the Arroyo government are in almost “total denial’.

Wrapping up an investigation into what rights groups say are more than 800 political assassinations, UN special envoy Alston said many of the killings stemmed from the military’s campaign against left-wing guerrillas.

Alston stressed that the Arroyo government was responsible for a climate of impunity but said he did not have evidence to support allegations by the nation’s leading human rights group that Mrs. Arroyo had ordered the murders.

Earlier, Alston was said to have briefed several Philippine officials, among whom was presidential legal counsel

Sergio Apostol, whom sources told the Tribune reportedly asked of Alston if he could defer making public his findings after the May elections, to which Alston reportedly replied that he was not here to engage in politics.

Alston said “the increase in extra-judicial executions in recent years is attributable, at least in part, to a shift in the military’s counter-insurgency strategy,” adding that “in some instances, such intimidation escalates into extra-judicial executions,” he said, stressing that many of the killings had been “convincingly attributed” to the military, which he said was in “almost total denial” and has refused to cooperate in conducting fair investigation on the unabated executions.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’s arguments against Palace critics were reduced to name calling once more yesterday as he denounced the delegation members of the UN as having allowed themselves to be misled by what the justice chief termed as ‘leftist groups’ propaganda.

Gonzalez also denounced Alston, calling him a hireling of the UN who could not even enter other countries.

“Mr. Alston is the one in denial of the atrocities of the other side... He’s been here only for one week and now he’s an expert in Philippine history,” said Gonzalez in a press briefing.

“You can tell that sonamagun that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.. In other countries, he cannot even enter ...We are very kind. We let everybody in and visit our kitchen and toilets,” he added.

Short of calling Alston an ingrate, Gonzalez said that the UN should stop interfering in the internal affairs of the Philippines.

He said Alston is just a “hired man of the UN” who came to the Philippines with “preconceived ideas” against government.

“Once somebody from that body comes here, basically he has a preconditioned mind. Whom did he first talk to? He talked to the Leftists. He allowed himself to be brainwashed first by the Leftists,” he said.

Concluding his 10-day fact-finding mission to the Philippines, particularly in Davao and Baguio, Alston used the analogy of alcoholism in describing the military’s reaction on allegations that it is behind the massive killings of militants.

“Recovering from alcoholism is to acknowledge that there is a problem. If a guy says ‘I’m not an alcoholic. I just have an occasional drink and that’s it. There’s no problem.’ That’s how I see the military these days. They occasionally make public statements, which are a little more yielding, but if you look at the systematic more legal response to the Melo commission report, which I received, it’s in denial and I think that’s the real position of the military,” Alston told the media.

He said Mrs. Arroyo needs to tell the military to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings attributed to them.

He also pointed out that the President would have to tell the AFP that its reputation and effectiveness “will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate.”

“When the Chief of the AFP contents himself with telephoning Maj. Gen. (Jovito) Palparan three times on order to satisfy himself that the persistent and extensive allegations against the General were entirely unfounded, rather than launching a thorough internal investigation, it is clear that there is still a very long way to go,” the UN official said.

Alston said he wants to hear a categorical statement from Mrs. Arroyo, the Defense Secretary and the military hierarchy that extra-judicial killings will not be tolerated.

He also stressed that he wanted the AFP to investigate seriously and methodically on the allegations “and not in a way that simply protects its own offices.”

Alston also underscored the importance of making public the Melo Commission Report.

“It is not for me to evaluate the Melo Report. That is for the people of the Philippines to do,” he pointed out, adding that the Melo report was never intended to be preliminary or interim.

“The need to get ‘leftists’ to testify is no reason to withhold a report which in some ways at least vindicates their claims,” he said.

“And extending a Commission whose composition has never succeeded in winning full cooperation seems unlikely to cure the problems still perceived by those groups. Immediate release of the report is an essential first step,” Alston added.

Alston also said that the focus on the military led-Task Force Usig and the Melo Commission is insufficient.

He said the bigger challenge confronting the government is how to restore the accountability mechanisms that the Philippine Constitution and Congress have put in place.

Alston said Executive Order 464 and later another gag order known as Memorandum Circular 108, which prohibits government officials from testifying in Congress, undermine the capacity of the legislative to hold the executive to account in any meaningful way.

He also noted that the country’s witness protection program is deeply flawed.

Instead of encouraging more witnesses to come forward, many of them intimidated and harassed.

“The WPP is impressive—on paper,” he said. “In practice…it is deeply flawed and would seem only to be truly effective in a very limited number of cases. 80 percent (of the cases) fail to move from the initial investigation to the actual prosecution stage,” he said.

Alston also said there is a need to provide legitimate space for leftist groups.

The AFP, he said, relies solely on figures and trends relating to the purges of the late 1980s, and on an alleged CPP-NPA document captured in May 2006 describing “Operation Bushfire”

“In the absence of much stronger supporting evidence this particular document bears all the hallmarks of a fabrication and cannot be taken as evidence of anything other than disinformation,” Alston noted.

He said the purge theory was pushed relentlessly by the AFP, which failed to distinguish the purging cases from the 1,227 extra judicial killings cited by the military from the number of cases acknowledged by the CPP-NPA.

He said while purging cases have occurred, even the most concerned about them, such as members of leftist groups, have suggested that they could not amount to even 10 percent of the total killings.

“The evidence offered by the military in support of this theory in especially unconvincing,” he said.

He also said that the term “unexplained killings” used by the government is “inept and misleading.”

Alston said it may be inappropriate in the context of a judicial process but human rights inquiries are more broad-ranging.

“One does not have to wait for a court to secure a conviction before one can conclude that human rights violations are occurring. The term ‘extra-judicial killings’ which has a long pedigree is far more accurate and should be used,” he said.

He added that there was a “problem of virtual impunity” which meant eight out of 10 cases failed to move from police investigation to prosecution.

“The present message is that if you want to preserve your life expectancy, don’t act as a witness in a criminal prosecution for killing,” he said.

The military, one of the most powerful institutions in the country, has accused rights groups of inflating the numbers of victims and said that many of those listed as dead were guerrillas killed in clashes with the armed forces.

But Alston said that, while leftist organizations were also guilty of propaganda, most of the cases they presented “proved credible under cross-examination.”

Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, a military spokesman, said at least four soldiers were being investigated, and that one had been officially charged, but declined to comment when asked if Alston’s remarks were unfair.

Alston said his own final report would be released within three months, calling his remarks Wednesday “a general indication of some – but by no means all – of the issues to be addressed”.

The AFP yesterday maintained that many cases of unsolved killings of militant personalities were perpetrated by the New People’s Army (NPA) as part of their purging operations among their members suspected to be working with government authorities.

According to Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, AFP public information chief said that the military leadership has cooperated fully on the investigation being conducted by the UN.

“Definitely we have documents to show, we have shown them documents that indeed – in the NPA group – there have been purging, and as a matter of fact, they have admitted before they conducted purging operations and they asked for an apology from the relatives of the victims,” Bacarro said.

“Their admission and apology can be considered as rectification because they realized later on that they were wrong in conducting the purging,” Bacarro said.

Task Forces Usig chief Supt. Geary Barias, also maintained that many of the killings were result of an internal purge within the communist rebel movement and defended Palparan, saying there was no evidence against him. Michaela P. del Callar, Ben Gines, Jr., Benjamin B. Pulta, Gina Peralta-Elorde and AFP

Inciting to sedition raps against Editor and two columnists

What the heck is inciting to sedition? Free press is provided and guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. The Department of Justice under over staying interim Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and its bias state prosecutors want to intimidate journalists and critical media for exposing corruption, abuse of power of bogus President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her inept government. The Arroyo government is corrupt since it came to power thru coup d'etat in 2001. Political killings targeting journalists, lawyers, religious workers, activists, militant farmers and workers under GMA regime is condemned by foreign governments and international bodies for not doing enough to stop it. It appears that political killings targeting the legal Left is being tolerated if not a national policy of the Arroyo government. Gloria Arroyo and her military clique want to end the 37 years old insurgency by 2010.

State prosecutors cite Olivares’ columns, editorials as proof

Inciting to sedition raps filed vs Tribune chief

By Benjamin B. Pulta

02/15/2007

In the day of hearts, the Tribune publisher and editor-in-chief, Ninez Cacho-Olivares, was slapped by the state prosecutors with the criminal charge of “inciting to sedition,” along with two columnists of the paper.

The charges were reported to have been submitted to the Manila Trial Court with a recommended bail of P12,000.

An arrest warrant is being expected by Olivares, who was not even given a copy of the resolution of the case, even as this was distributed to Justice beat reporters.

In a 29-page resolution, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño approved separate criminal informations against Olivares, Ike Señeres and Herman Tiu Laurel and recommended bail at P12,000 each.

Cited in the charge sheet were seven of the paper’s editorials and five Olivares’ Frontline columns. The resolution dated Dec. 21, 2006 was claimed to have been mailed only last Feb. 5.

The first of the editorials cited by prosecutors, entitled Candles for Truth was published on September 2005 and described the Arroyo

administration as having “turned into a government to buy the people.”

“She (Arroyo) cannot exercise the rule of government except through the buying of support. That was the way she swayed Congress to her side. Support was bought, directly or indirectly, through early release of pork barrels or commitments for such and that should not be denied by those who accepted the virtual bribes.”

The complaint was filed by the national police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)’s National Capital Region chief Asher Dolina.

It is the same unit that led a raid without a warrant on the Tribune’s office in downtown Manila shortly after Mrs. Arroyo’s declaration of Presidential Proclamation No. 1017.

The proclamation was later declared invalid by the Supreme Court insofar as it authorizes warrantless arrests and seizures.

Two police intelligence officials, P/Supt. Generoso Cerbo, Jr. and P/Insp. Felix Cervita presently occupying the post of Chief of the Intelligence Research Center and Section Chief of the Office of the Director for Intelligence were named as witnesses.

“”We cannot but find that strong and unassailable evidence exists to render it our irremissible duty to determine a sufficiently well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and that respondents are probably guilty thereof and should be held for trial,” a portion of the charge sheet said.

“In fine, her (Olivares’) articles and editorials...showed grossly abusive statements against the institutions of the Philippine government as well as to its present officials and called for the booting out of this government as the only solution,” the prosecutors claimed.

Particular mention was made by the prosecutors of a column last Dec.11, 2005 where Olivares stated “that the military willfully engages in illegal activities and follows illegal orders from the commander-in-chief.”

Asked for her reaction, Olivares, who appeared unfazed by the latest criminal lawsuit filed against her, said, “What else is new? Malacañang and its morons in the Justice Department are once again trying to scare me off and silence me. If they can’t do it with a bullet, they will do it through the courts, many of which have been prostituted anyway, and will hold a trial on this, even when there is clearly no case at all,” Olivares said.

She pointed out that the Panganiban Supreme Court had already ruled that the raid conducted by the police-military team, where various documents in the Tribune offices, including the past issues, from where this team obtained its “evidence” against her, was illegal.

“Just on that basis, it follows that the “proof” which is no proof at all, (the so-called police witnesses) was illegally obtained and therefore, is inadmissible in court,” the Tribune publisher said.

She also pointed out that the articles being referred to as proof of her crime of inciting to sedition are at least over a year old.

“If my columns and editorials, as they claim, incited poeple to sedition, who did I incite to bring down the Arroyo government? Tribune readers? It’s been over a year since I wrote those articles and close to a year since the illegal raid on the Tribune. Why charge me now?” Olivares said.

“The answer is: It’s election time again, which translates to Gloria and her stooges attempting again to silence me through intimidation, and trying to frighten me into going soft on my criticisms against her and her government, which regime already has a notorious reputation for suppressing press freedom,” she stressed.

She added that in the case of the inciting to sedition charge against her, for writing that “the military willfully engages in illegal activities and follows illegal orders from the commander-in-chief,” she noted: “Well, isn’t that the truth that Gloria and her military have been trying to cover-up all this time? There is proof that she had given orders, through her Comelec operator, Virgilio Garcillano, for the military and police generals to engage in massive electoral fraud in 2004 to ensure her victory at the polls. That’s an illegal order, and the military did follow those orders. The Hello Garci tapes are proof of that!

“As for proof of the truth to the article that stated she has been buying off congressmen with money, state prosecutors should check on statements in video of several congressmen admitting that they had been offered bribes by Gloria.,” she said, adding “that’s what all the charges against Gloria are, and these are the charges leveled at her by the opposition and some 70 percent of the Filipino people on her lying, stealing and cheating ways. So are they also to be charged with inciting to sedition?”

On the accusation by the police witnesses that the Tribune chief had written “grossly abusive statements against the institutions of the Philippine government as well as to its present officials and called for the booting out of this government as the only solution,” she said: “Well, isn’t that the only solution? Besides,”she stressed, “Gloria and her prostitutes in the military and the police booted out a legitimate President, Joseph Estrada, through a coup d’etat. If their commander in chief today claimed it was not illegal to do so, why should it be illegal for her to be booted out, whether through the ballot or the so-called military backed people power?”

Olivares said there was absolutely nothing “grossly abusive” about her articles, but that in any case, it is not for the “morons in the police force and the state prosecutors” to judge what is abusive or not.

Olivares said she is, as usual a target for persecution, brought about by a “vindictive Gloria Arroyo, to “harass her,” as the many libel suits lodged by her spouse, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, which has the blessings of the President, failed to intimidate Olivares.

The United Opposition Senatorial Slate

Photo: Malaya News

Asian Press Freedom Regressed In 2006

The Philippines and Afghanistan were the most dangerous places for journalists in Asia in 2006. The Philippine National Police is clueless in most of the killings.

United Nations envoy on extra-judicial killings arrives in RP

RP admits ‘rampant’ traffic in human organs

The Arroyo government’s medical tourism program is the main culprit in the rise of foreigners being given kidney transplant at the expense of poor people. The selling of human organs is sanctioned by the Department of Tourism disguise as medical tourism program. What do we expect from a bogus president?


RP admits ‘rampant’ traffic in human organs

In one slum, 3,000 people admit having sold a kidney

The Department of Health on Tuesday admitted to the "rampant" illegal traffic in human organs and pledged to start drafting regulatory rules for the growing market.

Much of the trade in human organs, especially kidneys, takes place on the black market, according to Health Undersecretary Jade del Mundo.

Del Mundo cited a recent University of the Philippines study, which found that in one slum area in Manila, there were 3,000 men and women who had sold one of their kidneys for P70,000 to P120,000 ($1,440 to$2,469).

The government needs to initiate a series of consultations with private and public health sector leaders on how to regulate organ donation in the "face of rampant, under-the-table traffic in human organs," del Mundo said.

He acknowledged that organ donation is a big business in the Philippines, especially among the poor.

At present there are no specific rules on organ donation to foreigners, he added.

Commodities

A report in a Japanese newspaper recently said that if the system of organ donation were regulated, the Philippines could see a rush of foreign patients, including from Japan, where 10,000 people are awaiting kidney transplants.

Among the touchy issues scheduled for discussion during the February 10 meeting, is "payment" given by patients to donors.

Some doctors warn that poverty has forced many of the poor to treat their organs as commodities.

Hospitals have also gone around the government’s official ban on the "frank sale of kidneys" by using third parties that get commissions for every match between donor and patient. Other doctors claim that their patients only give "gifts of gratitude," which del Mundo dubbed as a euphemism for sale.

Del Mundo said the consultations would include a proposal to relax existing limits on the number of foreign patients allowed to have kidney transplants in the country.

Del Mundo said the limit is 10%, to prioritize Filipino patients, but this is often breached.

Third parties

In December the National Bureau of Investigation launched a probe on the sale of kidneys through a third party to patients of the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

The NBI said the probe, which stemmed from an entrapment operation on December 14, could involve several doctors and other prominent hospitals.

The entrapment led to the arrest of a middleman in the illegal sale of organs. The NBI agents discovered six male potential organ donors in a squalid Taguig bungalow.

They discovered files detailing 40-kidney donor operations dating back to 2005.

Republic Act 9208 (Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003) also penalizes the recruitment, hiring, transport or abduction of persons for the purpose of removal or sale of organs.

Special Investigator 3 Joey Narciso, case officer, said many of the files involved operations done in St. Luke’s Medical Center. The hospital pledged to cooperate with the investigation.

Ethics

Jose Rivero, 31, a tricycle driver of Lumban, Laguna, told the NBI that Permito had promised him P300,000 for his kidney.

However, he received only P66,000 which led him to report to the NBI.

Narciso said the country has no law prohibiting the direct sale of organs to a donor.

"There is nothing to prevent a donor and a recipient to come to a private arrangement," Narciso said shortly after the raid. "What is against the law is the existence of a middle man such as Permito."

Narciso also raised questions about hospital screening, which includes a review by an ethics committee.

"Such a transaction that Permito arranged between Rivero and the recipient, if it was revealed or suspected during the screening process, should have led to the operation being disallowed." AFP and Katrice Jalbuena

New Species Of Mollusks And Crustaceans Found in Bohol Island

MANILA, Philippines - A French-led marine expedition team believes it has discovered thousands of new species of mollusks and crustaceans around a Philippine island, officials and scientists said Monday.

Some 80 scientists, technicians, students and volunteers from 19 countries surveyed the waters around Panglao island, 390 miles southeast of Manila from 2004-05.

"Numerous species were observed and photographed alive, many for the first time, and it is estimated that 150-250 of the crustaceans and 1,500-2,500 of the mollusks are new species," said a statement from the expedition team, which was led by Philippe Bouchet of the French National Museum of Natural History.

"However, it requires a thorough comparison with all previously named species to ascertain if a novel species is indeed new to science," it added. "This is a slow and tedious process."

On Monday, the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project turned over to the Philippine National Museum more than a hundred holotypes or representative specimen of the rare finds, officials said.

The expedition team said its survey revealed over 1,200 species of decapod crustaceans — a group that includes crayfish, crabs, lobsters and shrimps — and some 6,000 species of mollusks.

AP

Rare specimens show RP’s rich biodiversity system

Publish Melo Commission Report, Protect Witnesses & Prosecute Gen. Palparan

The Filipino people have the constitutional right to information on matters of public concern. Mrs. Gloria Arroyo wants deeper investigation on alleged political killings by the military. An investigation after investigation may take 100 years before justice is attained to the victims. The Melo Commission Report is a public document and not a sole property of Gloria Arroyo. The Arroyo regime is trying to cover up the political killings and to protect the perpetrators. The regime’s all-out war against the communists may have resulted to the extra-judicial killings. It appears that the “Little President” ex-general Eduardo Ermita and his military clique cannot distinguish between legal Left and the armed partisans of the New People’s Army. The discredited Arroyo government revives the old communist bogey to gain public support and Uncle Sam’s military aid. United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston described as "tragic" the cases of human rights violations presented to him during his visit to the Philippines.

Philippine Constitution the BILL OF RIGHTS Section 7 states: The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

February 2, 2007

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PHILIPPINES: Publish report, protect witnesses & prosecute Palparan

The Asian Human Rights Commission cautiously welcomes the findings of the Melo Commission that retired Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. and other military officers could be held liable for the unabated extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders, social campaigners, priests, political organisers and others in the Philippines. The final report of the commission, which was headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, handed to the president this week, reportedly points to the complicity of military officers in the killings and suggests that Palparan and others had command responsibility for the deaths.

The inquiry's conclusion puts to rest police and military claims that the allegations against Palparan and his men are unsubstantiated. That the army is culpable for extrajudicial killings is no longer a matter of doubt: so what happens next?

The police and military predictably sprang to the defence of Palparan and his subordinates. In separate media interviews on January 30, Deputy Director General Avelino Razon and General Hermogenes Esperon Jr., chiefs of Task Force Usig and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) respectively, made remarks that there were no evidence against Palparan and he is no longer under military’s jurisdiction, since he retired in September 2006. The comments from Razon are all the more remarkable given that his task force was established to hunt for the persons responsible for killings, not defend the accused. They are also in direct contradiction to the Melo Commission, which based its findings largely upon police documents, as most complainants and witnesses refused to cooperate because of distrust and fear. The commission has admitted that its work was hampered by the lack of cooperation; notwithstanding, it was still able to obtain sufficient evidence to establish that the military could be held accountable.

The enormous threats facing witnesses and families of dead victims or those who have survived attacks are the biggest obstacles to obtaining justice and redress in cases of extrajudicial killing in the Philippines. The Asian Human Rights Commission has repeatedly drawn attention to the absence of protection for these persons as the primary reason that investigations there fail. For the police agency given the task of investigating persons alleged to have been involved in the killings to reject the findings of a presidential commission off-hand, instead of reviewing and building evidence against those identified as responsible, is completely unacceptable.

The police are duty-bound to recommend complainants and witnesses be given protection through the justice department, under the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981). If they have not done this promptly they are either negligent or ignorant. The result in either case is that it is much easier to reach the convenient conclusion that there is a "lack of evidence".

It is also ridiculous for the military to excuse itself from responsibility. The obligations of any armed forces for the actions of its personnel do not expire when someone retires from service. Esperon's acknowledgement that army personnel may have been involved in killings must be more deeply probed. Have any of the implicated persons ever been sanctioned, disarmed or punished? What action, if any, has been taken against them? These questions remain altogether unanswered.

The killings will only end when there are prosecutions. There will only be prosecutions when witnesses and victims are protected, rather than threatened and killed themselves, and the perpetrators are investigated, rather than defended. The Melo Commission has no power upon which to initiate these things itself. The responsibility instead rests on the person who ordered the inquiry: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She is now obliged to see that its findings are given meaning, and the responsible state agencies, notably Task Force Usig and the justice department, do their jobs and the accused, including Major General Jovito Palparan Jr., are brought before courts of justice. She must also have the report made public without delay, in order that there is complete disclosure of its findings. Withholding of the report will only deepen public distrust in her administration, and raise further doubts about the assurances of her government that it is acting in the interests of the victims and their families.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Posted on 2007-02-02

Related Link:
Where is the Melo Report?

Global Warming Unstoppable

Humans blamed for climate change
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Paris

Global climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause, an influential group of scientists has concluded.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said temperatures were probably going to increase by 1.8-4C (3.2-7.2F) by the end of the century.
It also projected that sea levels were most likely to rise by 28-43cm, and global warming was likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms.
The findings are the first of four IPCC reports to be published this year.
"We can be very confident that the net effect of human activity since 1750 has been one of warming," co-lead author Dr Susan Soloman told delegates in Paris.
Strong language
The report, produced by a team tasked with assessing the science of climate change, was intended to be the definitive summary of climatic shifts facing the world in the coming years.
The agency said that it would use stronger language to assess humanity's influence on climatic change than it had previously done.
In 2001, it said that it was "likely" that human activities lay behind the trends observed at various parts of the planet; "likely" in IPCC terminology means between 66% and 90% probability.
Now, the panel concluded that it was at least 90% certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases rather than natural variations are warming the planet's surface.
They projected that temperatures would probably rise by between 1.8C and 4C, though increases as small as 1.1C (2F) or as large as 6.4C (11.5F) were possible.
In 2001, using different methodology, the numbers were 1.4 (2.5F) and 5.8C (10.4F).

On sea level, there has been a more fundamental debate.
Computer models of climate do not generally include water coming into the oceans as ice caps melt. So the IPCC had to decide whether to exclude this from its calculations, or to estimate the effect of a process which scientists do not understand well but which could have a big impact.
They used the former, more conservative approach, projecting an average rise in sea levels globally of between 28 and 43cm. The 2001 report cited a range of nine to 88cm.
As for climate change influencing the intensity of tropical storms in some areas of the world, the IPCC concluded that it was likely - meaning a greater probability than 66% - that rising temperatures were a factor.
'Unequivocal'

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chairman, said: "It is extremely encouraging in that the science has moved on from what was possible in the Third Assessment Report.
"If you see the extent to which human activities are influencing the climate system, the options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions appear in a different light, because you can see what the costs of inaction are," he told delegates in Paris.
Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), said the findings marked a historical landmark in the debate about whether humans were affecting the state of the atmosphere.

"It is an unequivocal series of evidence [showing that] fossil fuel burning and land use change are affecting the climate on our planet."
He added: "If you are an African child born in 2007, by the time you are 50 years old you may be faced with disease and new levels of drought."
He said that he hoped the IPCC report would galvanise national governments into action.
At variance
But a study published on the eve of the IPCC report suggested that the international body's previous reports may have actually been too conservative.

Writing in the journal Science, an international group of scientists concluded that temperatures and sea levels had been rising at or above the maximum rates proposed in the last report, which was published in 2001.
The paper compared the 2001 projections on temperature and sea level change report with what has actually happened.
The models had forecasted a temperature rise between about 0.15C-0.35C (0.27-0.63F) over this period. The actual rise of 0.33C (0.59F) was very close to the top of the IPCC's range.
A more dramatic picture emerged from the sea level comparison. The actual average level, measured by tide gauges and satellites, had risen faster than the intergovernmental panel of scientists predicted it would.
The IPCC's full climate science report will be released later in the year, as will other chapters looking at the probable impacts of climate change, options for adapting to those impacts, and possible routes to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Miguel Arroyo Is The New Enemy of Press Freedom

The Arroyo government is suppressing the media to hide her cheating, lying, stealing and political killings at the same time for her political survival. Press freedom is meaningless if media men are intimidated, harass, murdered, assassinated and fear the safety of family members. Media expose' of graft and corruption in the bureaucracy is helping the government to track down erring officials and employees. Local warlords and political kingpins sow climate of fear among critical radio broadcasters and print journalists in the provinces.

Reporters Without Borders

Philippines - Annual report 2007

Despite new arrests of murderers, the authorities failed to stem the wave of violence against journalists. At least six were killed in 2006. And the press also found itself facing a new enemy: José Miguel Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Arroyo, who took out a raft of defamation suits.

While her husband was lodging “defamation” complaints against more than 40 journalists, President Arroyo said, on 18 November 2006, that her government was “respectful of press freedom, an institution of Philippines democracy”. On the same day, journalist Ellen Tordesillas, a stern critic of the government received an email warning her: “Your days are numbered”. Murders, assaults, arrests, abusive law suits and censorship were the hallmark of 2006 in this country.

The avalanche of suits brought by the “first gentleman” in a country where defamation is still a criminal offence, put the liberty of scores of journalists in danger. In October, eight members of the management on privately-owned daily Malaya narrowly escaped arrest after publishing an editorial accusing the head of state’s husband of “corruption”. In a total of 43 suits brought against journalists, José Miguel Arroyo claimed a total of 70 million pesos (almost 1.1 million euros) in damages. In December, journalists’ organisations counter-attacked by bringing a complaint in their turn against the president’s husband for violating press freedom and demanding one peso in damages for each Philippine citizen.

Faced with a rebellion within the army, the president declared a state of emergency, on 24 February 2006. Several generals were locked up and the crackdown extended to the opposition press. Police searched The Daily Tribune on the same day and seized documents.

At least six journalists were murdered while doing their job in 2006, the majority of them were presenters on one of the country’s very numerous FM radio stations. In the Philippines, local stations sell airtime to private individual known as “block timers” who can then put out their own commercial or political programmes. Rolly Canete, gunned down in January 2006 in the city of Pagadian, Zamboanga del sur province in the south, presented programmes on local radio on behalf of a deputy and his wife, the province’s governor. Hit-men sometimes show extreme determination. Fernando Batul, commentator on dyPR radio was shot dead on his way to work on Palawan Island, south-west of Manila in May. A few weeks earlier he narrowly escaped a murder bid in which two grenades were thrown at his home. His assailants had left a letter advising him to “hold your tongue”. A police officer was arrested a few days later and the instigators were reportedly local politicians. The local press can also be targeted in the same way. Orlando Mendoza, aged 58, editor of the newspaper Tarlac Patro in Luzon province was murdered in April after receiving threats from a paramilitary group.

Gloria Arroyo’s administration has been widely criticised for its inability to act against the murderers of opposition and human rights activists. Some politically committed journalists have been victims of this political violence as in the case of Mazel and George Vigo who were killed on Mindanao Island in June. Community media defending the rights of peasant farmers were also targeted. In July, armed men torched a building housing Radyo Cagayano, one of whose presenters, a peasant union leader, was killed a few months later. The military is suspected of being behind these attacks.

Police and the courts have chalked up some successes in their struggle against the murderers of journalists. Four men found guilty of the murder of Marlene Esperat, a journalist specialising in corruption, who was killed in March 2005, were sentenced to life imprisonment. But collusion inside the justice system allowed those who ordered the killing to escape court for the time being. On the other hand, a former police officer suspected of being the “brains” behind the June 2004 murder of journalist Ely Binoya, was acquitted in March. The regional court in General Santos, southern Philippines, said that there was insufficient evidence against him.

There were at least 25 murder attempts and assaults and ten arrests during 2006. Censorship also bit deeper, often because of local politicians seeking to silence opposition media. In March the mayor of Valencia City, south of Manila, ordered the closure of radio dxVR, some of whose presenters were close to their political opponents. In the capital, a programme of reports on ABS-CBN was banned by the regulatory authority over the controversial subject of drug use in the country.

Finally the authorities in Aurora province, north-east of Manila, failed to mount any search for radio presenter Joey Estriber, a specialist on environmental issues, who was kidnapped in March. He had spoken out against illegal logging in the region.

Related links:
Press Freedom: A new interpretation?
Bid to muzzle media revives memories of past dictatorship
Crusading editor gives Arroyo sleepless nights