Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unless there is a major outbreak such as the Ampatuan massacre of December 2009, where 58 people, including between 20 and 34 journalists, were gunned down in relation to the attempt of an opposition candidate to file election papers in Mindanao, the Philippines essentially receives a very good press in this country. It has the vestiges of a democratic system, with the exception of the Marcos period. However, the situation is far more complex, particularly in the area of industrial relations. As recently as 8 March Celito Baccay was shot down after arguments with the human resources officer of the Japanese corporation Maeno-Gikan. On 11 February armed forces intervened in a recognition fight at a Dole Philippines plantation. Amongst the actions undertaken by the military in support of management to stop union activity were closed-circuit TV installations in all polling places, visits by the military to families of pro-union activists even beforehand and dismissal of workers with the same family names as people who were agitating for union recognition.

As I say, the situation, except for the complete coverage of the Moro Liberation Front, a pro-Islamic group in the south of the country, is that we have an image in Australia of a very competitive democracy. For 50 years the New People's Army has been waging a struggle in the Philippines. The very reputable International Crisis Group has commented on the dispute on 14 February this year that the government of the Philippines was 'unable to control and develop large parts of the country'. They further said that neither side could win militarily. They went on to say that 12 agreements and 25 years later they have scarcely touched on substantive issues. They were speaking of negotiations that have been on at various stages in the process.

The new government of the Philippines did indicate a preparedness to enter into negotiations to try and finish this dispute. The comments of the International Crisis Group in the same document in February were:

The monitoring committee must hold the NPA commanders to account for their actions. Likewise, the Philippine military and police should avail themselves of this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to human rights by cooperating fully with the joint investigations that the committee will undertake once convened.

We have a situation where negotiations did commence in Oslo with the active support of the Norwegian government and some progress was made in relation to that. There was a ceasefire that operated throughout those peace discussions and there was an agreement that they would move forward to further discussions this year. It is of concern that the government of the Philippines has not complied with one of the major agreements reached in the Oslo meetings and four months later has not released 17 consultants and protected people who are still in detention in government prisons. Overall in the Philippines there are estimates of about 340 political prisoners awaiting concrete action by the government of the Philippines in accordance with the comprehensive agreement in respect of human rights that was arranged back then.

At the end of those peace talks in February the agreement was that there be the reconvening of a joint monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of a comprehensive agreement in respect of human rights, the agreement to form working groups and committees on political and constitutional reforms to conclude in February 2012 and an agreement that measures would be undertaken for the release of those political prisoners. Both sides at that stage released a few individuals in compliance with the agreement. There are perhaps more confident projections of a worthwhile outcome to these negotiations than in prior incidents. The government did release 43 people, mainly health workers, who had been held for over a year in a situation where their guilt was very much questioned. That was a good sign but there were agreements to release another large number of people. One would hope that these negotiations can be facilitated and that an end is made to a conflict that is ravaging significant parts of the country.

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