CONDEMN THE WAR VS. PEOPLE OF COLOR; JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT VICTIMS

These arrests and interrogations were conducted without due process – no search or arrest warrants were issued or presented to the Filipinos, they were not provided with legal counsel, and they were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and interrogation.

These unlawful arrests and interrogations, including the summary deportation of at least two Filipinos found to have no proper documentation, violate not only the Belgian constitution but also the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. These actions have not only trampled upon the basic civil and political rights of the Filipinos involved but have also broken the illusion of the rights and freedom that every European citizen and resident supposedly enjoys.

The incident has clearly terrorized the peaceful Filipino community in Belgium and has sent shockwaves to the entire Filipino community and other peoples of color in Europe.

According to the victims of these unlawful arrests, the police told them they were after "human traffickers". But the questions they were asked to answer and the confiscation and search of their other personal belongings betray the real motives of the Belgian police.

We can only surmise that this wave of arrests and interrogations that has terrorized the Filipino community could only be linked to the war hysteria being fueled by the US government together with several European governments like Belgium that are blind and beholden to the policies of the US. We tend to believe that these policies are actually geared against people of color, and are thus racist. There have also been similar reports of arrests and interrogations in the Netherlands involving people of African descent.

That those illegally arrested and interrogated were not provided due process makes us doubt strongly if this US-led war against terrorism would really uphold the safety and security of innocent civilians, and would not be a threat to civil liberties.

We call on the friends of the Filipino people in Europe and in other global regions, progressive, anti-war, peace and freedom-loving peoples and all peoples of color to join us in condemning this incident, to defend and strengthen civil liberties in the face of a resurgence of a fascist-led war, and to join in the snowballing call for justice not war!

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)