Winning UP Philippine Collegian Editorial
1992
Pablo John Garcia, Jr.
In less partisan times, it would have taken much more for an Amnesty International report to merit official attention. This is an administration that counts the days that it has survived and lies back, pleasantly amused. It counts the days that have yet to pass, and crosses its fingers, hoping for the best. An inventory of its victims muddles the simplicity of its arithmetic.
But these are partisan times. And it takes much, much less to prick official pride. A few days before the report, the officialdom gathered a captive audience at EDSA, and urged it to remember. In between trading innuendos with the Prince of the Church, the President warned us of the dangers of forgetting. A mile away, however, truncheons and shields blocked the passageways of dialogue, proving that this government does not wish to remember.
And the it does not wish to be reminded. It pointed to the deaths in Surigao, and cried malice at the unlikelihood of coincidence. It raised doubt and motive, rather than respond to the issue.
The issue, however, is not timing, but timeliness. Deep into this experiment in democracy, human rights remains a timely issue. Since 1988, more than 500 unarmed civilians have been killed and countless others injured in these unholy wars between the military and the insurgents. Lives and livelihood have been sacrificed, brought into the equation of this complex arithmetic of power.
Deep into this experiment in democracy, the human rights issue remains virtually untouched. Amnesty International reports to us, of an issue that begs for our attention.
“Amnesty” is from a Greek word that means “to forget”. Amnesty International reports to us, warning of the dangers of forgetting.
