Patricia Evangelista on Extrajudicial Killings

naaala ko pa ng una s'yang magsulat ng kung anu-anong mga personal na opinyon at kamulatan sa inquirer. madalas mga tungkol sa consumerism, liberalism etc. Sa isang pagkakataon, ng sya'y magsulat tungkol sa aktibismo, sinagot siya ng isang member ng CONTEND ng mahabang artikulo. Kaso hindi ko gaano naintindihan ang mga nakalagay dun. sobrang super power ang mga words. kahit pa alam kung ang ibig sabihin ni Sarah at Bogart.

Ngayon, consistent sya sa isyu ng extrajudicial killings. At ang huling artikulo nya sa Inquirer na "At the center of the universe" lumutang na ang isa sa pinakamatapang nyang mga salita. Ito ay ng mainterbyu nya si Joker Arroyo. Madalas kong mapakinggan sa radyo si Joker at malabnaw talaga ang mga pagdadala nya ng isyu ng extrajudicial killings. ngunit walang hayagang naniningil sa kanya dahil sa kanyang record na pagiging human rights lawyer ng panahon ng diktaturya, baka masabihan ka ng "e ikaw anong ginawa mo noong martial law". At ito nga ang nangyari sa interbyu ni Patricia

I interviewed Sen. Joker Arroyo, whose defense of human rights is his platform for reelection. I ask why he has been silent, and why he chooses to still run with Team Unity whose figurehead is GMA. He is offended. He was the first to speak against Palparan, he says, and the one who continually rails against human rights violations.

Ang dahilan ni Joker sa malabnaw na pagtutok nya dito ay

There are other issues, there are other issues, he repeats, labor and finance and education, and a whole host of other matters. Why must his performance on the political killings be a standard by which I should judge him?

Ngunit hindi ko lang alam kung ito'y may halong pagbubuhat ng bangko, sinagot daw ito ni Partricia ng

He tells me, at the end of his rant, that he expects me to be objective. I tell him I cannot be, as I am not a reporter, I’m a columnist with my own biases. And he is angry, and he walks out and tells me to do what I want.

Dagdag pa ni Patricia,

And here I will tell you why I ask that question, why I believe that condemning political killings is the highest priority. I agree that there are other issues. I agree that labor and the economy and a thousand other matters must be considered. I believe, however, that this issue is at the forefront; and that condemning is far different from acting; and that men like Joker Arroyo, by virtue of both their records and their claims, cannot afford to be neutral in their actions, if not their words.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel says that during the massacre of the Jews, “the world did know [what was happening] and remained silent.”

“We must take sides,” he says. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe.”

Sa ngayon, kung makakausap ko kaya si Patricia, babaguhin nya kaya ang artikulong sinagot ni Sarah kung may time machine? O maaari ring, sa isyu ng Human rights lang maayos ang kanyang mga opinyon?

Anupaman, maigi na itong sya'y nasa isang panig ng isyu. Sa panig ng mga biktima. Sa panig ng tama. Sa panig ng mga lumalaban. Sa panig ng mga aktibista (na una nyang nilait sa artikulong sinagot nina sarah).

Tama sya,

The world is not silent. We have no right to be.

ref:

1. "At the center of the universe"
2. Patricia Evangelista: "A Rebel Without a Clue