Philippine protesters vow to ‘never forget’ Marcos era abuses

Manila, Sept 21 (AFP/APP): Philippine protesters vowed Wednesday to “never forget” the human rights abuses under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos as they held rallies to mark 50 years since his imposition of martial law.

Amnesty International estimates thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands tortured and imprisoned after Marcos imposed martial law on September 21, 1972, unleashing security forces on rivals, critics and dissidents.

Marcos’s son is now the president of the Philippines, and campaigners have urged him to recognise his family’s role in the violence.

“The Marcoses need to at least acknowledge their role in those dark days,” said Carlos Conde, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, as activists and victims marked the 50th anniversary.

“Without truth-telling, without the space for Filipinos to understand and accept what happened during martial law, we can never find closure, we can never move forward.”

Hundreds of protesters, including human rights activists and Christian groups, held peaceful demonstrations across the capital Manila, carrying placards with slogans such as “never again” and images of martial law victims.

“A nation that doesn’t remember its history is doomed to repeat it as they say,” said John Magtibay, a 22-year-old film student protesting at the University of the Philippines.

“We are beginning to see that now.”
Half a century after martial law began, 11,103 people have been officially recognised as victims of torture, killings, enforced disappearances and other abuses.

They have been compensated with some of the wealth — estimated to be in the billions of dollars — stolen by Marcos and his wife Imelda.

But human rights groups say there has never been a true reckoning of the abuses — or those responsible held to account.

Marcos was toppled from power by a bloodless “people power” revolt in 1986 and the family was chased into exile.

After the patriarch’s death in 1989, they returned to the Philippines and began a remarkable political comeback that culminated with Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s victory in the May 9 presidential election.

“The fact that we allowed the Marcoses to re-enter Malacanang is really messed up,” said Patricia Pobre, a 24-year-old protester, referring to the presidential palace.