TORONTO — Progressive Filipino diaspora community and solidarity groups in the United Kingdom (UK) took to the streets to demand the end to military bombings in Mindoro and to release Filipino-American community organizer Chantal Anicoche.

Anicoche remains under the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) after going missing during the January 1 aerial bombing and strafing at barangay Cabacao Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro.

Led by Migrante – United Kingdom and International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) – Britain, Anakbayan United Kingdom, London-Philippine Solidarity, and the International League of Peoples Struggle United Kingdom held a protest action in front of the Philippine Embassy in London. The groups demanded an end to the Philippine government’s “indiscriminate bombings and militarized assaults on civilian communities” and to allow access for humanitarian relief and fact-finding missions, and uphold human rights and international humanitarian law.

“On top of the hardship of life in the countryside, people are bombed in the guise of anti-insurgency and counter-terrorism. But we know that the people of Abra de Ilog are being evicted from their land so that their land can be grabbed in the name of mining. The root of it all is the greed of the few ruling class, who seek to steal land,and the butchers of the AFP who continuously murder our countrymen,” said the Migrante spokesperson in Filipino.

“The AFP has even kidnapped Filipino-American activist Chantal Anicoche, going so far as to stage a video of her being “rescued” by the military,” said the spokesperson Anakbayan of  UK. “Chantal is a true patriot of her country unlike those in power who claim to be, because no true patriot would bomb their own people.”

Representatives from Migrante UK, Anakbayan UK, and ICHRP Britain attempted to deliver a letter to the Philippine Embassy in the United Kingdom addressed to Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. Embassy officials allowed only one of the three representatives to enter, and the letter was received by an administrative aide instead of the ambassador. When asked about the embassy’s standard operating procedure for responding to correspondence, the administrative staff was not able to provide a response.

Text by Rein Tarinay

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