MEL STA. MARIA | Ominous signs of human rights atrocities in Sabah by Malaysian authorities

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

Atty. Mel Sta. Maria teaches at the Ateneo School of Law. He is the resident legal analyst of TV5.

In my article, Malaysia's Human Rights Record Augurs Ill for our people in Sabah, posted by InterAksyon.com on March 4, 2013, I said:

More than the Philippine Government, it is the Malaysian Government which should be held accountable if it can be proven that the bloody event was the result of its heavy-handed management and over-kill. It is clear that Malaysia does not want to consider this case's deeply-rooted causes which, unquestionably, they know very well. It just wants our Muslim brothers/sisters to get out from what it considers as its territory. What is more frightening, though, is the fact that Malaysia does not exactly have a stellar human rights record. Every so often we hear of reports of their treatment of our migrant workers--detention without charges, police brutality and other discriminatory acts, especially against Filipino women. There is also restrictive freedom of expression and the press in Malaysia.

Significantly, Malaysia is one of the countries that, up to now, has refused to sign the widely ratified International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This is a landmark international multilateral treaty/convention which puts the civil and political rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into a binding treaty.

We are now hearing of atrocities allegedly perpetrated by Malaysian authorities. It is most likely that Filipinos here in the Philippines know of the situation far better than the Malaysians considering the restrictive freedom of expression and the press in their country. Massive military forces have been unleashed to quell the presence of only about 300 Filipinos, a majority of whom were unarmed and not even belligerent. The use of force, such as airplane bombings, was clearly disproportionate to the perceived danger sought to be prevented.

News reports say at least 56 of the original 300 are already dead. That means more than a sixth of the Sulu sultan's group that went to Sabah have already been killed. Pictures of dead Filipinos are bandied about by Malaysian authorities. Unholy exhumations of Filipinos who perished are undertaken and indeed, to many of our Muslims countrymen, this is already a desecration of our dead.

The helplessness of those sought to be "destroyed" (the word used by a Malaysian official) speaks of a possible massacre. Reports of abuse and killings are already coming to light from accounts of eyewitnesses arriving in Tawi-Tawi.

In addition to the death of Filipinos as a result of the disproportionate use of Malaysian military force, displacement and forced evacuations of Filipinos are now occurring. There are early indications of a systematic design to remove Filipinos or anyone with Filipino lineage out of Sabah. There appears to be no more discrimination as to Filipinos who are legally and illegally residing in Sabah. This violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The signs are indeed ominous. Last week, it was reported by InterAksyon.com that 200 deportees had arrived in Zamboanga, in addition to the earlier arrival of about 79 evacuees. The ARMM is on alert in anticipation of more deportations from Sabah. The Philippine Navy was said to be fetching 400 more Filipino evacuees.

Supposedly, even as some Filipinos had valid immigrant cards, they were herded like animals and detained without charge. There are no indications that these evacuations and, in effect, deportation or forced transfer of populations, will soon abate.

The Philippines must monitor the situation very closely, and Malaysia must consider its actions very carefully and sensitively.

Under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, crimes against humanity include, among others, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. What is happening to Filipinos being forced out of Sabah is nearing the status of crimes against humanity.

"The elimination of an unwanted ethnic group or groups from a society, as…by forced migration" is one definition of "ethnic cleansing". Another definition is "the violent removal of one ethnic group from the population of a particular area."

The Philippines has sternly manifested its serious concerns over these atrocities and sought an explanation from Malaysia over reports of human rights violations. The Philippines should continue to do so without letup. The fact that the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon chose to speak to the Malaysian representative, and also the fact that the world-respected Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, admonished Malaysia of human rights violations, are strong indicators that atrocities are emanating from only one source: Malaysia.

The Philippine government has been continually interviewing the Filipino returnees from Sabah. This is another very good move. Documentations, including pictures, must be made and collated as preparation for lodging a complaint to the United Nations.

Malaysian personalities who are directly responsible and those who abetted the atrocities must be identified. Their acts and participation must be memorialized. And if indeed, the situation has reached the proportion of a crime against humanity, we should call on all nations to arrest these individuals and properly deliver them to us to be indicted even in our courts, asserting the universal jurisdiction in international law over crimes against humanity.

It is unfortunate that Malaysia has not acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where people responsible for “crimes against humanity” can be prosecuted. Also unfortunate is the fact that Malaysia has continually refused to submit the issue of the Sabah claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). If The Philippines cannot avail of these international courts, then we can at least present all our documentations of Malaysian atrocities to the world community for the whole world to see.

Malaysia must be held accountable.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56901/mel-sta--maria--ominous-signs-of-human-rights-atrocities-in-sabah-by-malaysian-authorities