“The trend of vicious attacks against Indigenous Peoples, human rights defenders, and against other sectors of society has shown how the government has further weaponized the laws, the legal system, and the judicial system to silence Indigenous Peoples .
Monday, 1 February 2021, 5:24 pm
“We call on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to
launch an investigation on the trumped-up
case and shoot-to-kill order against Windel Bolinget, an
Igorot leader and human rights defender belonging to the
Bontok-Kankaey Indigenous People (IP) known for actively
defending IP lands and communities against rampant plunder
and militarization,” International Indigenous Peoples
Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) said
in a statement.
On Monday, the International IPMSDL
joined Bayan, Katribu, Karapatan, and other organizations in
a dialogue with the CHR regarding the trumped-up charges
against Bolinget, Bayan’s Lutgardo “Boyette” Jurcales,
Jr. and others.
IPMSDL Campaign Officer Carlo
Beverly L. Longid is the Global Coordinator of International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL). Beverly is an indigenous Igorot belonging to the Bontok-Kankanaeys tribe from Sagada, Mountain Province in the Philippines. She is also the International Officer of Katribu – National Alliance of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines, and Co-Chair of CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness. The IPMSDL Global Secretariat is currently based in Quezon City, Philippines.
Indigenous Peoples, advocates and members of IPMSDL call for continuing struggle for self-determination to combat imperialist plunder and state-terror. Credit: Carlo Manalansan, International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)
RIGHTS are earned through hard-fought struggles. And for Indigenous Peoples (IPs), its fulfillment comes from the collective and continuous defense of ancestral land and territory, and assertion of their ways of life and the right to self-determination.
As the pandemic ravages and the global crisis deepens, the worldâs superpowers and the oppressive governments and systems continue to intensify widening inequality. Exacerbated neglect and discrimination to their access to health and basic services has been a grave threat to the 476 million IPs across the globe â the tip of the iceberg of todayâs social and economic inequities.
For those already faced with food insecurity due to loss of ancestral lands, access to food and livelihood became everyday challenges. And while the mobility of indigenous villages are limited, there are no breaks for extractives, logging, government and private projects, and militarization in indigenous territories.