Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rap-porteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Special Executions has asked top government officials to acknowledge that extrajudicial killings were happening.

"I would like a statement from the very top, from the president, from the secretary of defence, and certainly from the [Armed Forces] chief

of staff saying that extrajudicial killings will not be tolerated," Alston said during a press conference

yesterday at the end of his 10-day visit to the country to investigate the bloodshed.

Alston also said a "significant number" of the extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists in the country have been "convincingly attributed" to a military he said is "in a state of almost total denial".

But he also acknowledged that the UN cannot sanction the Philippines for the killings, although he said his "visit has already begun the process of acting as a catalyst to deeper reflection" on the issue.

Alston's visit is in response to government invitations for international bodies to conduct their own investigations into the killings that have earned the Arroyo administration increasing criticism here and abroad over its commitment to human rights.

Despite his findings, Alston said the government's invitation "reflects a clear recognition of the gravity of the problem, a willingness to permit outside scrutiny, and a very welcome preparedness to engage on this issue" of the killings.

"The AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] remains in a state of almost total denial … of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them," Alston said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "needs to persuade the

military that its reputation and effectiveness will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate," Alston said.

Senior military officials have blamed rogue soldiers for some of the killings - an explanation Alston said did not go far enough. The armed forces "needs to give us precise details and to indicate what investigations and prosecutions have been undertaken in response," he said.

He added that evidence offered by the military suggesting many victims were gunned down by communist rebels as part of an internal purge was "especially unconvincing".

Alston also noted that the "executive branch, openly and enthusiastically aided by the military, has worked resolutely to circumvent" the political space allowed leftists "to enter the democratic system."

Philippine Daily Inquirer  Asia News Network

Manila, Philippines