Call for Chantal’s release broadens
We hereby share a report published by Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC).
Various chapters of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Migrante joined the global campaign for the immediate release of Chantal Anicoche, a Fil-Am activist illegally detained by the military. She is currently under the 2nd ID’s custody and detained at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal. The military claimed they “found” Anicoche in a pit near the area where a unit of the New People’s Army and the military clashed in Abra de Ilog, Mindoro, on January 1.
Aside from demanding Anicoche’s immediate release, the groups called for justice for the victims of bombings in the indigenous community in Abra de Ilog and for the AFP to be held accountable for its crimes in the countryside.
In the US, over 50 Filipinos held protests in Seattle and at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC on January 8. Filipino groups also staged a protest at the Philippine Consulate office in New York City on January 10. Bayan Northeast earlier sent a letter to Consul General Senen T. Mangelile requesting a dialogue and urging the Philippine government to release Anicoche from military custody. Instead of conducting the dialogue, the consulate simply forwarded the letter to the Philippines.
In Canada, groups protested at the Joyce Skytrain station in Vancouver on January 11, and outside the Philippine Consulate offices in Toronto, Alberta, and Vancouver, as well as the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario on January 12. Groups from Vancouver, BC also submitted a petition for Anicoche’s release to Deputy Consul General Uy for transmission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of The President.
In the UK, Filipinos led by Migrante-UK and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)-Britain protested outside the Philippine Embassy in London on January 12. Anakbayan-UK, London-Philippine Solidarity, and the International League of Peoples Struggle-UK also joined the action. Before the protest, representatives from Migrante, Anakbayan, and ICHRP attempted to deliver a letter to Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippine ambassador to the UK, but only one person was allowed to enter, and staff simply received their letter.
In the Philippines, Migrante International protested anew at the Department of National Defense on January 12. Prior to the protest, the group twice attempted to visit Chantal at Camp Capinpin but was kept out. Instead, the camp positioned intelligence agents to surveil, harass, and threaten the group.
The organization also condemned the 2nd ID’s coercion of Anicoche to sign a document for her continued stay in the camp. It stated that the military must stop the harassment, intimidation, threats, or torture against her.
“The AFP has kept Anicoche under custody beyond the legally mandated period. They feel no shame for the bombing in Abra de Ilog, where they killed three Mangyan children and a young researcher. They now baselessly imprison Chantal. She must be released,” Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion said.
Migrante chapters in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Europe, and Thailand, along with the Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and ICHRP-USA, also called for Anicoche’s release.
