Filipino Activists Censored

Thousands and thousands of citizens are taking to the streets in direct democratic and civic involvement. But what we think of as 'democracy in action,' the elites try to dismiss, or marginalize, or criminalize as a crisis of democracy. And what are the tools of the elites for dealing with democratic crises? Censorship and propaganda, pepper spray and rubber bullets. We can only rationally expect it to get much, much worse before it gets better at all.

The People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) today deplored the U.S. government for causing the closure of a university hall where U.S.-based Filipinos and other people of color were to hold a symposium in line with the protests surrounding the Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington D.C.

The forum titled "Imperialist Globalization: Its Impact on the Environment and Human Rights" was to be held at George Washington University's Corcoran Hall on April 15. Government and school officials announced on April 10 that they were closing the universiy to outsiders.

The forum, sponsored by Amnesty International, was one of the activities under the Filipino-led People's Assembly Against IMF-WB.. "This is the way they treat Filipino activists here in Washington. They are taking away our right to speak up against the harsh impacts of imperialist globalization," said PCAIG convenor and Bayan Vice Chairperson Dr. Carolina Pagaduan-Araullo who is now in the U.S. as a speaker at the said forum. "It's like martial law here at the U.S. capital. Just to make the IMF-WB meeting look good, the U.S. government is using all means to stop the protest actions and thwart discussions against imperialist globalization," Araullo added.

Araullo, a veteran of last year's "Battle in Seattle," will be joined by South African anti-apartheid leader Dr. Dennis Brutus and Friends of the Filipino People leader Boone Schirmer. The venue has been moved to the Church of the Brethren, also at the U.S. capital, on April 15.

"We ask Filipinos and Americans to condemn this fascist assault on the right to free expression, assembly and the right to dissent against the IMF-WB," she exhorted.

Last year, the PCAIG was also refused a permit to stage a rally in Seattle during the World Trade Organization summit. However, this did not stop them from pushing through with the march and joining thousands of others in a historic show of protest against globalization.