Press Release

March 11, 2007

AJLPP- Seattle



Two Washington Meetings, One Goal: Stop Political Killings in the Philippines



Seattle, WA-Leaders and members of Baptist, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, ANSWER Seattle, Veterans for Peace and the Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) will fund-raise on Mar 16, Friday at 6 PM at the University Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington to publish a full page ad in the leading newspaper in the Philippines demanding among others an immediate end to political killings that to date have claimed 840 lives of social activists.



At Washington, DC on Mar. 14, a delegation of mostly religious leaders including Bishop Eliezer Pascua, Secretary-General of the United Church of Christ Philippines (UCCP) and Rev. Wilson de Ocera, chairperson of the Legislative Committee of the United Methodist Church in California-Nevada Conference, will meet separately with Rep. Tom Lantos and Sen. Barbara Boxer, both from California to address the issue of human rights violations and US’ foreign policy towards the current Philippine government, that is a major recipient of US military aid.



Speaker for the benefit dinner will be Arturo Garcia from the LA-based Ecumenical Fellowship for Peace and Justice-Southern California. “We are seeing an intensification of political killings and unless the international community intervenes, we will see more deaths and harassments of peace-loving social activists,” said Garcia during a phone interview with students of Philippine Studies 102.



Other demands include: the resumption of peace talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the government, and the immediate release of Rep. Crispin Beltran and all political prisoners who have been illegally detained and are currently languishing in hospital or jails.



Several pastors will sign the demand letter including First Baptist Church’ Rev. Stephen Jones, who was once a missionary in Iloilo, a southern province in the Philippines, and Rev. David Kratz of the Fauntleroy United Church of Christ.