Action Solidarié Tiers Mone (ASTM) will be screening the documentary "Sin Dudas" on Wednesday 8 June 2016 to highlight the threats faced by human rights defenders in the Philippines.
Through the killing of Benjamin Bayles, a human rights defender killed in the Philippines in 2010, the film shows how the majority of the victims of these crimes are marginalised farmers and peasants who had the courage to defend their land and life rights. According to Human Rights Watch, 300 human rights defenders have been killed sine 2010, 65 of which were in the first few months of 2015 alone. The killings are largely killed out by military and paramilitary groups and are rarely subjected to legal proceedings, despite outcry from the international community.
The case of Benjamin Bayles is unique in that, among hundreds of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, this is the only case in which the suspects - members of the Filipino Army - were identified and arrested. They now face murder charges in a civilian court. After a six-year long trial, justice has still not been served.
Benjamin Bayles was a farmer from a poor rural family who regularly denounced the abuses perpetrated against small farmers and agricultural workers by members of the Philippine Army. As a member of a local human rights organiation, he organised meetings between the families of victims and legal advisors affiliated with his organisation, as well as inquiry missions on human rights violations within remote communities in the region.
The climate of virtual impunity that persists has perpetuated the string of political assassinations, incidents of harassments, threats, defamations and the criminalisation of rights defenders in the Philippines. Behind these political murders is the prioritisation of mining as a development strategy promoted by the Philippine government, involving removing all businesses presenting an obstacle to their operations and access to territories and natural resources.
"Sin Dudas" was directed by Roehl Jamon, assistant professor at the UP Film Institute and produced by Ulrich Rotthoff, assistant professor at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines Diliman. The producer will be present at the event to answer questions and lead a discussion following the screening.
The event will take place at 18:30 at Citim, 55 avenue de la Liberté, Luxembourg-Gare. The €5 entrance fee covers distribution costs.
Photos provided by ASTM
