Stop Violence Against Women and Children! No to Martial Law!
July 13, 2017
GABRIELA New York condemns martial law in Mindanao and the forced indigenous Lumad community evacuation. Women and children become even more vulnerable to rape, harassment and other heinous attacks under increased militarization. As Filipina women living in New York, we link arms with the Lumad people during these times of intensified violence and militarization.
Since 2013, GABRIELA NY has consistently sent members to the Philippines on exposure programs to integrate with Lumad communities. During their programs, members witnessed the impact of poverty, displacement, and militarization in these communities and have since linked these conditions to community injustices in New York. Through local campaigns, educational and progressive cultural programs, we are committed to ending violence against women, children and all marginalized communities both in New York and in the Philippines.
We call for the immediate lifting of martial law and the continuation of the peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government Republic of the Philippines (GRP). Only through engaging in the peace negotiations and addressing the root causes of armed conflict can we genuinely move towards just and lasting peace in the Philippines.
GABRIELA New York 