Gloria’s “Berdugo” General
Backgrounder:
General Palparan has been accused by organizations (who have dubbed him “The Butcher”) of having a role in alleged extrajudicial abductions and killings of government critics during his military service.The Melo Report stated that, “there is certainly evidence pointing the finger of suspicion at some elements and personalities in the armed forces, in particular General Palparan, as responsible for an undetermined number of killings, by allowing, tolerating, and even encouraging the killings.” From Wikipedia
President Arroyo promoted Palparan twice: from colonel to brigadier general (2003); and from brigadier general to major general after serving as commander of the Philippine contingent in Iraq (2004). His promotion to major general came within months of his previous promotion.
In her 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo acknowledged Palparan for his offensives against rebel terrorists. In the same breath she also said that she condemns political killings.
“We have no tolerance for human rights violations.
Nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan.
Hindi aatras hanggang mawala sila sa gabi!
Together we will stop extrajudicial killings!”
Gloria Arroyo
General Jovito Palparan (nicknamed “the Butcher”):First Filipino Nominee For the Nobel Peace Prize
Rationale: Broadly speaking, there are three ways to get the Nobel Peace Prize
1. Be a famous humanitarian. This is the obvious approach. It is also the hardest. The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Albert Schweitzer, who built hospitals in Africa; to Norman Borlaug, who developed high-yield strains of wheat; to Muhammed Yunus, who devised a new method of giving loans to low-income entrepreneurs
2. Start an international organization. Or, if you can swing it, be an international organization. Over the years, the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, the UN’s International Labor Organization, and the Red Cross. Gore himself shared his prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
3. Kill a lot of people, then stop. In 1973, the Nobel Peace Prize was shared by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. Kissinger’s CV included the “secret” bombing of Cambodia and the “Christmas” bombing of North Vietnam; just a month before his prize was announced, he was complicit in the coup that installed a brutal dictatorship in Chile. So why did he win? Because he and Tho had reached a truce to end the Vietnam War.
It is in the context, that former General Jovito Palparan Jr. is respectfully proposed as another nominee for the Nobel Peace prize for 2008 from the Philippines(in addition to President Gloria Arroyo, former President Joseph Estrada and Secretary Ronaldo Puno).
Here is a brief profile of the First Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the Philippines: Achievements:
The International Peasant Solidarity Mission found that there are “clear indications of military involvement” in the cases of human rights violations in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog. The group’s report noted that the military seems to have become more brazen (in committing the human rights violations) under the command of MGen. Jovito Palparan, Jr.
In his brief stint as 8th Infantry Division commander, Gen. Palparan was credited for reducing the insurgency problem in Samar by 80 percent. Palparan however said he could have terminated insurgency in the province had he been given a two-month extension to implement his “clearing operation”.
President Arroyo promoted Palparan twice: from colonel to brigadier general (2003); and from brigadier general to major general after serving as commander of the Philippine contingent in Iraq (2004). His promotion to major general came within months of his previous promotion.
In her 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo acknowledged Palparan for his offensives against rebel terrorists. In the same breath she also said that she condemns political killings.
(belated April Fools Day!)
Posted by Equalizer at Saturday, April 12, 2008
