Philippines President Marcos Jr: ‘Not welcome’ at UN
New York City – On Tuesday, September 20, progressive forces in New York City rallied against the inclusion in the United Nations General Assembly of far-right incoming president of the Philippines, Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
The protest began outside the Philippine Mission in Manhattan before marching to the United Nations building in time for Marcos Jr.’s speech. The protest was organized by the Northeast Coalition to Advance Genuine Democracy in the Philippines. The rally outside of the Philippine Mission included speeches from allied organizations, as well as poetry, songs and theatrical performances interpreting the democratic demands of the Filipino people.
The rally also marked the 50-year anniversary of the 1972 declaration of martial law in the Philippines, under Marcos Sr.
Over the next 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship, at least 34,000 people were tortured and more than 3000 were murdered by the state under the guise of fighting radicalism. Under outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, more than 30,000 Filipinos have been killed during the “war on drugs.” The organizers of today’s rally fiercely rejected the legitimacy of the incoming Marcos-Duterte government and tied it to the legacies of Marcos Sr. and ex-President Duterte.
Speakers included survivors of the martial law period under the Marcos dictatorship, along with representatives of Anakbayan USA, the Palestinian Youth Movement, BAYAN USA, the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Kalikasan, the Malaya Movement USA, New York Boricua Resistance, and Migrante USA, among others.