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Great column by Dan Mariano...

Speak out now or…

	BIG DEAL	By DAN MARIANO
	In 1946 a German Protestant pastor, Martin Niemoller, wrote: First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

In 1946 a German Protestant pastor, Martin Niemoller, wrote:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

"They" refer to the Nazis, whose ascent to power in 1933 Niemoller himself had hailed. An ardent German nationalist, Niemoller was born in 1892. At 18 he became an officer-cadet in the German Navy. In World War I he commanded and saw action in a U-boat for which he was awarded the Iron Cross (first class).

Amid the chaos of the Weimar Republic Niemoller bore little sympathy for leftists and liberals. Like many Germans, he blamed the Left for their country’s defeat in World War I. Even after he became a clergyman in 1929 Niemoller’s homilies often revolved around the need for a fuhrer that would restore Germany to imperial greatness.

When World War II broke out Niemoller even volunteered to serve again in the German Navy but was turned down.

Niemoller’s troubles with Adolf Hitler began when the Nazis began to eliminate even those Jews who had already converted to Christianity. The pastor’s "rebellious" sermons caused him to be imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp.

Only after his country had been devastated by war did Niemoller realize the fatal error he—and many other Germans—committed as they watched with little or no protest the rise of Hitler and his Nazis. Their collective sin of omission helped inflict on the world a curse that took an estimated 61 million human lives.

* * *

Many Filipinos are now committing a similar offense by not speaking out against the spate of political killings. The victims have been either journalists or militant left-wingers. Those who have little sympathy for the media and the left probably even think, good riddance.

But as Niemoller’s poem painfully points out, we may all live to regret our silence.

The Commission on Human Rights has received 143 reports of extrajudicial killings since last year from such groups as Karapatan, Bayan Muna and Anakpawis. CHR Chairman Purificacion Quisumbing has even noted a "pattern of impunity" in the political killings totaling 601 since 2001.

Media watchdogs, meanwhile, hold President Arroyo to account for the 42 journalists killed since she rose to power.

There is, of course, little evidence to show that Mrs. Arroyo has the makings of another Hitler. She has herself ordered an investigation of the political killings. But even the Chief Executive will have to concede the possibility that some of her underlings are involved in the murders.

"The pattern of complaints that come to us show members of the Armed Forces and the [Philippine National Police] as suspects. That has to be addressed and we call on the military to do something about it," Quisumbing has been quoted saying.

The Arroyo administration has repeatedly disavowed any responsibility for the political killings. The disavowal, however, gives the citizenry more reason to be fearful. What it really amounts to is an admission by the authorities that they have lost control of the situation.

"In human rights terms, the government is still responsible even if persons in authority are not those behind the killings. The government is still responsible in protecting the right to life and the security of homes and public order and property," Quisumbing said further.

* * *

Fernando "Dong" Batul is the fifth Filipino journalist murdered this year. Unidentified gunmen shot him dead Monday evening. A former vice-mayor of Puerto Princesa, Batul was a commentator of Palawan’s DYPR radio station.

Former ABS-CBN reporter Mike Cohen was Batul’s classmate in college. In his blog (mikecohenatlarge.blogspot.com), Cohen wrote in part:

"I heard about it when my mother woke me up to watch the government TV station’s morning show. [Puerto Princesa] Mayor [Edward] Hagedorn was on the air talking about the ‘incident.’ What a word to use. Is that the best word to use when a friend from your college days is killed—perhaps I should say—when this senseless, brutal, vicious killing took place in perhaps the most peaceful city in the Philippines?

"Dong was a hard-hitting radio commentator. He took them all on, the military, the political groups, the political leaders, the corrupt members of the business community. The people who could not speak out took Dong to heart for his ability to say things others would not say. Dong was honest to a centavo when we were all on the [Palawan State University] student council. He went into various things—politics among them. He later joined GMA SuperRadio and the Palawan Broadcasting Corp.’s DYPR. He was very popular, well liked.

"I do not want to speculate as to suspects or motives. A week or so ago I wrote about Dong in my blog. He was the subject of a media alert issued by a group that has been monitoring the violence and threats versus writers in print and as well as radio and television broadcasters.

"I want to extend my condolences to his family. I want to say so many things about what I really feel but can’t find the words right now. There are a lot of puzzling questions as to who could do such a crime. It makes me wonder about how safe my old hometown is.

"I also wonder if this is localized? Or part of a nationwide wave of killings of those who speak out, raise their voices and talk about the things some do not want heard…."