Tribunal on crimes against Filipino people says: ‘Guilty!’

The People’s Verdict, a Bay Area International Peoples’ Tribunal Event, was held at the Bayanihan Community Center in San Francisco on July 18. It followed the closing of the International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes Against the Filipino People, held from July 16 to 18 in Washington, D.C.

Tribunal attendees heard live, video and written testimony from the victims of human rights violations and their families. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark was the lead prosecutor in the trial of accused criminals, headed by Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino and the U.S. government as represented by President Barack Obama.

The gathering in San Francisco heard a summary of the charges and then watched a video of the Tribunal’s jurors presenting their conclusions. As the crowd on the video broke out in cheers and applause when a guilty verdict was read, so did those who assembled in San Francisco. The Tribunal delegation will deliver the verdict to the Philippine Embassy and White House in Washington on July 20. For more information, see ­internationalpeoplestribunal.org.