Threat of another martial law
The demons of martial law will never stop to hound us.
There are demagogues who intentionally use it to serve the ends of politics. They keep reminding us of their sacrifice, highlighting their opposition against atrocities in order to protect and defend the people and preserve the bastions of democracy.
Among us are the victims of human rights abuses, whose sufferings and experiences of torture and appalling dehumanization haunt the pages of recent history. No one will forget their woeful tales and the desecration of their dignity. The pain and agony that they will carry all their lives will never mollify the sad experiences.
As to the black mark on our national pride, the family that ruled the nation during martial law has regained its place among the political elite and once again threatens to make a replay of the most ignominious time of our nation.
The presence and conglomeration of many factors: terrorist threats, protests against abuse of authority, and possible impeachment of the chief justice are just some indicators of unstable times.
These are incendiary materials waiting for the spark that will ignite it into the fiery conflagration that will justify the extension of martial law in Mindanao to cover the whole country.
Our problem is not merely exorcising the phantom of martial law. Officialdom has expressed sinister ideas that could tempt an impulsive leader for an encore of martial law.
MARK E. PARAS JR. and RAMON DIÑO, [email protected]
