Filipino activist and indigenous peoples advocate receives 2019 Gwangju Human Rights Award

Joanna Carino, recipient of the 2019 Gwangju Human Rights Award

Joanna Carino has devoted her life opposing the dictatorships of the Philippines

Joanna Carino, a 67-year-old democracy and human rights activist from the Philippines who has dedicated herself to battling dictatorship and fighting to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, was selected to receive the 2019 Gwangju Human Rights Award.

“The unbending spirit of struggle and sacrifice shown by Joanna Carino as a founder of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) in the Philippines and director of the Luzon chapter of the group SELDA (Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto) has particular resonance for many activists and ordinary citizens living in this era,” explained the 2019 Gwangju Human Rights Award review committee (chaired by Im Seon-sook) on Apr. 15.

“The spirit of the Gwangju Democratization Movement is being realized through Ms. Carino’s actions,” it said.

At the peak of the struggle against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, Carino left behind her job as a professor at the University of the Philippines Baguio to work on the ground as an activist. In 1984, she co-founded CPA as an organization to protect self-determination rights and the land of her ancestors, battling for democracy through the promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights and the protection of human rights. Her dialogue efforts helped bring about an agreement to promote the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2016, she played a leading role in the launch of Sandugo – Movement of Moro and Indigenous People for Self-Determination, an organization for which she has served as joint chairperson.

The Dialita Choir of Indonesia, recipient of Gwangju’s Special Award for Human Rights

Indonesia’s Dialita Choir was selected as recipient of the Special Award bestowed every two years. The Dialita Choir’s members include female survivors of the massacre of suspected communists that took place between 1965 and 1966 in Indonesia, along with family members of those killed. While attempting to heal its own members’ scars through music, the group has also been involved in solidarity activities including support for other victims.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2 pm on May 18 at the Democracy Hall of the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in the Ssangchon neighborhood of Gwangju’s Seo (West) district. Gwangju Human Rights Award winners receive a plaque and US$50,000 in prize money, while Special Award winners receive a plaque and US$10,000.

By Jung Dae-ha, Gwangju correspondent

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