Crispin 'Ka Bel' Beltran (born January 7, 1933) is a Filipino politician, Labour leader and currently a political prisoner. As a member 13th Congress of the Philippines with the Anakpawis or the 'Toiling Masses Partylist' and former chair of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), a militant and progressive labor movement, he has been a major figure in contemporary Filipino history. January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... The labour movement (or labor movement) is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and political governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labor relations. ... A political prisoner is someone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image are deemed by a government to either challenge or threaten the authority of the state. ... Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno Court of Appeals · Sandiganbayan Court of Tax Appeals · Ombudsman Elections Commission on Elections 2007 | 2004 | 2001 | 1998 1995 | 1992 | 1987 | 1986 | All Foreign relations Human rights Other countries Politics Portal      The Thirteenth Congress of the Philippines is the current meeting of the national... Next to the main political parties in the Philippines there are some minor parties represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. ... The Kilusang Mayo Uno, or May First Labour Movement (KMU) is a national trade union center in the Philippines. ...

Imprisonment

He was charged by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on February 27, 2006 with with sedition and rebellion, along with four other members of congress, Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño, Joel Virador, and Liza Maza. To avoid arrest, the group, henceforth known as the Batasan five, found shelter at the Batasan Complex. Beltran, however, was detained and is still incarcerated. He is currently in Quezon City at the Philippine Heart Center (due to the deterioration of his health in prison). As an active critic of the current administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his incarceration has been seen as part of a recent policy of political repression in the Philippines, Oplan Banta Laya. Sedition is a term of law to refer to covert conduct such as speech and organization that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. ... Look up rebellion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Satur C. Ocampo (born April 7, 1939) is a Filipino politician, journalist, writer and political prisoner. ... Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly) is where members of the Philippines House of Representatives hold their sessions. ... Quezon City P (Filipino: Lungsod Quezon), is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. ... The young Gloria Macapagal (far right) and her family; when this picture was taken, her father Diosdado was the President of the Philippines. ...

International Campaign

An international campaign has been organized calling for the immediate release of Beltran. One group, the 'Free Ka Bel Movement' has local chapters in Southern Tagalog, Davao and Cebu and international chapters in Hongkong, Japan, US, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. ^[1] Some 99 parliamentarians from across the world support the release of Crispin Beltran coming from 11 countries and 13 parliaments, including the Netherlands, Cambodia, Burma, New Zealand, Belgium, Chile, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the European Parliament, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Flemish Parliament.^[2] They have been as yet unsuccessful, though various attempts have been made including those by Keith Locke, MP, Foreign Affairs Critic of the Green Party of New Zealand^[3]. Keith Locke (born 1944) is a current New Zealand MP representing the Green Party who was first elected to parliament in 1999. ... Current Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand logo Wikinews has news related to: Greens Party refines Buy Kiwi Made scheme The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament. ...

Notes

1. ^ Free Ka Bel Movement
2. ^ Bayan Muna, List of support from various Parliamentarians
3. ^ Keith Locke MP, "Helen Clark should help free Filipino MPs", 14 March 2006.

External Links

• Beltran speech from hospital, March 2007
• Anakpawis News Releases
• Free Ka Bel Campaign
• Free Ka Bel Movement