Marcos Martial Law: Never Again

In September 1972 Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, plunging the Philippines into 14 years of a brutal dictatorship that only ended when he was chased out of the country. ** th hallmark of his dictatorship was repression: the systematic us of terror, torture and murder. Thousands were killed, tens of thousands more suffered torments in "Tactical interrogation" sessions conducted by the military, particularly the philippine constabulary. ** in this brief illustrated history, journalist and blogger raissa robles recounts martial law's grisly record of human rights violations, clearly establishing that torture was a deliberate olicy of dictator Marcos. She contexts this against a backdrop of historical events and explains why and how Marcos grabbed power under the guise of fighting a communist threat. ** published on the 30th anniversary of the people power uprising that overthrew Marcos, the book was edited by award-winning journalist and foreign correspondent alan robles. ** using books, documents and official records, the author traces the course of the new society, identifies its key players and shows how Marcos used military rule to keep himself in power and perpetuate a regime focused on plundering the economy. She reconstructs Marcos' police state infrastructure--complete with specially built dentention camps--and its techniques of torture. Robles interviewed sources ranging from two philippine presidents to generals, colonels and torture survivors. ** martial law's atrocities left a national trauma that hasn't healed. The perpetrators have not only gone unpunished -- they haven't even admitted to committing torture. Survivor, physically and psychologically scarred, have been left to fend for themselves. Remembrance of the horrors. These are now in danger of being forgotten, thanks in part to a concerted effort by marcoses and their cronies to erase the past.