Airport blacklist a ploy, says N.Z. unionist

Press, 16 August 1985, Page 24

Airport blacklist a ploy, says N.Z. unionist

By

DAVID PORTER

NZPA staff correspondent Hong Kong

An airport blacklist which delayed a Meat Workers’ Union official from entering the Philippines for five days was a ploy to prevent his questioning too closely leaders of the pro-President Marcos union congress, said the official, Mr Ken Findlay, in Manila. Mr Findlay was part of a five-member official Federation of Labour fact-find-ing delegation in the Philippines at the invitation of the pro-Marcos Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (T.U.C.P.).

When he and the delegation leader, Mr Len Smith, secretary of the Northern Labourers’ Union, arrived in Manila Mr Findlay was held at the airport overnight under armed guard and put on a plane back to Singapore.

After representations from the New Zealand Embassy in Manila and other parties, including the opposition labour movement, the K.M.U. (Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1 Movement), which

the F.O.L. annual conference resolved to’ support in May, 1984, Mr Findlay was allowed to enter.

A Philippines Foreign Ministry official, Mr Luis Perdices, said Mr Findlay had been put on an airport blacklist as a result of a “mis-communication.” Mr Perdices said he believed the airport officials had Mr Findlay on a blacklist because of his past or present political persuasions. Mr Findlay described it as “an interesting fairy tale.” “I have not ever been and am not a member of any political party,” said Mr Findlay, the secretary of the North Island West Coast branch of the union. “But I strongly resent this kind of McCarthyism.” Mr Findlay and New Zealand Embassy officials said they had been given no explanation for his initially being denied entry. Mr Perdices said Mr Findlay was no longer on the airport blacklist and could return to the Philippines at any time in the future.

Mr Findlay said he believed the airport delay was a ploy by the T.U.C.P. to stop him taking part in the early part of the fact-find-ing mission.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the reason why I was detained was in order to stop my taking part in certain aspects of the mission,” he said. Because he had arrived when the delegation had already been taken to another part of the Philippines for talks with T.U.C.P. officials, Mr Findlay said he had been unable to get in touch with fellow unionists until the next day. "I don’t think they (the T.U.C.P.) wanted to face close questioning from someone who knew something about the situation,” he said.

Mr Findlay said it was a matter of public record that he had been in the Philippines in May, 1984, when he had spoken out in support of the opposition labour movement, the K.M.U., at one of their rallies. It was also well known he had made a report on the

Philippines labour situation to last year’s F.O.L. conference and proposed a resolution, which was passed, condemning the Government of President Marcos for repressive policies towards workers. The resolution also said the T.U.C.P. was not a genuine union movement and endorsed the K.M.U. as the genuine, militant representatives of the Filipino workers, he said. The T.U.C.P. had complained about the resolution and had invited the F.O.L. to send a fact-finding delegation to the Philippines, a decision the federation endorsed this May.

The Foreign Ministry official said that Mr Findlay’s initial entry ban had nothing to do with his views on the Marcos Government or support for the opposition labour movement. The basic reason for his being on the airport blacklist was his alleged political persuasions, he said, and after examining the case the Ministry had decided Mr Findlay’s entry to the country could do no harm.