| Reactions to Ampatuan Massacre Continue; Main Suspect Now In NBI Custody |
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| by PJ Punla |
| Monday, 14 December 2009 10:01 |
 Journalists and journalism students light candles in memory of the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao. This ceremony was held on 25 November 2009 at the Scout Rotonda. Photo from the website of The Globe and Mail.
We need to start calling it the Ampatuan Massacre, because it occurred in the town the Ampatuans named after themselves. Maguindanao is a big province with much to be proud of -- ancient culture with beautiful music, fertile land. It doesn’t deserve to forever be associated with an atrocity that can only happen in a place called Ampatuan. Howie Severino, on Facebook In a clip from the ABS-CBN news program Bandila, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. claims that the mastermind of the Ampatuan Massacre is Umbra Kato, a commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. From the Bandila newscast via YouTube, Thursday, 26 November 2009.
Four days after the gruesome killings of more than 50 journalists, lawyers, and women in a small town in Maguindanao, the primary suspect behind the massacre, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., now sits behind bars at the main NBI offices in Manila. Ampatuan Jr. has declared that he is “not guilty”, and has instead named MILF leader Umbra Kato as the real mastermind.
At least 34 journalists have died in the bloody ending of what was merely a simple errand for filing a Certificate of Candidacy on behalf of a member of the Mangudadatu family, long-term political rivals of the Ampatuans. The massacre has been met with worldwide condemnation; Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have called the event the single deadliest event for journalists ever recorded in history.
In response, media organizations from all over the Philippines have been staging protests and candlelight vigils for the dead. From Cagayan, Baguio, Batangas, Cebu, Davao, and across the country, the calls for justice and due process continue to reverberate.
In Quezon City, demonstrations have been taking place over the past few evenings at the Scout Rotonda, located at the intersection of Timog and Tomas Morato Avenues. Led by students and various groups affiliated with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the rallies are both protests against the violence allegedly perpetrated upon the victims and ceremonies of remembrance for the brutalized dead.
On 27 November the protest action at the Scout Rotonda also included a brief Mass, said for the repose of the souls of the victims.
MyQuezonCity.com joins the calls for sobriety and respect for the due process of law, as well as for swift justice for the victims.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre http://news.google.com/news/search?pz=1&cf=i&ned=en_ph&hl=en&q=Maguindanao+Massacre+rallies&ict=ln http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/25/content_12538939.htm http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/26/09/batangas-journalists-condemn-maguindanao-massacre http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7265&Itemid=240 http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p091126.htm&no=44 http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p091126.htm&no=52 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/philippines-under-pressure-to-make-arrests/article1376691/
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| Last Updated on Monday, 25 January 2010 11:06 |
