IFJ Calls for Global Show of Solidarity in Demanding Justice for Philippine Massacre Victims
The International Federation of Journalists today issued a new call to journalists across the world to join the Global Day of Solidarity on Wednesday, 9 December, to demand justice for the 31 journalists slaughtered in Maguindanao province of the Philippines on 23 November.
“Filipino journalists need to hear our voices expressing solidarity with the victims and anger at the Philippine government that allowed this to happen,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “106 journalists have now met a violent death since President Arroyo was elected in 2001. Her government has created the circumstances for this massacre by allowing a culture of impunity to flourish.”
The IFJ is currently leading an international mission to bring support to the victims and investigate the circumstances of the mission, hosted by its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). The mission has just returned from meeting the families of the victims based in the city of General Santos and is now focusing on talks with the authorities.
On Wednesday the mission will attend a protest rally in Manila and issue a preliminary report at a press conference.
In a statement reproduced below, NUJP chairman Nestor Burgos says Filipino journalists are grateful for the flood of support that has already been expressed from around the world. “It has helped enormously. But we want all journalists to join us, to band together, to end this culture of impunity over journalist killings. Filipino journalists are now trying to function in a violent atmosphere in the lead-up to crucial elections on May 10, 2010,” he says.
30 journalists have been confirmed dead and one missing out of a total 57 people massacred by around 100 armed men on the 23rd November. The convoy was travelling across country to nominate a candidate for the May elections when they were confronted by gunmen from the Ampatuan clan who subsequently murdered everyone and buried their bodies in shallows.
This is the biggest single atrocity against journalists on record.
“It is six months before the May 10 elections and the mission hopes that this horrific start to the electoral process is countered by a determination from the President and her administration to ensure that justice and journalism will be allowed to flourish without impediment.” said Mike Dobbie, on the IFJ Mission. “Until those things are done, then the perpetrators of this mass murder will be considered to have achieved some of their aims. That is, to intimidate by multiple acts of violence the people of their community.”
The mission also includes representatives from the Indonesia’s Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Australia’s Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the Thai Journalists’ Association (TJA) Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International News Safety Institute (INSI), International Media Support (IMS), the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) and Union Network International (UNI).
For more information contact the IFJ Asia Pacific office on +612 9333 0919
or IFJ Brussels on +32 2 235 22 00
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries
Filipino Journalists Appeal for Global Solidarity to Ensure Justice in Ampatuan Town Massacre
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has made an emotional appeal for solidarity and support in the wake of the Ampatuan Town Massacre in which 31 journalists and media workers were murdered.
NUJP chairman Nestor Burgos says Filipino journalists are grateful for the flood of support that has already been expressed from around the world. “It has helped enormously. But we want all journalists to join us, to band together, to end this culture of impunity over journalist killings. Filipino journalists are now trying to function in a violent atmosphere in the lead-up to crucial elections on May 10, 2010,” he says.
“No one knows if another Filipino journalist will be killed or if continued government inaction will mean justice is denied to those who have been murdered already. If we are to overcome this decades-old problem, we need help from our journalist colleagues around the world.
“We need to stand together to stop these atrocities from spreading to other countries. We need to demand that governments take action to ensure journalist safety, and justice for our slain colleagues,” Burgos says.
A day of protests has been called for Wednesday, December 9 and the NUJP, an affiliate member of the International Federation of Journalists, is seeking strong demonstrations of solidarity from other journalist unions and media groups around the world as it battles for justice for the slain media representatives. A massive public rally and march will take place in Manila on the day, with other protests planned across the Philippines.
The NUJP fears that the Philippines Government will continue to take insufficient action to end a culture of impunity in relation to the killing of journalists. More than 100 Filipino journalists had been killed in the 23 years prior to the massacre in Ampatuan Town in the province of Maguindanao on the island of Mindanao on Monday, November 23.
Burgos says: “We are worried that, despite the magnitude of this atrocity, President Gloria Arroyo’s administration will not ensure that a full, open and transparent investigation takes place. Already prosecutors have told us that they have received death threats and have asked for proper security in order for them to carry out their vital work. Meanwhile, Mindanao journalists are operating in a climate of fear and the imposition of martial law in provincial Maguindanao has raised fears that massive human rights violations may occur on top of the tragedy which has already beset the province,” he says.
“The relatives of the murdered journalists demand justice, and are desperate for aid and support as they try to continue their lives without their slain loved ones,” Burgos says,
The massacre of 57 people included the family members of the local governor, lawyers, passers-by and a media crew of 31. The group were travelling in six vehicles when they were stopped by armed militia, driven to a secluded site and murdered. Tragically, of the people killed one journalist’s body, that of Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay of The Midland Review in Tacurong City remains missing despite a second search yesterday.
An international emergency mission led by the IFJ arrived in the Philippines last week to support local journalists and NUJP. The delegation comprises representatives from leading journalists’ rights and press freedom organisations including the IFJ, the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Indonesia’s Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Australia’s Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the Thai Journalists’ Association (TJA), International News Safety Institute (INSI), International Media Support (IMS), the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) and Union Network International (UNI).
The mission, organised at the request of the NUJP, has visited General Santos City in Mindanao and met with the relatives of the slain journalists, the chief city prosecutor, and local media to learn more about their pressing needs. The mission also visited General Santos City cemetery where 12 of the murdered journalists are now buried. The mission has now returned to Manila for meetings with government officials. To date, there has been no response to a request to meet with President Gloria Arroyo so that the mission can press home international and local demands for a full and credible investigation into the massacre.
“The entire media profession in the Philippines is in pain. Journalists are traumatised and are operating in a climate of fear. The relatives of the victims are seeking urgent funds to support the livelihood of the dependents and also for their children’s’ education. And there is a pressing need for a thorough investigation to take place, one where the prosecutors are afforded proper protection and are fully resourced,” Burgos says.
“We also heard from one of the colleagues of the murdered journalists who escaped being caught up in the roadblock and abduction and we believe he and others are in urgent need of protection from those implicated in the massacre.”
The NUJP hopes that journalists the world over will join them in solidarity on December 9 to help justice prevail for all those victims, living and dead, of the Ampatuan Town Massacre. “We can only move on if we can ensure that those responsible for this monstrosity are called to account for their crime,” Burgos says.
For more information, contact Nestor Burgos on
+63 917 725 6333
International Solidarity Mission Arrives in Philippines
December 04, 2009
Files
• NUJP MAGUINDANAO Fact-Finding Mission Report FINAL 3 DEC 09.pdf
An international emergency mission led by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) arrived in the Philippines today to support local journalists and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in the wake of the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao Province, Mindanao, in which at least 30 journalists and media workers were killed.
The delegation comprises representatives from leading journalists’ rights and press freedom organisations including the IFJ, the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the Thai Journalists’ Association (TJA), International News Safety Institute (INSI), International Media Support (IMS), the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) and Union Network International (UNI).
The mission, organised at the request of the NUJP, an IFJ affiliate, will visit General Santos City and Manila to meet the families of victims, the local media community, lawyers and government authorities and officials.
The delegation is expected to meet a representative of President Gloria Arroyo on December 9, to press home international and local demands for a full and credible investigation into the massacre of at least 57 people in all.
On the same day, the IFJ has called for all its affiliates and partner organisations across the world to join a Global Day of Solidarity in support of the Philippines media community.
The international mission will take into account the findings of an independent fact-finding report prepared by the NUJP with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and members of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), and the Mindanao-based news agency Mindanews, who conducted their own inquiries in Mindanao last week.
The fact-finding team verified that of the 57 people known to have been killed on November 23, 30 were journalists and media workers. Another media worker remains missing. The list of media fatalities is available here.
“The massacre claimed nearly an entire generation of journalists from the small print and broadcast communities of General Santos, Koronadal City, and nearby areas,” the report said. “At least 22 of the 31 named media personnel were married and had children, indicating an enormous need for continuing humanitarian assistance.”
Among the media personnel killed, 22 worked for newspapers and tabloids. Most of the media personnel were based in General Santos City.
Freddie Solinap, the publisher of the weekly Periodico Ini, said his paper had lost four of its six staff, or the full complement of media personnel on the paper.
The fact-finding report raises a series of concerns about investigations by authorities into the massacre and the conduct of military personnel in the area where the massacre took place.
The report notes that gaps in the work of the police, investigators and prosecutors have not been given sufficient national media coverage.
Key issues identified in the report include the following:
Poor handling and contamination of the massacre site.
Poor handling of the remains of bodies.
An apparent preference for testimonial rather than physical evidence.
A detachment of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU), under the command of the military, was positioned near the massacre site, but claims it did not see the convoy of cars carrying those who were killed.
The enormous weapons arsenal of the Ampatuan family, which is implicated in the atrocity, has not been fully confiscated.
It is imperative to disarm all clans, political families in the area.
Missing or still undisclosed documents from local and national authorities include the police case referral report, which should contain a summary of the evidence and findings of the investigator, and serve as basis for the prosecution of the case/s.
There are also no publicly available copies of presidential issuances covering the grant of so-called “blanket authority” for Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to deal with the “state of emergency” in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City.
Government resources were used to fly the lawyer of Andal Ampatuan Jr, the main suspect, since charged with murder, from Cotabato City to General Santos City.
The government response has not eased the anxiety and fear of local residents and media workers in the affected areas, and threats to the safety and security of the communities linger.
“The international mission will deliver a strong message to the Arroyo Government that its long-held complacency toward horrific levels of violence against media personnel over many years cannot and will not continue,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.
“The IFJ honours the great courage of journalists in the Philippines and the NUJP as it does all it can to support the families of those killed on November 23 and to fight for justice for their colleagues and their families.”
For more information on the IFJ Global Day of Solidarity, in which journalists’ organisations worldwide are encouraged to take action to demand an end to anti-media violence in the Philippines, seehttp://www.ifj.org/en/articles/urgent-ifj-philippines-appeal
To read the NUJP independent fact-finding mission report, click here
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide
Page link
http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/international-solidarity-mission-arrives-in-philippines?format=print
No to Martial Law
NOVEMBER 23 MOVEMENT
We absolutely oppose the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao and, prospectively, anywhere else in the country.
We believe that, with the severe restrictions on freedoms it imposes, on the one hand, and the wide latitude of police, military, and official powers it allows, on the other, martial law will only compound the troubles it has been precisely intended to deal with.
Indeed, we believe that normal powers exercised by a decisive, strong-willed, and well-intentioned leadership are enough to bring the perpetrators of the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, to justice.
History offers clear, powerful, and painful enough lessons in the deceptive promises of martial law: It has been used for repression, instead of justice.
The November 23 Movement
—————————
The November 23 Movement is a coalition of media groups and organizations seeking full accountability and swift justice for the slain journalists and victims of the Ampatuan Massacre…
Members:
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
Business World
Center for Community Journalism and Development
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
College Editors Guild of the Philippines
Davao Today
Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project
Philippine Press Institute
Pinoy Weekly
Southeast Asia Press Alliance
VERA Files
SEAPA
Invitation to Cover and Participate
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The November 23 Movement and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) invite you to take part in the International Day of Action against Impunity, a collective expression of outrage against the killings of journalists and innocent civilians in Maguindanao and the call for justice for all victims.
The activities are:
1. Press Conference of the International Mission on the Maguindanao Massacre (tentative)
8:30 a.m. Venue to be announced later
2. Mass Mobilization to Malacanang
Assembly Time : 9:30 a.m.
Assembly Place : In front of UST, Espana Avenue, Manila
Assembly March : 10 a.m.
Program at the Chino Roces Bridge: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Invited Speakers: Representatives of media organizations, press corps, international media groups, and multisectoral groups
Let’s wear black shirts and black wrist bands on this day. We would also be enjoined to bring and tie black ribbons around lamp posts and trees during the march from UST to Malacanang.
We need your presence so that our voices would be heard in raising these urgent calls:
Justice for Slain Journalists and all Victims of the Ampatuan/Maguindanao Massacre!
Stop Killing Journalists!
End Impunity, Justice Now!
See you there!
Sincerely,
November 23 Movement
Members: Business World, CCJD, CEGP, CMFR, FOCAP, FFFJ, KBP, NUJP, People’s Journal, Philippine Daily Inquirer, PHRRP, PPI
Invitation for Coverage and Participation
We have kicked off a series of daily memorial and protest activities to help commemorate the journalists and civilians who died in the Ampatuan Massacre and to press our demand for justice.
We have partnered with media companies whose members died in the massacre as well as with our media allies, members and friends in the activities which are primarily candlelight vigils and prayer rallies outside media outlets and beats.
Tonight it’s the DFA Press Corps turn to hold the 7pm vigil in front of the DFA gate along Roxas Boulevard. NUJP officers and members will be there with the beat reporters as well as representatives of the embassies including the European Union.
Tomorrow it’s the turn of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reporters, editors and staff to hold the vigil in front of their office along Pasong Tamo Street. We’ve since asked GMA 7, ABS-CBN 2 and other media outlets to host the succeeding vigils until Dec. 8… Bombo Radyo who lost Bart Maravilla and UNTV who lost 4 journalists have already hosted the vigils on Dec. 1 and 2 respectively.
Part of the vigil series’ aims are to recruit as much public participation in our quest for justice since the issue definitely goes beyond press freedom and in fact has struck at the very foundations of our existence as a nation and a people.
We hope you can be there to cover as well as to participate in the vigils.
We will send out the final schedule once all arrangements are finalized.
Thank you very much and see you there.
NUJP Directorate
Joint Statement of the November 23 Movement
Joint Statement of the November 23 Movement
Dear Colleagues,
Last November 28, several media organizations and newspaper publishers and editors met to discuss the horrific massacre of journalists, lawyers, and several others in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao and to map out plans for a concerted effort to push for justice for all victims of the carnage.
Among those who attended were officers of the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD), Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), Philippine Press Institute (PPI), Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project/Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and People’s Journal.
The groups collectively called themselves the November 23 Movement, with the hope that more media organizations and individuals would join the initiative.
One of the immediate actions agreed upon was to issue a joint statement calling on the government to swiftly bring the perpetrators of this most terrible crime to the bar of justice to our full satisfaction. Those who attended the meeting have adopted the joint statement.
We appeal to you to print or air this joint statement on December 1 to express our collective outrage and grief against this abomination inflicted not only on the media but on human dignity and decency as well.
We also call on everyone to join or express solidarity in other actions that will follow the issuance of this statement.
For more information, please contact the secretariat: Rorie Fajardo of PHRRP (0905) 3154986 and roriegirl@yahoo.com; Sonny Fernandez (0908) 3259620 and freetosay@gmail.com; Trina Federis of CEGP, (0910) 4803098 and cegphils@gmail.com; and Sweet Cawicaan of CCJD 376-5550.
Thank you.
1. Business World – Vergel Santos
2. College Editors Guild (CEGP) – Trina Federis
3. Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) – Luis Teodoro
4. Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD) – Adelina S. Alvarez, Red Batario
5. Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) — Gabby Tabunar*
6. Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) – Jose L. Pavia
7. Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) – Rey Hulog/Herman Basbano*
8. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) – Nestor Burgos, Inday Espina, Sonny Fernandez, Marlon Ramos, May Rodriguez
9. People’s Journal – Badette Tamayo
10. Philippine Daily Inquirer – Isagani Yambot
11. Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project — Rorie Fajardo
12. Philippine Press Institute (PPI) – Jose L. Pavia
- – - – - – - -
A Challenge of Conscience
The brutal, indiscriminate mass murder on Monday in Ampatuan town, in Maguindanao province, raises the ultimate challenge of conscience. It carries the culture of impunity at work in this country to such levels of horror that, if it remains unpunished for long, can send the nation into an inexorable descent into absolute dehumanization.
The crime thus calls for swift justice, which can only be achieved through a credible and independent process, which in turn can only be achieved without the hand of this government – a government justly mistrusted generally and openly friendly precisely to the very members of the clan accused in the massacre.
We, ourselves colleagues of the more than a score journalists who were killed, demand the following:
One, the creation of a commission outside the government to investigate the crime;
Two, the arrest and prosecution of all the people involved in it in any way, as murderers themselves or their protectors;
Three, the formation of a special court to try the case;
Four, fully guaranteed protection for the witnesses;
Five, the disarming and dismantling of all private armies, such as those evidently employed in the massacre.
Six, the enlistment of persons of unquestioned probity in the whole process;
And finally, the resignation of the government if it fails to deliver such basic satisfaction – indeed, the very same government that has encouraged, by partisanship and conspiracy, the culture of impunity of which the massacre has been the most abominable manifestation.
Signed:
Business World
Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD)
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)
Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ)
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI)
Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project (PHRRP)
Philippine Press Institute (PPI)
Ellen Tordesillas
Rommel Rebollido
Edwin Espejo
Froilan Gallardo
30 Journalists Write 30
NUJP Official List of Journalists/Media Workers killed in the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre (as of Nov. 28, 2009):
Koronadal City
1. Adolfo, Benjie, Gold Star Daily
2. Bataluna, Rubello, Gold Star Daily
3. Cachuela, Hannibal, Punto News
4. Legarte, Bienvenido, Jr., Prontiera News
5. Maravilla, Ernesto “Bart,” Bombo Radyo
6. Merisco, Rey, Periodico Ini
7. Perante, Ronnie, Gold Star Daily
8. Parcon, Joel, Prontiera News
General Santos City
1. Araneta, Henry, Radio DZRH
2. Arriola, Mark Gilbert “Mac-Mac,” UNTV
3. Betia, Arturo, Periodico Ini
4. Cablitas, Marites, News Focus
5. Caniban, John, Periodico Ini
6. Dalmacio, Lea, Socsargen News
7. Decina, Noel, Periodico Ini
8. Dela Cruz, Gina, Saksi News
9. Dohillo, Eugene, UNTV
Tacurong City
1. Cabillo, Romeo Jimmy, Midland Review
2. Duhay, Jhoy, Gold Star Daily
3. Momay, Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay, Midland Review
4. Teodoro, Andres “Andy,” Central Mindanao Inquirer
Davao City
1. Gatchalian, Santos, DXGO
2. Lupogan, Lindo, Mindanao Daily Gazette
General Santos City
1. Montaño, Marife “Neneng,” Saksi News
2. Morales, Rosell, News Focus
3. Nuñez, Victor, UNTV
4. Razon, Fernando “Rani,” Periodico Ini
5. Reblando, Alejandro “Bong,” Manila Bulletin
6. Subang, Ian, Socsargen Today
Cotabato City
1. Salaysay, Napoleon, Mindanao Gazette
Still unaccounted for:
1. Evardo, Jolito, UNTV
NUJP demands independent probe, special court to try massacre suspects
Released: November 27, 2009
NUJP demands independent probe, special court to try massacre suspects
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) demands the creation of an independent commission, to include media representatives, to investigate the Ampatuan massacre and the events that led to it.
This is to help ensure that no whitewash will happen and to identify the roots and those responsible for this unimaginable crime.
The NUJP is also demanding the creation of a special court with a presiding judge of impeccable credentials to undertake the trial of the suspects.
The filing of charges against Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in this barbarity, does not mean that justice for the 57 victims, their families and the Filipino people has been served.
Justice means that all those who have participated, directly or indirectly, those who ordered the slaughter and those who allowed it to happen are arrested, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of our laws.
The dismal fate of the cases of 104 Filipino journalists murdered since 1986, 64 under the present administration, the low case of conviction — only four — warrants an impartial and transparent investigation especially since t the primary suspects are close allies of Malacañang.
The massacre raised the number of journalists killed since 1986 to at least 141, 91 under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration.
The NUJP will actively support an international mission to the Philippines led by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) next month to investigate the killings.
We also call for support to the IFJ-initiated Global Day of Action to be held on December 9 to condemn the killings and demand justice.
STRIKE AGAINST IMPUNITY, STRIKE FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY
Today we say, “Enough.”
The massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao goes beyond a rido or clan war. The sheer scope of barbarity, the brazenness of the murders betrays the perpetrators’ belief in being beyond the reach of the law.
Women, lawyers and journalists – no one escaped the butchers’ wrath. Fifty-seven people killed in broad daylight. The murderers had planned the deed, down to the mass burial of victims. That is the mark of the untouchable.
The Ampatuan massacre not only highlights the capacity for abuse by a political clan that has acted as ruler, judge, jury and executioner in its feudal turf; it is the graphic proof that State forces actually abet crime and protect criminals who provide favors for government officials.
Amid the outrage, even as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed Maguindanao in a state of emergency, the government tried to downplay the role of the Ampatuan clan in the massacre.
Filipinos have been jailed, tortured and killed for petty crimes and for exercising their right to peaceful dissent. Yet PNP officials displayed an abject reluctance to even name the Ampatuans as suspects. President Arroyo even issued a public reaffirmation of her friendship with the Ampatuans. And for good reason.
The Ampatuans, feudal rulers of Maguindanao, gifted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with unbelievable margins of victory in the 2004 polls. They delivered the same service for her allies in 2007 election. They provide food and money for the military and para-military forces. They command a proxy army in the fight against secessionist rebels.
The Ampatuans and other warlords across the country have been doing these for a succession of administrations. Philippine leaders like to boast of our democracy. What confront us are images of a failed State, where institutions are unable to exercise mandated functions, and the central government cedes substantial power to warlords who maintain private armies, which include “civilian volunteers.”
The cozy ties between central government and local warlords blanket the Philippine countryside with a climate of fear born of a culture of impunity. While this is a long-standing problem, it has reached monstrous proportions under the Arroyo administration, which has spent the nine years devouring the very bases of public power in its relentless effort to privatize that power as the public monies.
We have had enough.
We demand the arrest and prosecution of all persons involved in the Ampatuan massacre, especially the masterminds. We demand the immediate suspension from office of all persons linked to the crime.
We demand the immediate arrest of all police and military officials who, by commission or omission, allowed the massacre to happen. We demand full punishment for all officers that tried to coddle the perpetrators of this massacre.
We demand the creation of an independent commission, to include media representatives, to probe the massacre and the events that led to it.
We demand that a special court with a presiding judge of impeccable credentials undertake the trial of the suspects in the Ampatuan massacre.
We demand that media access be guaranteed in all stages and processes of the investigation and prosecution.
We demand full and immediate coverage of victims’ families and witnesses in the witness protection program.
We demand the immediate dismantling and disarmament of para-military forces nationwide as they have long been used as private armies of local warlords.
We demand the creation of an independent body composed of impartial persons of the highest integrity to oversee the disarming of para-military forces and the disposition of their arms.
We also demand an overhaul of a justice system that rewards criminals and tramples on the innocent.
We, the undersigned concerned Filipino individuals and organizations vow to hold a national protest to demand meaningful action from this administration. If government is unwilling to govern, IT MUST STEP DOWN. Only when the culture of impunity has been defeated can this nation proceed with the task of building peace and democracy in the Philippines.
(SIGNED)
Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Chairman, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
Flickr Photos
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