Five hundred days after at least 57 people, including more than 30 journalists, were brutally murdered in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009, Philippine and international media groups are still demanding “action" from the Aquino administration on the matter.
Lamenting that not one of the masterminds had been convicted, the groups voiced outrage and deep concerns over “continuing delays" in prosecuting key personalities who stand accused of perpetrating the massacre and other media killings in the Philippines.
“President Aquino and his administration must show a firm commitment to end impunity by ensuring that perpetrators of violence against journalists are brought to justice," they said in a statement, excerpts of which were posted on the website of the International Federation of Journalists.
“The atrocity in Ampatuan Town, Maguindanao, on 23 November 2009 occurred in the context of a decades-long culture of impunity for violence against journalists and other human rights defenders in the Philippines," they added.
IFJ, with a membership of 600,000 journalists in 125 countries, is among the groups calling on President Benigno Aquino III to direct his administration to provide the necessary resources and support to ensure the swift prosecution of the accused.
VIA MRT/VS, GMA News
