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GENEVA — The brutal killing of 57 people in Maguindanao, including some 30 journalists, should be seen as a watershed moment for the Philippines, according to two United Nations human rights experts. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said that “the pre-meditated killing of political opponents, combined with a massive assault on the media, must be tackled at various levels that go well beyond standard murder investigations.” In a statement, the two UN experts indicated that the initial responses of the Government had been encouraging. “The first step”, they noted, “is to ensure that the police investigation is comprehensive and independent, and employs the highest professional standards. It must also be followed by effective prosecutions of all those responsible for the killings.” They added, however, that the massacre also demanded a more extensive reflection on the elite family-domi...

Responding to the murder of more than 30 news media people in a massacre in Maguindanao southern Philippines, members of The Filipino Press Group of Sydney launched an appeal today for funds to help relieve some of the pain now experienced by victims’ families. Funds raised will be delivered to the families through the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPCP), according to Bayanihan News editor-publisher Domingo ‘Nonoy’ Perdon. Newspaper columnist Neria Soliman said the group would seek further contributions from affiliate organisations of the Philippine Community Council of NSW. ”At least one reporter who died in the massacre had a family of wife and five children,” said NewsPinoy editor Titus Filio, who had lived in the Maguindanao area in his youth. ”News media people do not earn much, so their families must be really suffering.” His sentiments were echoed by Mr Perdon, who had proposed the appeal as a grave emergency measure, Ms Soliman, Philippine Sentinel editor Dino Crescin...

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday pledged justice before the grieving families of journalists who were killed in Maguindanao as she visited their wake in General Santos city. "I am attending the wake of some of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre as a modest expression of the nation's outrage and my personal grief and shock on the acts that befell these men and women. What happened continues to shock me. This is a black mark to our nation," Mrs. Arroyo said. "I am really very grieved because I have fought everyday in office to bring peace in this island (Mindanao) and I will continue to do so until the last minute of my term," she added. At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo also pledged to provide the families with jobs and educational and financial assistance. Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA News said Mrs. Arroyo even offered to become the godmother of the newly-born child of Marc Ariola, the cameraman of UNTV who was among the 31 journalists killed in the mas...

Hundreds of additional troops have been sent to Maguindanao province to protect the Ampatuan clan from "possible retaliation" in connection with last week's massacre of 57 people, which is being blamed on the powerful Arroyo-allied family. The augmentation force, numbering around 400, would provide security to the provincial capitol and the Ampatuans' residences in Shariff Aguak town, according to Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of the Armed Forces' public information office. "This is to maintain the peace and order situation and prevent retaliation from the victims’ family. At the same time, they (soldiers) were sent to prevent other groups from taking advantage of the situation," Brawner said. At present, there are four infantry battalions and two mechanized units in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato city - the three areas placed under state of emergency after the massacre. Normally there are only two battalions deployed in the area, Brawner s...

Massacre suspect’s home in Maguindanao raided INQUIRER.net First Posted 08:03:00 12/04/2009 Filed Under: Maguindanao Massacre, Election Violence, raid, Police, Firearms, Military MANILA, Philippines – Combined elements of the military and police raided the house of a local official from a powerful clan in Maguindanao and who has been tagged as the prime suspect in the massacre in the province late November, according to a television report. The raid was conducted at the home of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who is currently in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following his arrest for the murders of at least 57 people in Maguindanao on November 23, the report on GMA Network’s “Unang Hirit” morning program said Friday. The report said a search warrant was served by members of the Philippine National Police to the caretakers on suspicion that high-powered firearms were hidden in Ampatuan Jr.’s home, which was described as being slightly smaller than the oth...

DNA tests to prove rape on women-victims of Maguindanao massacre by admin on December 2nd, 2009 // Filed Under » Zamboanga Times Initial autopsy examinations on the female victims of the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre have remained inconclusive of rape, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Sunday. The autopsy examinations also showed that some of the 57 massacre victims were shot at close range.NBI regional director Ricardo Diaz said that there was a need for a DNA test on the female victims to determine they were indeed raped.Diaz, also chief of Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and concurrent spokesman for Maguindanao massacre, said the NBI medical team examined 20 bodies while the Philippine National Police (PNP) took the rest of the victims.He said six of the victims were shot at close range and there were slugs found at the crime scene.The autopsy also aimed to determine if the female-victims of Nov. 23 massacre were indeed raped, he said.He said the initial test conducted ...

The Massacre in Maguindanao in the Philippines By Maria A. Ressa Head, ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs Former CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief You can’t escape the laws of physics. Newton’s third law of motion states: “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In the world of governments and their security forces, it’s called blowback – a term first coined by the US Central Intelligence Agency in classified documents to describe US and British covert operations in Iran in 1953. They helped overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh, setting in motion a chain of events which inspired the revival of Islamic fundamentalism around the world. Blowback happened again in Afghanistan in the late 80’s when the US funneled more than $3 billion, through Pakistan’s intelligence service, ISI, to build up the Afghan resistance against the Soviets. That sowed the seeds for 9/11 and the major terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia from 2001 to 2009. Among the key beneficiaries was A...