IFJ urges journalists to join campaign for justice against massacre of 32 Filipino journalists
Manila, Nov. 18 (NsNewsWire) — The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Tuesday announced a commemoration program for the 5th year anniversary of Ampatuan Massacre in the Philippines.
In a statement, IFJ said it is joining its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) as they launch their week-long campaign to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao, in the Philippines
IFJ has also called on journalists and the media to join in the campaign for justice against the single biggest massacre of journalists in history.
Five years on from Ampatuan, the IFJ and NUJP are outraged at the lack of progress in the case that has yet to make one successful prosecution and 98 suspected perpetrators remain at large, IFJ said in a statement on Tuesday.
Five years ago, on November 23, 2009, 58 people were murdered, including 32 journalists as they traveled in a political convoy in Maguindanao, in the south of the Philippines.
The IFJ mission straight after the massacre, Massacre in the Philippines, and found that it could not have taken place without the existing culture of impunity in the Philippines, particularly regarding extrajudicial killings and attacks on the media.
This week, the NUJP announced a list of activities leading up to the the 5th year of the Ampatuan Massacre including:
November 20 – November 24: An international mission led by the IFJ and the NUJP from Nov 20 to 24 in General Santos and Manila.
November 21: A visit to the site of the massacre by the families of the victims as well as officers and members of NUJP.
November 23: An art installation revisiting the Ampatuan Massacre will be unveiled at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, in Quezon City.
November 17 – 23: The social media campaign titled 58 dead. 5 years. 0 justice. Ampatuan Massacre 11.23.2009 is underway. NUJP asks its members and fellow press freedom advocates to use the NUJP icon (an image of the backhoe used to bury the victims) as their profile picture up to November 23 to serve as a reminder of the gruesome killings.