On 23 November 2009, armed militia attacked an election convoy in Ampatuan, in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, killing 57 people.
Despite the subsequent arrest and prosecution of a number of suspects - including the alleged mastermind, Andal Ampatuan Jr, the son of the local mayor, the majority of suspects remain at large, including police officers and members of the Ampatuans’ militia.
Since 1992, at least 68 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines, yet only five convictions have resulted.
"The failure to arrest and convict those responsible for the Ampatuan massacre is just the latest contribution to a widespread culture of impunity that surrounds the murder of journalists in the Philippines," WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum said in a letter to Philippines President Benigno Aquino.
While welcoming the trials of 19 of 196 suspects now underway, the letter condemned the lack of action against other suspects and expressed concern at the multiple instances of intimidation and violence against witnesses that have surrounded the official investigation.
WAN-IFRA and WEF called on President Aquino to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and “to end the culture of impunity and provide an environment where journalists and media professionals can go about their daily duties without fear of violence.”
The full letter can be read at http://www.wan-press.org/article18725.html
For more information about the case, visit http://www.wan-press.org/pfreedom/articles.php?id=5028
Read more WAN-IFRA protest campaigns at http://www.wan-press.org/pfreedom/home.php
