MILF dumistansya sa isyu ng napatay na Maguindanao massacre witness

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 27, 2010) – Mariing Itinanggi kahapon ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front na nasa poder nito ang start witness sa binansagang “Maguindanao massacre” bago ito napatay sa bayan ng Parang sa lalawigan ng Maguindanao.

Ito ay matapos na lumabas sa pahayagan na si Suwaib Upham ay nasa pangangalaga ng rebeldeng grupo bago ito pinatay nitong buwan lamang. Si Upham ay kabilang sa mga pumatay sa 57 katao at 32 dito ay pawang mga journalists na sumama lamang sa political caravan ni Esmael Mangudadatu, na ngayon ay gobernador ng Maguindanao.

Isinabit ni Upham ang dating gobernador na si Andal Ampatuan Sr., at ang anak nitong si Andal Jr., ang mayor ng bayan ng Datu Unsay; at ilang pang mga miyembro ng Ampatuan clan.

Ngunit sa dami ng nalalaman ni Upham ukol sa massacre ay nagpasya itong bumaligtad sa takot na ipapatay ng mga Ampatuan matapos na isa-isang ang kanyang mga kasamahan.

Hindi naman mabatid kung bakit sinabi ng pulisya sa Maguindanao na nasa pangangangalaga ng MILF si Upham, subalit unang idiniin ni Andal Jr., ang rebeldeng grupo na siyang umanong nasa likod ng massacre.

“This is grossly unfair; how we could take care of someone who owed blood debt to the people?” tanong pa ni Bon Al-Haq, ang spokesman ng MILF.

Sinabi ni Al-Haq na malaki ang kasalanan ni Upham sa batas dahil sa massacre. Kaaway rin ng MILF ang mga Ampatuan dahil sa diumano’y pagnakaw ng mga ito sa lupain ng mga Muslim sa kanilang mga nasasakupang lugar at sa maraming krimen na umano'y kinasangkutan ng ankan. Itinanggi naman ng mga Ampatuan ang lahat ng paratang sa kanila. (Mindanao Examiner)

US condemns murder of key witness in Maguindanao massacre

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 25, 2010) – The United States on Friday condemned the murder of a key witness in last year’s brutal slaying of 57 people in the southern Philippines.

Assassin had shot Suwaib Upham last week in the town of Parang in Maguindanao province whose governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons were linked by authorities to the November 23 killings.

Among those killed were at least 32 journalists accompanying the political caravan of Esmael Mangudadatu, a political foe of the Ampatuan clan. His wife and sisters and supporters were also murdered.

Upham was one of those accused in the grisly slayings, but he turned against the powerful Ampatuan clan for fear that he would also be killed after some of those involved were murdered one after the other.

“I deplore the murder of Mr. Suwaib Upham, who bravely came forward to testify about the tragic Maguindanao massacre. I urge the Philippine authorities to conduct a swift investigation into his death and bring those responsible to justice,” said US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for Upham’s murder, but Thomas urged Manila to investigate the killing.

“This murder adds additional urgency to the need for swift investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the brutal massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao in November 2009. Too many families still wait justice, and now the Upham family joins them,” Thomas said.

Nearly 200 people had been charged in the murders, including Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., one of the prime suspects; and his elder brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, among other clan members.

About one-third of those accused are now locked- up in jail, including the clan’s patriarch and his sons, but they still enjoy special treatment in prisons because of their immense wealth and influence.

Just recently, another witness to the murders, Lakmodin Saliao, an aide of the clan’s patriarch, surfaced and implicated the Ampatuans. (Mindanao Examiner)

Maguindanao Massacre Witness Killed: AFP

MANILA, Philippines (Agence France-Presse) – A key witness in the trial of a powerful Muslim clan accused of orchestrating the worst political massacre in the Philippines has been shot dead, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The witness, Suwaib Upham, claimed to have taken part in the November killings of 57 people in a crime allegedly planned by his former employers, the Ampatuan clan.

"He was supposed to be one of our strongest witnesses," prosecutor Harry Roque told Agence France-Presse. "He saw, and participated in, the killings and could have directly named in court those involved."

Roque warned that Upham's killing, which he was told occurred last week in the southern province of Maguindanao, could potentially weaken the case against the Ampatuan family.

US-based Human Rights Watch also said the killing raised doubts about the government's resolve in seeing justice done in the case.

"Massacre witnesses are dying while the government sits on its hands," the group's Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement. "This sends the worst possible message to other witnesses thinking of coming forward."

His death comes two months after an uncle of another witness was also shot and killed, in what authorities said was part of a plan to intimidate those speaking out against the Ampatuan clan.

The clan had ruled Maguindanao with brutal efficiency for a decade prior to the massacre. They also enjoyed political ties with outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, who used the family's huge private army as a force against separatist rebels.

Six clan members are among 196 people charged over the murders, allegedly carried out to prevent a member of a rival clan from running as governor of the province. (AFP)