Witness to Massacre Killed in the Philippines, a Rights Group Says

By CARLOS H. CONDE

MANILA — A major witness to the November massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippines has been killed, three months after seeking government protection in exchange for testifying about the worst eruption of political violence in this country’s history, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

The witness, Suwaib Upham, was a member of the militia that carried out the Nov. 23 killings of a convoy of journalists and supporters of a political rival to the powerful clan in Maguindanao Province. The group was traveling to file election papers when Mr. Upham and the other militiamen herded everyone to a hilltop, shot the victims and buried them in mass graves. Among the dead were the wife and sister of the challenger, Esmael Mangudadatu. Mr. Mangudadatu won the race for governor in the aftermath of the massacre.

The main defendant in the killings, Andal Ampatuan Jr., is a member of the powerful Ampatuan clan, whose members controlled the political landscape in Maguindanao for the past decade and had ties to the departing president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Mr. Ampatuan is in jail awaiting trial for multiple murder charges, and nearly 200 others have also been charged.

On June 14, Mr. Upham was shot and killed by an unknown gunman in Parang, a town in Maguindanao. He never got the government protection he had requested, Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

“Massacre witnesses are dying while the government sits on its hands,” Ms. Pearson said in a statement. “Suwaib Upham took enormous personal risks by agreeing to testify against Ampatuan family members, yet the government, knowing full well he was in danger, did nothing. This sends the worst possible message to other witnesses thinking of coming forward.”

Other witnesses and their families have also been threatened and, in at least two instances, killed, according to police officials and human rights groups. Justice officials and prosecutors involved in the case could not be reached for comment.

Thirty-two journalists and media workers died in the massacre, making it was the single worst known attack on journalists in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

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Baltimore Nonviolence Center

Friday, June 25, 2010