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Title: Which is more important? Post by: no-ice-please on May 20, 2016, 06:22:32 PM From http://www.ozy.com/acumen/the-island-paradise-where-journalists-are-murdered/69496
"In 2009, more than 30 journalists accompanied a local politician’s wife as she went to submit his name for the ballot. The incumbent and his armed gangs had made it clear that opposition wouldn’t be tolerated, but the would-be candidate thought no one would dare mess with his wife. He was wrong. En route to the station, the entire party, over 50 people in all, was ambushed and killed by gunmen in what is now known as the Ampatuan massacre — the single deadliest event for journalists worldwide." "This horrific event didn’t happen in Syria or Afghanistan. Nope, it occurred in the Philippines." "While there has been a marginal decline in such murders, impunity reigns. The Philippines ranks fourth on CPJ’s 2015 Impunity Index, and is the only country among the list’s top five that isn’t an active war zone. Not a single person has been brought to justice for Ampatuan. And according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, only 14 of 172 journalist murders have ended in conviction since 1986. Often, says Kine, those charged with investigating the crimes are those responsible for committing them, which sends a pretty clear message to would-be journalist-killers: It’s doable. The U.S. is hesitant to push for major reforms since the Philippines is a strategic partner in countering China’s advances in the South China Sea and is seen as an ally in the war on terror. " |