Top Stories GUAM REGION WATCH: Chief Suspect Jailed For Philippine Massacre
| GUAM REGION WATCH: Chief Suspect Jailed For Philippine Massacre |
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| Written by Jeff Marchesseault, Guam News Factor Staff Writer | |||||||||
| Friday, 27 November 2009 12:29 | |||||||||
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Andal Ampatuan Jr Claims Innocence, Blames Known Militants For Death Of 57
By Jeff Marchesseault GUAM - The body count is up and a chief suspect is jailed in the Philippines in connection with the massacre of political supporters and journalists. The death toll now stands at 57. According to Al Jazeera News, incarcerated Manguindanao mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. says he's innocent, but a witness says the local leader ordered the killings on a caravan set to file election papers. Ampatuan says he turned himself in to prove he didn't have anything to do with the slaughter and accuses well-known militants of the slayings. AFP reports: "I have nothing to do with it. I turned myself in and agreed to come here to show everyone that I was not in hiding and that I am innocent," Ampatuan Jnr said, gesticulating wildly as his hands were thrust through the metal bars of the bare cell.Ampatuan accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a militant organisation that has been waging a rebellion in the south of the country that has claimed more than 150,000 lives since 1978, of being behind the massacre. "Umbrakato and the MILF are responsible," he alleged. The victims' relatives insist that Ampatuan ordered the killings to prevent his political rival, Esmael Mangudadatu, from running against him for the post of Maguindanao province governor in next year's elections. The victims include members of the rival Mangudadatu clan. Al Jazeera writes that Esmael Mangudadatu told reporters shallow graves were dug before the caravan arrived on the scene of the execution, raising concerns about the level of premeditation before the mass murder. The BBC reports that the families of those killed in the carnage have begun to bury the bodies of their loved ones. Read the Al Jazeera story, "Philippine massacre suspect charged", November 27, 2009. Read the BBC story, "Families of Philippines massacre victims hold burials, November 26, 2009. Read the AFP story, "Top suspect blames rebels for Philippines massacre", November 27, 2009. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          
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