NUJP condemns stalking of media at Tanay court martial hearing

Posted by freelance on November 21, 2007 · Leave a Comment

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippine condemns in the strongest terms the open stalking of journalists covering the court martial hearing of 28 officers accused of mutiny by men who appeared to be intelligence agents.

These men, described in news reports as having “the build, stance and even the standard haircut of soldiers,” brazenly eavesdropped on conversations journalists had with the accused officers and took videos of the reporters covering the hearing.

Notwithstanding the timeworn cliché about military intelligence being an oxymoron, we do not believe ineptness was the reason behind these men’s attempts to pass themselves off as reporters to bonafide journalists.

It was, rather, apparently calculated to intimidate the media, through the journalists who have been covering the mutiny hearings. It was as if they were telling the journalists: “We can toy with you and there is nothing you can do about it.”

We demand that Armed Forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. order an immediate investigation into this incident and impose the maximum sanctions on whoever were responsible in hatching and carrying out this deplorable and, yes, we daresay, utterly moronic and ultimately futile attempt to sow fear in the media community.

We further demand that he issue a strong warning against any recurrence of such an incident and strict orders for all military and paramilitary personnel to respect press freedom and abide by the principle of civilian supremacy.

We commend our colleagues for not allowing themselves to be cowed.

Let us remain vigilant and continue to jealously guard and promote the press freedom we require to serve the people’s right to know.

Reference:
Jose Torres Jr
Chair, NUJP

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