Noticia
Refugiados Filipinos en Holanda (FREN) Llamamiento de Prensa: Madre pide por la vida de su hijo y otros desaparecidos
Mother pleas for life of missing son and other desaparecidos
(Amsterdam, 27 October) Today marks the 905th day of the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, an agriculturist and land rights activist who was forcibly abducted by armed men in broad daylight in Quezon City in the Philippines. He would have been 38 years old.
His mother Mrs. Editha Burgos is currently Chairperson of Desaparecidos, an association of the families and loved ones of victims of enforced disappearances in the Philippines. She is coming to the Netherlands to bring the case of Jonas and other victims to the attention of the Dutch public.
“I hope that I can help people realize what is happening to good people like my son and many, many others in the Philippines,” said Mrs. Burgos, referring to her trip to several cities in Europe. Her European speaking tour has taken her to London in the UK, and in Cologne, Bonn and Berlin in Germany. She is scheduled to arrive in the Netherlands on 29 October, before heading to Bologna and Milan in Italy, and then to Belgium, to round off her tour with meetings with European parliamentarians and human rights organizations in Brussels, Gent and Antwerp.
Jonas disappeared on 28 April 2007. A son of the late anti-Marcos newspaper publisher Jose Burgos, Jonas had spent that day providing organic farming training in San Miguel, Bulacan, in northern Philippines. The farmers he had been helping were members of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB, Alliance of Peasants of Bulacan), a chapter of the militant peasant organization Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines).
According to Desaparecidos, more than 200 persons have been forcibly abducted and disappeared by suspected security forces of the Gloria Arroyo government. All of the victims were activists or leaders of organizations opposed to the policies of the Arroyo government.
On Saturday, 31 October, Mrs. Burgos will be the main speaker in a forum in Den Haag, “Stop disappearances in the Philippines!”, and will share her experience as a mother and as a leader of an association seeking justice for their loved ones. The forum, which will start at 7:00pm, is going to be held in Buurthuis Boerenplein, in Mandelaplein 1, and is co-sponsored by the International Committee Against Disappearances, IBON Europe and the Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands (FREN).
Also in the forum is JL Burgos, brother of Jonas and head of the Free Jonas Burgos Movement. He will be presenting his films and art works to the audience. Proceeds from the sale of artworks help fund the activities of the movement. Prof. Jose Maria Sison, Filipino political refugee living in the Netherlands, and Chairperson of the International League of Peoples' Struggle will provide background information on the political repression and persecution happening in the Philippines.
Mrs. Burgos will also be one of the main speakers in the conference, “Abductions and Disappearances: Breaking the chain of impunity in the Philippines”, on 4 November in the International Institute of Social Studies in Den Haag. Meanwhile, the Netherlands-based human rights group Rice & Rights network will co-sponsor a forum in Amsterdam on 5 November with Mrs. Burgos and JL Burgos as speakers.
For interviews and schedule of meetings with Mrs. Editha Burgos and her son JL Burgos, please contact:
Angie M. Gonzales
IBON Europe
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