http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2007/08/22/news/
zambo.a.victim.of.human.rights.violation.mayor.html
MANY times over, Zamboanga City has been featured in national and international media because of terror-related stories happening in the neighboring provinces and cities, Mayor Celso Lobregat said.
For people who have not been to this city, the information gives the impression that Zamboanga is an area in conflict and is not conducive to business and tourism, he said.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
“Zamboanga City is a victim of human rights violation,” Lobregat declared in an audience with representatives from the International Federation of Human Rights (FIHR) Tuesday morning.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2007/08/22/news/
zambo.a.victim.of.human.rights.violation.mayor.html
MANY times over, Zamboanga City has been featured in national and international media because of terror-related stories happening in the neighboring provinces and cities, Mayor Celso Lobregat said.
For people who have not been to this city, the information gives the impression that Zamboanga is an area in conflict and is not conducive to business and tourism, he said.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
“Zamboanga City is a victim of human rights violation,” Lobregat declared in an audience with representatives from the International Federation of Human Rights (FIHR) Tuesday morning.
Lobregat said incidents that see print and are aired in national and international media are things that did not happen in Zamboanga City.
“These things are not happening here in Zamboanga City, but are reported out of and datelined Zamboanga; so, we’re a victim of human rights violation,” the mayor reiterated.
Representatives from the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights on Tuesday sought audience with Lobregat to discuss the prevailing situation in this part of Mindanao.
Mission members who took turns posing questions to the mayor were Fred Cueppens, a jurist from Belgium; Mouloud Boumghar, academic jurist from France; and Nabeel Rajab, activist from Bahrain.
They were accompanied by German De Mesa, chairperson of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, and Loreine de la Cruz, Balay Rehabilitation Center executive director, who requested the meeting.
Lobregat lamented that the negative reports — datelined Zamboanga City — jeopardizes his administration’s effort to promote the city as a tourism and investment hub.
“This is the misimpression that we are trying to correct,” he said, stressing that such reports are unfair and offensive to Zamboanga City.
He cited reports on the kidnapping of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi that happened in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, some 200 kilometers away from Zamboanga City. Headlines related to the incident were datelined Zamboanga City.
The FIHR representatives also discussed various issues with Lobregat such as the anti-terror war, extrajudicial killings, human rights violations, anti-terror law, and many others. (Sheila E. Covarrubias)
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