PIA Press Release
2007/08/22
Zambo a victim of human rights violation, mayor says
Zamboanga City (22 August) — 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.
For people who have not been to this city, these pieces of information give the impression that Zamboanga is an area in conflict and is not conducive to business and tourism.
“Zamboanga City is a victim of human rights violation”, Mayor Celso Lobregat declared in an audience with representatives from the International Federation of Human Rights (FIHR) yesterday morning.
PIA Press Release
2007/08/22
Zambo a victim of human rights violation, mayor says
Zamboanga City (22 August) — 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.
For people who have not been to this city, these pieces of information give the impression that Zamboanga is an area in conflict and is not conducive to business and tourism.
“Zamboanga City is a victim of human rights violation”, Mayor Celso Lobregat declared in an audience with representatives from the International Federation of Human Rights (FIHR) yesterday morning.
Lobregat said incidents that see print and aired in national and international media are things that do not happen in Zamboanga City giving the wrong impression of what the city is all about.
“These things are not happening here in Zamboanga City but are reported out 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 yesterday morning sought audience with Mayor Lobregat to discuss about the prevailing situation in this part of Mindanao.
The mission members who took turns in 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 these negative reports datelined Zamboanga City jeopardizes his administration’s effort to promote the city as a tourism and investment hubs.
“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 which happened in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, some 200 kilometers away from Zamboanga City. Headlines related to the incident were datelined Zamboanga City.
Meanwhile, the FIHR representatives discussed various issues with Mayor Lobregat such as the anti-terror war, extra judicial killings, human rights violations, anti-terror law and many others. (CIO/PIA 9-ZC) [top]
