Hacienda Luisita massacre remembered
Posted on November 16th, 2009
A protest caravan from Quezon City to Tarlac was held last Monday by militant groups to commemorate the 5th year anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita massacre. Vehicles of the protesters, who number almost a hundred, assembled at the Quezon City Memorial Circle Monday morning and went to the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), the site of the bloody massacre.
It was five years ago today when the police and the military violently dispersed he striking workers and farmers of the sugar estate where seven were killed. The protesters demanded that justice be served all the victims of tragic killings, and also the distribution of the 6,000 hectare of sugar plantation, said to be the largest in the country, to tenant farmers.
The protesters from Quezon City were joined by more than 100 farm workers from the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) and Alyansang Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL), at Gate 1 of the Azucarera de Tarlac. They group were led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan). They marched to the hacienda with Anakpawis party-list Rep Rafael Mariano and Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes at the helm.
Hacienda farmers waved sugarcane as a sign of their support for the militant groups. An ecumenical Mass was also held at 3 p.m. followed by a short program in honor of the farmers who died in 2004.
“It has been five years and still no justice for the victims. The human rights case is still pending before the Office of the Ombudsman. There is still no justice for the numerous victims of extrajudicial killings of participants and supporters of the strike,” Reyes said.
The 5,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita is owned by the Cojuangco clan, of which Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is a scion. The Hacienda Luisita massacre is said to be one of the biggest hurdle that Noynoy needs to go through. This is one of the cases being used against him by his opponent, especially now that he is doing well in the survey.
