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Colombian Journalists Mark Press Freedom Day with Historic Launch of National Union

In the early hours of May 3rd delegates from around Colombia finalized the launch of a new national union ? a landmark event in one of the world?s most dangerous regions for journalists.

The foundation of the Colombian Federation of Journalists, the country?s first national union, was welcomed by the International Federation of Journalists at United Nations celebrations for World Press Freedom Day held in the city of Medellin in Colombia, a notorious centre of crime and drug-running, which has seen dozens of attacks on journalists over the past decade.
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In New Report, Group Says ‘Inactive’ JI Members in Philippines Under MILF Protection

The International Crisis Group, considered as the best expert on terrorism in Southeast Asia, has released a briefing on Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesian terror network that has found its way to the Philippines, particularly Mindanao. The report essentially tells us what the JI has been up to, what is its present structure and whether it remains capable of more attacks in the region.

The report’s section on JI in Mindanao points out that, contrary to what the Philippine military has been saying, the “mainstream JI members” in Mindanao –about nine of them, including Dulmatin and Umar Patek –“have little to do with the ‘fugitives’ working with the Abu Sayyaf Group.”

It also says a dozen or more other “structural” JI members are under the protection of the Moro Islamic Liberation, although these members are said to be inactive and are “under strict orders not to engage in any violence and are considered integrated with MILF forces.”

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2007 Philippine Elections: What’s at Stake (2)

In this second installment in Davao Today’s Q&A series on the 2007 elections, newspaper columnist and political analyst Luis V. Teodoro argues that the May 14 elections will be a “turning point in whether the march to authoritarianism will continue or if the political crisis that began in 2004 — the crisis of legitimacy of the Arroyo regime — can begin to be resolved.”

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