More than a bearer of news, media is foremost, a peace maker. A journalist plays an essential key not just in reporting conflict. A journalist’s story is written for the purpose of pushing the public into action, towards a greater goal of resolving conflict, serving justice and promoting peace.
But the brutal slaying of journalists in Maguindanao has changed the view of media’s job as a peace maker. The Maguindanao massacre is proof that media is as vulnerable as all factions of a conflict. The violence was not random. Death was a sure a prospect for the journalists as it was certain for the rest of the Mangudadatu convoy.
In the senselessness of it all, I’d like to believe that there was really a conscious effort to include the media in the perpetrators’ “order of battle”. That backhoe had been digging the mass grave for some time to accommodate a bigger crowd including the press expected to cover the Mangudadatu clan as they were about to file certificates of candidacy.
The Maguindanao media convoy was targeted to silence them, as with any other media killing in the Philippines. To some extent, the perpetrators were trying to teach media a lesson not to mess up with them or their turf. While the Mangudadatus somehow relied on the media to keep them safe, the perpetrators were not really open to negotiate peacefully with the Mangudadatus or with any other third party whether accompanying lawyers or journalists.
The simple plan was just to kill everyone when they got there.
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