Mrs. Edita Burgos, mother of abducted peasant organizer Jonas Burgos, left for the United Kingdom last week to attend a forum organized by Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines-United Kingdom (CHRP-UK), Amnesty International-UK and the British trade union group Unison, which aims to highlight the problem of enforced disappearances in the Philippines.
Mrs. Burgos, who is also the president of human-rights group Desaparecidos, spoke about her son’s abduction and the alarming number of cases of disappearances since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came into power in 2001.
Mrs. Burgos was interviewed by BBC World Service‘s Matthew Bannister for his radio program, Outlooks:
Filipino activist Jonas Burgos vanished in suspicious circumstances in the Philippines two and a half years ago.
The son of a well-known press freedom fighter, Jonas was a prominent activist supporting farmers’ rights.
His mother is suspicious about his disappearance. The ‘disappearance’ of activists and extra-judicial killings are all too common in the Philippines, and Jonas was last seen seized by armed men.
Since then, Edita has campaigned tirelessly for her son’s release. She wants to gain international support for him and help the others who, reportedly, have vanished in the Philippines.
Earlier this month, the European Union lent support with the promise of 3.9 million euros to help investigate these problems.
Edita Burgos spoke to Matthew Bannister and explained what she knew of the circumstances surrounding her son’s disappearance.”
