The news about the release of the 10 convicted killers of Ninoy Aquino got me to think long and hard about how far we have gone some 25 years after his assassination in 1983.
I was 19 in August of 1983. I had no care in the world about government and politics. All I cared about was tine with my friends and family. All I cared about was living the full life of a teenager. The assassination changed all that. It cam as a shock to the nation and it shattered my indifference and apathy forever. I started to ask questions about the Marcos Regime. How could a former senator returning from exile in the US be killed in such a brazen manner? In broad daylight?
In today's terms it would be in a sense nearly the equivalent of killing a sitting opposition Senator in broad daylight. How could they think of doing something so dastardly and believe they could get away with it? How could these people plot a murder so foul and believe that the people would take things sitting down?
Some 25 years later, the foot soldiers convicted of murdering Aquino have been granted clemency after spending nearly 2 decades in jail. Yet the masterminds, those who planned, who orchestrated the assassination have not been identified and have yet to be brought to justice.
The Marcos regime's downfall in 1986 was hastened no doubt by the assassination in 1983. In that sense, the regime did not get away with it. Yet with the masterminds still unknown and unpunished some 25 years later, a number of those behind the brutal murder have gotten away with it after all. Thus far.
I have not lost hope. The Aquino Assassination in 1983 awakened a people and brought them collectively to rise up and condemn the injustice and to call for an end to tyranny. I was one of those who woke up from the deep sleep of indifference, of apathy.
I have not lost hope. I believe that the day will come wherein the truth behind the brutal killing of Ninoy will be known. The masterminds will be unmasked and a closure will be achieved.
Truth and justice in the end will prevail.
K
1 comment:
How can we have closure when instead of actively pursuing the "truth" or those behind the dastardly act of murder they set those soldiers free?
What kind of message are we sending when people equate clemency with "suffering enough," just following orders, or worse declaring their "innocence" such as the PAO and that sick Monsignor?
Post a Comment