Hostage crisis
August 23, 2011
Buddhist monks offered prayers at the seaside Rizal Park in Manila where the tragedy occurred one year ago on August 23, 2010, as survivors and relatives of victims wept openly. The ceremony was also attended by Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, leaders of the Filipino-Chinese community in Manila, anti-crime groups and police officers who tried to resolve the crisis.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino, who skipped the ceremony, maintained he regretted the tragedy, but ruled out an apology for an attack he said could not have been stopped. "An apology connotes that the state did them grievous harm. I don't think that is correct," he told reporters after giving a speech at a naval event just a block away from where the mourners had gathered. "We sympathize with them, we really wished it did not happen. But in the same token that in Norway, there was this tragedy that could not be prevented because of a lone solitary deranged gunman."
Aquino was referring to far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who bombed Oslo's government quarter in late July 2011 before shooting down participants at an island youth camp, killing 77 in all.
Public outrage
Last year in Manila, the tragedy started when a dismissed police officer, Rolando del Rosario Mendoza, seized a bus carrying 25 people, mostly tourists from Hong Kong, in a bid to get his job back. Nine hostages were freed through negotiations, but the standoff ended in violence when shooting began from inside the bus, prompting police to launch an assault.
The incident triggered public outrage in Hong Kong, which maintains a travel advisory on the Philippines. Aquino ordered an investigation into the incident, but was criticized in Hong Kong after only minor punishments were handed out to four policemen, while senior officials accused of incompetence escaped without sanction.
Author: Sarah Berning (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan