HK Lawmaker Joins Pinoys in Picket vs. Kidapawan Violence

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong legislator on Wednesday joined Filipino and foreign activists at a picket here condemning the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan City in the Philippines.

Leung Kwok Hung, a left-wing political activist and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, joined some 40 activists in demanding justice for the death of two farmers and a bystander during the dispersal.

Speaking during the picket held at the Philippine Consulate General, Leung—popular in the territory for his long hair and Che Guevarra shirts—said justice should be served to the farmers.

He also called on the Philippine government to conduct an impartial investigation on the incident, and asked for a minute of silence to express solidarity with the victims of the violence.

Leung is a member of the League of Social Democrats party in Hong Kong.

In a statement, the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP), a network of Filipino organizations, condemned the dispersal of the farmers.

“We cannot help but be saddened by the fact that farmers in the Philippines continue to starve,” it said, recalling the violence that also marred the dispersal of protesting farmers of Hacienda Luisita in 2004. —KBK, GMA News

(Source: GMAnetwork.com)