Peasant farmers commemorate disappeared priest

HUNDREDS OF FARMERS from the mountains of Veraguas gathered in the town of Santa Fe on Sunday to commemorate the 42 years of the disappearance of Colombian priest Héctor Gallego.

the priest who campaigned on behalf  of poor farmers, disappeared during the military dictatorship,.

"Still the memory of Father Gallego has not been done justice, because there are still things we have not managed to find out," said Jacinto Peña, who was the last person to see him alive when the priest was taken from his home the night of June 9, 1971.
According to Peña, a peasant leader and a worker in the religious community: "That disappearance was no accident, because it happens to everyone who works at foing good for the poor". "We do not know where he was shot and killed and do not know for sure who killed him," he said.
The peasants walked through the town center after a rally in the square where a statue of the prelate stands.
Joseph H. Mendoza, leader of the Peasant Union of Veraguas, questioned the role of the last three government administrations because they have not been willing to investigate enough to dispel doubts about the disappearance.
"No government has done enough to know where the remains of Gallego lie and who was really responsible for his death," said Mendoza.
Archbishop Oscar Mario Brown, Bishop of Veraguas, said the most important fact is that the poor will never forget the ideal that motivated the fight of Hector Gallego, for the rights of the peasants.