Subject: [WW] Outrage in Philippines over Pentagon plan
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 22:20:20 -0500
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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the March 13, 2003
issue of Workers World newspaper
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OUTRAGE IN PHILIPPINES OVER PENTAGON PLAN
By G. Dunkel
It is a violation of the Philippine Constitution for foreign troops to fight on its country's soil. However, the U.S. government announced in February that it was sending 3,000 troops there. Their ostensible purpose is to fight against Abu Sayyaf, a small group that has been characterized as bandits by the progressive movement. Last year the Pentagon sent troops as "advisors" to the Philippine army in another campaign against Abu Sayyaf.
The Pentagon's plan involved stationing 750 Special Forces troops on Jolo Island, backed up by 1,750 Marines with heavy helicopters on support ships offshore.
Apparently, Washington had made a backroom deal with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is retiring soon. The deal quickly came under fire.
In the Philippines, popular opposition to the Pentagon is overwhelming. This was reflected in the political reaction to Washington's announcement. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel accused Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes of "treason in its basest form." Others talked about the thousands of armed people in the southern island of Jolo who might oppose U.S. intervention.
On Feb. 28, an estimated 50,000 people marched in Manila in a massive show of opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and Mindanao. According to Xinhua, demonstrators represented religious groups, both Catholic and Muslim, labor unions and colleges. They marched to the Quirino grandstand in downtown Manila. They carried placards and banners reading "Oppose U.S. terrorism" and "Reject GMA' s [President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] support for war." Smaller coordinated demonstrations were held throughout the Philippines.
Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes flew to Washington on Feb. 23 to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, reportedly to modify the agreement. Many in the progressive movement believe the real Pentagon target is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a much larger group that has been resisting the Philippine government for decades. There is also a strong left movement in the Philippines that the United States may label "terrorist."
The United States originally sent military forces to the southern Philippines in the early 1900s, after seizing the islands from Spain. They killed hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the attempt to keep a colony there. The Philippines did not get formal independence until 1946. A year later, the United States imposed an agreement that let it keep major facilities at Clark Air Base and Subic Bay naval base for more than four decades.
The constitutional prohibition against foreign combat forces grew out of the 40-plus years of people's resistance to the U.S. neocolonial presence. While the U.S. imperialists want to control the world, they need allies who can directly confront the people's wrath. And they're getting harder and harder to find.
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