News, February 2008
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Mindanao rallies call for ouster of US troops and GMA
US Troops Out Now! Mindanao Coalition
February 25, 2008
Beverly Musni
On February 25, 2008, Cagayan de Oro - Thousands of people in Mindanao
marched in key cities to protest the opening of the US-RP Balikatan
exercises and denounced the Arroyo government’s puppetry to US
interests.
Cagayan de Oro became a central point of the Mindanao anti-Balikatan
protest, as 5,000 people joined the Peoples’ March for Sovereignty,
Peace and Justice including contingents from Zamboanga, Lanao del Sur,
Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and Caraga.
Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Women Party
representative Liza Maza joined the march and later in the rally called
for the unity of Mindanao people to oust the US troops and President
Arroyo.
Moro, Lumad and Christian groups led by the US Troops Out Now! Mindanao
and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) convened the caravan.
Rallies in Cotabato City and Pikit, North Cotabato gathered around
10,000 people. Davao City 3,000 protesters led a rally and a
cultural program. In General Santos City, 500 protesters marched
in the streets after negotiating with police to allow their rally to
push through.
“Along with our call for the ouster of US troops, let us also call for
the ouster of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her puppetry to US interest,”
said Ocampo, referring to the growing protest against Arroyo in Manila
following the ZTE broadband exposé of Rodolfo Lozada.
Ocampo and Maza threw support to the resolution by some Mindanao
congressmen to suspend the Balikatan, citing the February 4 incident in
Sulu where US troops were alleged to be behind the killing of eight
civilians in a military operation.
Amirah Ali Lidasan, vice president of Suara Bangsamoro, said the US
troops have “turned the Moro people into live fire targets of their
military exercises.”
She cited various Moro civilians in Sulu and Basilan who have been
killed or wounded during Balikatan war games. She said US troops were
found to be joining ground operations with the AFP, in clear violation
of our national sovereignty.
Lidasan challenged local government officials in the ARMM to side with
the people and oppose the Balikatan over the grave human rights abuses
of the US military against the Moro people.
Lidasan also lashed against the so-called ‘humanitarian missions’,
saying that “US troops give us aid with their right hand, but their left
hand is brandishing firearms that kill us.”
Groups such as the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (Samin), Ranao
Crescent Against Balikatan Exercises (Racabe) of Lanao del Sur, Kusog sa
Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao (Kalumaran), and Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
in Mindanao joined the rallies.
Samin executive secretary Sr. Elsa Compuesto, MSM, said that with the
Visiting Forces Agreement, “the US perpetrates an unequal relation with
the Philippines where we become dependent on their aid, while they
secure resources for their own economic interests.”
Kalumaran and Racabe called for the unity of Lumads and Moro to defend
their land against the entry of the American troops, which will pave the
way for “development aggression.”
Atty. Frederico Gapuz, chair of UPLM, a long-time anti-bases activist,
shared a personal challenge to the protesters: “I’ve been fighting
US military intervention for fifty years. It’s been that long, but are
we ready to ensure that in our lifetime we can drive them away?”
The protesters responded with a resounding yes.
The march rally in Cagayan de Oro ended with the protesters burning the
US flag and an effigy of Arroyo.
The peoples’ march was preceded by activities set by the Out Now!
Mindanao coalition in various cities, including forums and rallies.
In Marawi, protesters threw stones at US military vehicles in protest of
their presence.#
for reference:
Atty. Beverly Musni
Out Now! convenor
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Eight civilians,
including two children and two teenagers, and an off-duty
soldier were killed early Monday (February 4, 2008) during a
military raid on a suspected Abu Sayyaf hideout on a fishing
village in Maimbung, Sulu. |
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February 18, 2008 protests calling for withdrawal of
US forces from Mendanao
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