Very few people know that the US military is directly involved in the fierce fighting going on in the Philippines between the Moro insurgents and the corrupt and brutal Arroyo regime supported by the Bush neocons and the warmongering Pentagon planners. Will you continue to allow US tax dollars to be wasted in this barbaric genocidal war against indigenous peoples? Over a thousand extrajudicial killings and "forced disappearances" under Arroyo's tenure, plus a few hundred Muslims dead as "collateral damage," may be the signs of US "benevolent hegemony" (Robert Kagan) and US "magnanimous imperial power" (Dinesh D'Souza). McKinley's "Benevolent Assimilation" lives on!
No to military offensive in Mindanao (tags)
Bishops from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) yesterday cautioned the Arroyo government on engaging in an all-out military offensive against the Muslim rebels and bandits in Mindanao, saying such action could have repercussions on the “peace-building” efforts of the inter-religious groups in the region. “Conflicts cannot be resolved simply by military might. Conflicts can be solved by mutual understanding,” CBCP president Angel Lagdameo said during the 12th Asia Pacific Policy Forum on the “Role of Youth in Peace Building” held yesterday at the Australian Embassy at RCBC Plaza in Makati City. The event was attended by Australian officials led by Ambassador Rod Smith, student leaders, CBCP president Lagdameo, CBCP chairman on Inter-Religious dialog Antonio Ledesma, members of academe and non-government organizations.
SENATE PROBES US MARINES COMBAT PRESENCE IN RP (tags)
ough talk from the police and the military on arresting some 130 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf rebels whom they claimed massacred 14 Marines, with 10 of them beheaded in Basilan, and for which thousands of troops were sent to back up the elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in serving these arrest warrants, turned out to be nothing but bluster, in the military brass’ bid to get the troops to cool down their anger over the brutal slaying of their Marine comrades. The PNP yesterday returned to the court the warrants of arrests issued against 130 MILF and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspects after they failed to serve the warrant to any of the suspects.