Arroyo Regime must be condemned for Maguindanao massacre and impunity of the Regime's favored warlords

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric massacre of two outstanding people's lawyers, Atty. Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela and Atty. Cynthia Oquendo, dozens of journalists, and other civilians in Maguindanao on 23 November.

Identified as the direct perpetrators of this heinous crime are the Ampatuan warlord clan, Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel, paramilitary CAFGU personnel, and other armed men of Ampatuan's private army.

The Ampatuan warlords' armed contingent of more than 100 abducted the convoy accompanying the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ishmael Mangudadatu and her family who were on their way to the Commission on Elections office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, to file the certificate of candidacy of Ishmael Mangudadatu for governor of Maguindanao.

The ruling Ampatuan warlord clan in Maguindanao has long enjoyed the favor and protection of Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the police, military and paramilitary forces of the regime for delivering huge majorities in the 2004 and 2007 elections through massive fraud and brutal force. The impunity accorded by the corrupt and brutally oppressive Arroyo regime to the Ampatuan clan and other favored political fiefdoms has given them license to commit atrocious acts against the people in order to perpetuate themselves in power. It is highly irregular and scandalous that while the massacre was going on, Andal Ampatuan, governor of Maguindanao, and Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), were in Malacañang “for an emergency meeting”!

The NDFP vigorously condemns not only the direct perpetrators of the monstrous massacre but even more so the Arroyo regime for criminally cultivating the culture of impunity for its cohorts, in order to cling to power.

The NDFP holds Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her regime accountable for this massacre that deserves the outrage of the Filipino people. This massacre is the latest atrocious act, further aggravating the regime's accountability for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, frustrated killings, torture, and the uprooting of millions of people since 2001.

The NDFP demands an immediate end to the reign of impunity. It demands that all those responsible for this monstrous crime and other gross and systematic violations of the human rights of the Filipino people be brought to justice. The people must rise in outrage against this regime, the Ampatuan warlord clan and other cohorts of the Arroyo regime.

LUIS G. JALANDONI Member, NDFP National Executive Committee

#Philippines #LuisJalandoni #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippines #Asia

¡LyR!: La administración del Presidente Bush dice que los militares estadounidenses van a las Filipinas debido a la amenaza que representa el grupo Abu Sayyaf. ¿Que hay de cierto en eso?

Respuesta: El grupo Abu Sayyaf es un grupo pequeño de bandidos que sólo tiene entre 60 y 80 miembros, creado por la CIA y sus aliados dentro del ejército Filipino en 1991 para desestabilizar el Frente Moro para la Liberación Nacional (MNLF, por sus siglas en ingles). El MNLF, encabezado por Nur Misuari, se rindió ante el gobierno de Manila en 1996. Actualmente hay 14 batallones de tropas Filipinas y alrededor de 1,000 tropas estadounidenses en la isla Basilan, que sólo tiene un tamaño de 1,300 kilómetros cuadrados, armados con el equipo militar más sofisticado, para atacar a las 60 u 80 personas de la pandilla secuestradora Abu Sayyaf. Abu Sayyaf es sólo una excusa débil para reestablecer la presencia militar estadounidense en las Filipinas después de que en 1991 un movimiento fuerte y amplio y el Senado Filipino botaron a las tropas estadounidenses. Desde entonces, EEUU ha intentado reestablecer su presencia militar en las Filipinas a través del Acuerdo de Adquisición y Servicio Mutuo (ACSA) y el Acuerdo del Estatus de las Fuerzas (SOFA). Los dos acuerdos recibieron una fuerte oposición popular y no lograron imponerse. Pero, en 1999, EEUU convenció al régimen de Estrada que aprobara el Acuerdo de Fuerzas Visitantes (VFA). Desde entonces, EEUU ha intentado lograr un Acuerdo de Apoyo Logístico Mutuo (MLSA) para legalizar bases militares para las tropas estadounidenses en las Filipinas. La llamada “guerra contra el terrorismo” global de Bush, con el apoyo sumiso del gobierno en Manila, es la excusa más reciente para la presencia militar estadounidense en las Filipinas. La Presidenta Macapagal-Arroyo ya ha declarado que quiere la presencia estadounidense en mas ejercicios de guerra Balikatan y que estas fuerzas militares sean “mejor distribuidas geográficamente” a través de las Filipinas, y que no se limite a la isla Basilan.

¡LyR!: ¿Por qué EEUU intenta mantener control sobre las Filipinas?

Respuesta: EEUU quiere asegurar sus intereses geopolíticos y económicos en toda la región del sureste de Asia, y quiere controlar las rutas aéreas y acuáticas que atraviesan el sureste de Asia entre el océano Indico y el océano Pacífico, y entre el lejano oriente y el hemisferio sur. EEUU intenta suprimir las fuerzas de liberación nacional, y las fuerzas anti-imperialistas, así como también fuerzas y movimientos progresistas en el sureste de Asia. En las Filipinas, sus blancos son el Ejército Nuevo del Pueblo (NPA) encabezado por el Partido Comunista de las Filipinas y también el Frente Moro para la Liberación Nacional (MILF) y sus Fuerzas Armadas Islámicas Bangsamoro (BIAF).

¡LyR!: ¿Cómo se siente el pueblo Filipino sobre la llegada de las tropas estadounidenses? ¿Hay una oposición organizada en contra de la intervención creciente estadounidense?

Respuesta: Han habido manifestaciones fuertes con mucha frecuencia en las afueras de la embajada estadounidense en Manila y en los campamentos militares en Basilan, Zamboanga, Cebu y otras ciudades y provincias en las Filipinas. Se ha formado una coalición amplia que se llama “¡Fuera tropas estadounidenses!” y es muy activa. En amplias manifestaciones realizadas en EEUU en ciudades como Washington, San Francisco, entre otras, se ha condenado la intervención militar estadounidense en las Filipinas. También han habido fuertes manifestaciones en varias ciudades de Canadá, en Hong Kong y en otras partes del mundo.

Además la firme oposición expresada por las fuerzas clandestinas ha sido muy significativa. El Partido Comunista de las Filipinas, el Ejército Nuevo del Pueblo que tiene 128 frentes guerrilleros a través del país, y el Frente Nacional Democrático de las Filipinas han expresando su determinación de resistir a la intervención militar estadounidense que esta creciendo y que corre el peligro de llegar a ser una guerra de agresión en contra del pueblo Filipino. Estos grupos han pedido a la comunidad internacional, incluyendo al pueblo estadounidense, a que se levanten, tal como lo hicieron durante la guerra de agresión estadounidense en contra de Vietnam, que se opongan firmemente a las políticas agresivas de Bush. El Frente Moro para la Liberación Nacional también ha declarado su condenación y oposición a la intervención militar estadounidense.

#Interview #Philippines #Interviews #LuisJalandoni #FrenteDemocráticoNacionalFDNDeFilipinas #Asia

31 December 2007

ARROYO BETRAYS THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AND NICOLE

Utrecht, The Netherlands — Just like Judas, the regime of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, betrayed not only Nicole but also the national sovereignty of the Philippines when it kowtowed to the demand of the United States and turned over convicted rapist US Marine Corporal Daniel Smith to the custody of the US embassy in Manila.

“This action of the Arroyo regime smacks of obeisance at its worst. It is Gloria Arroyo’s New Year’s gift to her US masters. But why should we be surprised? The regime is just being true to its puppet character when like thieves in the night, her minions spirited Smith from the Makati City Jail to the comfort of the US embassy,” stated Luis G. Jalandoni of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

“Instead of rendering justice to Nicole who won the case against Smith, she is raped once more by the betrayal of those who are supposed to protect her and abide by the judgment of the court which found Smith guilty. Nicole is right when she said Arroyo stabbed her in the back,” added Jalandoni.

The Arroyo regime exchanged justice for Nicole and the sovereignty of the Filipino people for the much-criticized Balikatan military exercises which the US threatened to discontinue if Smith was not remanded to US custody.

“It is clear that when the interest of the Filipino people clashes with the interest of the US, this government will choose to uphold the interest of the United States and its citizens rather than the interest of the Filipino people. No kind of justice can ever be served under the Arroyo regime. But the victims, their families and the rest of the Filipino people have long memories and they will not forget. And they know whom to turn to for true justice to be rendered,” Jalandoni stated.

#Philippines #LuisJalandoni #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippines #Statement #Asia

Fight Back!: The Bush Administration says U.S. troops are being sent to the Philippines because of the threat posed by Abu Sayyaf. What is the story on this?

Luis Jalandoni: The Abu Sayyaf is a small bandit group of about 60 to 80 members, which was created by the CIA and its assets in the Philippine military in 1991 in order to undermine the Moro National Liberation Front. The MNLF, led by Nur Misuari, capitulated to the Manila government in 1996.

Now, there are 14 battalions of Philippine troops and some 1000 U.S. troops in Basilan island, which is only 1300 square kilometers, with the most sophisticated military equipment ranged against the 60 to 80 member Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang. The Abu Sayyaf is only a lame excuse for re-establishing U.S. military presence in the Philippines – after a broad mass movement and the Philippine Senate kicked out the U.S. troops in 1991.

Since then, the U.S. has sought to reestablish its military presence in the Philippines through the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement. Both met with strong popular opposition and could not be pushed through. In 1999, however, the U.S. got the Estrada regime to approve the Visiting Forces Agreement. Then, it has been pushing for the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, to legalize support basing facilities for U.S. troops in the Philippines. Bush's so-called global war against terrorism, with the subservient support of the Manila government, gives the latest excuse for U.S. military presence in the Philippines. President Macapagal-Arroyo has just declared that she wants the U.S. presence, through further Balikatan war exercises, to be “more geographically spread” throughout the Philippines, not just limited to Basilan Island.

Fight Back!: Why is the U.S. trying to maintain control of the Philippines?

Luis Jalandoni: The U.S. wants to secure its geopolitical and economic interests throughout the Southeast Asian region and interdict the air and sea lanes traversing Southeast Asia between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean and between the Far East and the southern hemisphere. It seeks to suppress the national liberation and anti-imperialist revolutionary and progressive forces and movements in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, its targets are the New People's Army, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.

Fight Back!: How do the Filipino people feel about the arrival of U.S. troops? Is there an organized opposition to increased U.S. intervention?

Luis Jalandoni: There have been frequent militant demonstrations in front of the U.S. embassy in Manila and at military camps in Basilan, Zamboanga, Cebu and other cities and provinces in the Philippines. A very broad coalition, “U.S. Troops Out Now,” has been formed and is very active. In the U.S., at big demonstrations in Washington D.C., San Francisco and other cities, U.S. military intervention in the Philippines has been condemned. Likewise, militant demonstrations have been held in various cities in Canada, in Hong Kong, and other parts of the world.

Of great significance too is the firm opposition expressed by the revolutionary underground forces. The Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army (that is operating in 128 guerrilla fronts throughout the country), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines have expressed their determination to resist the escalating U.S. military intervention that carries the danger of becoming a war of aggression against the Filipino people. They have called on the international community, including the American people, to stand up, just as during the U.S. war of aggression against Vietnam, to firmly oppose the aggressive policies of Bush. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has declared its condemnation of, and opposition to, the U.S. military intervention.

#Philippines #Interview #Interviews #LuisJalandoni #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippines #Asia