Filipino Youth in US Denounce Brutal Dispersal in Anti-VFA Protest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 February 2009


Reference: Jonna Baldres, Secretary General, Anakbayan New York/New Jersey, anakbayan_ny@yahoo.com


Filipino Youth in US Denounce Brutal Dispersal in Anti-VFA Protest

Anakbayan New York/New Jersey strongly condemns the violent dispersal of members of Anakbayan Philippines by the Philippine National Police at the rally in front of the US embassy last February 25, a blatant attack on the people's right to assemble and march on the streets.

About 400 rallyists from member organizations of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), including the youth mass organization, Anakbayan, trooped to the US embassy in Roxas Boulevard in Manila to protest against the intensive military operations and grenade firing by the Philippine military's 901st Brigade last February 18 in Ligao City, Bicol killing a 1-year and 4-month old girl, Rafaela Polborido, and leaving 9 more civilians wounded, 6 of whom were children.

The military offensive was believed to be a part of the preparations for the Balikatan exercises which will resume in April 2009. Around 6,000 US troops are expected to join 2,500 Philippine troops to carry out the implementation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a 10-year-standing treaty between the US and Philippine governments said to be "mutual" but which proved to be favorable only to the US.

This one-sidedness can be seen in the case of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, the US marine deployed in the Philippines who was the first to be convicted of raping a young Filipina in 2005 but was granted immunity from being held in Philippine jail as stipulated in the "right to jurisdiction" that US military personnel who committed crimes in Philippine soil will be held in US custody. Thus, Smith was kept in the US embassy since the conviction. This does not follow with any personnel of the Philippine Republic, who, once convicted in US territory by a US federal or state court, will be held in any US prison. This, among other stipulations, definitely does not show "mutual" respect between two nation's sovereignty and judicial systems. One clearly has more advantages than the other.

The Arroyo government must have understood the mutuality of the treaty in terms of allowing the US to bring in more troops and state-of-the-art military equipment into the country, however, not serving the purpose of strengthening the nation's defenses, but instead advancing their own interests. This unilateral agreement seeks only to interfere with the Philippines' civil, economic, political and military affairs and collaborate with the fascist Arroyo regime to intimidate, repress and murder the innocents.

In efforts of the Philippine government to track down rebels, residents of communities across the Bicol region -- for decades of being the hotbed of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines -- in turn, are in danger of being forcefully displaced, harassed and stripped of their properties if they are believed to be sympathizers of the NPA. This, clearly, is not a sign of development, or of being beneficial to the Philippines' military field. It is, we perceive, as desperate.

Following the recent events in the Philippines in which total disregard for the Filipino people's rights has been non-stop, we, the Filipino youth here in the US will not remain silent. It is only fitting to remind the US government that the "help" it plans and continues to extend to the Philippine government in extinguishing its own people comes from our pockets -- the taxpayers' pockets. We, neither our parents, did not come to this country to work and witness our hard-earned money turn into truncheons and bullets only to be fired at our fellow Filipinos back home -- helpless, young and innocent -- ending up in ashes, raped or beaten. Sadly, the dream of books, classrooms and basic social services for the Filipino youth, now more than ever, seemed too far-fetched with the current US-Arroyo regime still in place.

These atrocities inflicted upon our people shall remain so long as VFA is in effect. And the only step we must take to end this nonsense is to be one with the Filipino people in pushing for its repeal. ###


JUNK VFA!
STOP CRIMINALIZING THE FILIPINO YOUTH!
BOOKS NOT BULLETS FOR FILIPINO YOUTH!
WITHDRAW US MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
CONFINE DANIEL SMITH IN PHILIPPINE PRISON NOW!
JUSTICE FOR RAFAELA POLBORIDO & ALL VICTIMS OF
US-RP MILITARIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES!


Links to videos:
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/37282/Violence-mars-rally-at-US-Embassy
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/37280/QTV-Violent-dispersal-mars-anti-VFA-rally-at-US-Embassy