Tropang Kano, pinalalayas sa Pinas!

Naglunsad ng isang protesta ngayon Huwebes, Setyembre 16, 2010 sa lungsod ng Cotabato sa Mindanao ang ibat-ibang grupo na tutol sa pananatili ng mga tropang Amerikano sa bansa. (Larawan ng Kawagib Human Rights)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 16, 2010) – Isang protesta ang inilunsad sa lungsod ng Cotabato ngayon Huwebes ng mga grupong tutol sa pananatili ng mga sundalong Amerikano sa bansa.

Pinangunahan mismo ng US Troops OUT Now! Mindanao Coalition ang nasabing protesta kaugnay ng paggunita sa pagpapasara sa mga base militar ng Estados Unidos sa bansa nuong 1991.

Ayon sa OUT Now! Coalition ang September 16 ay makasaysayang araw dahil nagpapakita lamang ito ng tagumpay ng diwa ng patriyotismo ng sambayanang Pilipino laban sa pananatili ng mga tropang Amerikano at ang panghihimasok ng gobyerno ng Estados Unidos sa pamahalaan ng bansa.

“Hindi pa natatapos ang ating laban para sa tunay na kalayaan, hanggang sa ngayon ay nananatili pa rin ang presensya ng mga tropang kano lalo na sa Mindanao at ang pagsali nila sa mga operasyong militar sa lugar na mayroong armadong tunggalian na nagreresulta sa mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao,” ani Michael Dumamba, ang convenor ng koalisyon ng ibat-ibang progresibong grupo.

Nanawagan din ang grupo na muling sariwain ang diwa ng pagiging palaban ng mga Pilipino at isulong ang pagbabasura sa Visiting Forces Agreement dahil sa maraming kaso diumano ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao at pagyurak sa pambansang soberanya ng Pilipinas.

Activists protest continued stay of US troops in the Philippines

Members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a torch march Friday, July 2, 2010 in Davao City in Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines to demand justice for Gregan Cardeno, a Filipino translator who was found dead February 2 inside his room at the US Joint Special Operation Task Force - Philippines military headquarters in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province.(Photos by Karlos Manlupig)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 3, 2010) - Members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a torch march Friday in Davao City in Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines to demand justice for Gregan Cardeno, a Filipino translator who was found dead February 2 inside his room at the US Joint Special Operation Task Force - Philippines military headquarters in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province.

The group also demanded for the immediate pull-out of the US troops in the country. Cardeno allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself, but his family believes the 30-year translator for American soldiers deployed to help fight terrorism in the South was murdered.

Political activists and various civil society organizations are calling for the pull out of US troops in the Philippines.

US troops have been in Mindanao since 2001 and helping local military defeat terrorism and insurgents. (With a report from Karlos Manlupig)

Filipino activists protest presence of US troops in the Philippines

Militant groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and League of Filipino Students stage a protest Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Davao City in the southern Philippines and denounced the continuing presence of US troops in the country. The groups also denounced the Arroyo administration for its subservience to the unfair agreements imposed by the United States. The protesters challenged the incoming Aquino administration to have a stronger stance in defending national patrimony and sovereignty. (Photos contributed by Karlos Manlupig)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 12, 2010) - Militant groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and League of Filipino Students staged a protest Saturday in Davao City in the southern Philippines and denounced the continuing presence of US troops in the country.

The groups also denounced the Arroyo administration for its subservience to the unfair agreements imposed by the United States. The protesters challenged the incoming Aquino administration to have a stronger stance in defending national patrimony and sovereignty.

US troops are training Filipino soldiers in anti-terrorism warfare and have been helping the military defeat communist insurgency and Abu Sayyaf group, including Jemaah Islamiya in Mindanao and other parts of the country.

American forces are also conducting humanitarian missions in many areas in Mindanao and established a forward base in Zamboanga City and camps in Sulu province. But political activists insisted the humanitarian projects were just being used to justify the continued presence of US troops in the country. (Karlos Manlupig contributed to this report)

US troops escape blast in Jolo

Undated photos show US troops in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. A blast hit a wharf in the capital town of Jolo where US troops are unloading equipment from a boat on Monday, September 14, 2009. (Midnanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 15, 2009) – An explosion hit a wharf in the southern Philippine town of Jolo while US soldiers were unloading equipment from a boat, officials told the Mindanao Examiner on Tuesday.

Officials said the blast occurred late Monday, but there were no reports of casualties.

“There is an ongoing investigation into the blast. Soldiers found no shrapnel in the area and we still don’t know who was behind it,” said Major Ramon David Hontiveros, a spokesman for the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

He said the explosion occurred near a military detachment adjacent a building where stalls are selling small electronic appliances and textiles. Hontiveros said a pillbox was probably used in the attack since no fragments of explosive were found in the area.

The military earlier said a grenade exploded in the wharf where the American troops were unloading cargoes from their boat.

Locals also reported they heard a burst of automatic gunfire following the explosion. Other reports said soldiers indiscriminately fired their weapons, hitting a nearby mosque and small buildings, but this was denied by Hontiveros.

“That’s not true,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Police has begun an investigation into the explosion. “We have dispatched a team to investigate the blast,” Inspector Usman Pingay, the town’s police chief, told by phone from Jolo.

Pingay said the wharf was tightly secured by local soldiers and policemen at the time of the blast.

Dozens of US troops are deployed in Jolo the past years and have been assisting local military in defeating Abu Sayyaf terrorism. They have put up a base inside a military headquarters, but it is off-limits to Filipino soldiers.

American soldiers are also helping in various humanitarian projects aimed at winning hearts and minds and get the support of the local Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine rebels to target US troops deployed in Mindanao

A Filipino and US soldier patrol the southern Philippine town of Jolo. A US chopper also hovers in the town while a military transport plane takes off in Zamboanga City in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 13, 2009) – The communist National Democratic Front has ordered rebel forces to wage an all-out war against US troops deployed in the southern Philippines.

Rebels were told wage an all-out struggle against the deployment and intervention of American soldiers in the internal armed conflict in the Philippines.

Jorge Madlos, a spokesman for the NDF in Mindanao, said the all-out war was in response to the statement by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates that Pentagon would continue to involve itself in the "counter-insurgency" war in the Philippines.

Gates earlier said that some 600 US counter-terrorism troops will remain in the southern Philippines, where Filipino soldiers are battling communist and Muslim insurgents that past four decades.

Madlos said the US position was echoed by Filipino Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro who was in the US last week for a meeting with Gates and Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta.

“US imperialism has become ever more arrogant and overbearing in asserting its imperial power over the Philippines. It is trampling on Philippine sovereignty with utter impunity emboldened by the outright puppetry and servility of the Arroyo government,” Madlos said in a statement.

He said the US military has established its permanent presence in the Philippines through the auspices of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Many of the US soldiers are currently deployed in Mindanao under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines headquartered in Zamboanga City.

Madlos said US military forces have been increasingly involved in counter-guerrilla operations.

He said US troops are engaged in electronic and satellite surveillance as well as provide battlefield logistical support to the Philippine military. Teams of US soldiers have been seen embedded in Armed Forces of the Philippines units in combat field operations as well as in tactical command posts.

“The patriotic people of Mindanao do not welcome the permanent presence and intervention of US troops in Mindanao and elsewhere in the Philippines. They are not deceived by the so-called humanitarian operations being conducted by the US that aim to camouflage their military interventionism,” Madlos said as he warned American troops against encroaching in guerrilla fronts in Mindanao where there is a great possibility of armed encounters with the NPA.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, which is composed of various progressive organizations, has also opposed to the presence of US troops in Mindanao and said the VFA violates the Philippines’ sovereignty and justifies the prolonged presence of American forces in the country despite the absence of any basing treaty.

The US military has denied it is involved in combat in the southern Philippines, but there were many reports about its clandestine intelligence operations and the crashes of unmanned aerial vehicles in areas where communist and Muslim rebels are actively operating. (Mindanao Examiner)

Filipinos want US out of Mindanao

Protesters set fire to a modified US flag outside the US embassy in Manila. (Morning Star)

Progressive forces in the Philippines have urged Manila to scrap a military deal with the US after former officials testified that US soldiers have been fighting in Mindanao in violation of the country's constitution, according to a report by the British newspaper Morning Star.

Under a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), hundreds of elite US troops have been deployed in half a dozen locations in the southern Philippines since 2002, ostensibly to train and advise Filipino troops fighting Islamist militants and the Maoist New People's Army.

On Thursday retired Philippine navy lieutenant Nancy Gadian testified at a congressional hearing that US troops based on Mindanao were embedded with Filipino units in combat situations.

The Philippine constitution bars foreign troops from fighting in the country, which was a US colony until 1946.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who heads the foreign relations panel at the upper house of Congress, said that the government must end the VFA and renegotiate a new security deal with the US.

Ms Santiago said: "If the US wants to use Philippine territory in its alleged war on terror, they will have to negotiate a treaty with the Philippines.

"In the meantime, in my humble view, the presence of US troops in Mindanao, and even worse, their participation in combat operations, are illegal."

In a petition filed with the country's high court seeking the nullification of the VFA, former Senate president Jovito Salonga and the left-wing Bayan organisation claimed that "the purpose of the US troops' stay in the country is beyond training and capability building."

The petition cited an August 20 article in the New York Times stating that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates had decided to extend the stay of 600 US commandos in Mindanao.

Mr Gates was quoted as saying that US military support "has been instrumental in killing and capturing leaders of militant groups and anti-government organisations."

But US embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson insisted that "US forces are not involved in combat operations."

Ms Thompson said that the US troops on Mindanao were on "temporary deployment at the invitation of the Philippine military and government."

And Filipino cabinet chief Eduardo Ermita argued that the VFA should stand, saying that, since the deal was signed in 2000, Washington had poured an average of two billion pesos a year (£25 million) into the Philippines.

Mr Ermita, a retired army general, said: "For the moment, we are for the stay of the VFA - it provides proper security balance and stability in the Philippines."


Link: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/world/Filipinos-want-US-out-of-Mindanao

'US troops' stay didn't help solve insurgency in South': Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said yesterday the decision of the United States government to keep an elite 600-soldier counterinsurgency group in the Philippines could indicate an unsuccessful anti-Muslim insurgency campaign.

Santiago stressed that with US forces deployed in Mindanao for almost seven years now, Philippine officials should be able to prove that they had been successful in at least weakening, if not eradicating, the Abu Sayyaf and other rebel groups in the area.

“But the (rebel movements are still there) and they seem to be strong and vibrant. So the question is whether they succeeded or not,” Santiago said.

“If they succeeded, they should not be staying, isn’t that so? It’s an indication that they are failing, so they are asking for extension,” she said.

“But for how long?” she asked.

“Up to now, the military is saying that there are still many Filipinos being killed and the civilian collateral damage remains high,” she added.

There are reportedly pressures to reassign members of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines to more urgent missions elsewhere such as in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Santiago said although there was no overt violation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US, she would like to call a hearing before the congressional break in October regarding the benefits of the accord.

She said the temporary nature of US troops’ stay in the Philippines, as stipulated in the Constitution, might already be circumvented by the nature of the VFA.

Santiago, who chairs the Senate committee on foreign relations, said that in the campaign against Muslim rebels, Filipinos must be told how long the US intends to stay in the country.

Santiago said the military exercises have become open-ended and US soldiers are being sent to the Philippines on a changing basis.

“I am really troubled, this is for me a cause for serious concern. It’s because they have been here for so long,” Santiago said.

She said if the US forces would be here for more than 10 years, it would already be a permanent presence rather than temporary.

“It might create a culture of dependency. They are not in combat but training, but how come the Filipino soldiers could still not stand on their own after all these years?” she added.

Santiago said she would like to get all sides in a hearing and help President Arroyo make proper judgment as to what should be done, depending on the sentiments of the people.

“They (US) cannot dictate so it will be up to us Filipinos if we still want this. So maybe I should really conduct a hearing. I should find a venue to study this,” she said.

Santiago said there was nothing wrong with being friends with the US but that a survey may have to be conducted to determine if Filipinos still want the Americans in Mindanao.

“We invited them for cooperation but they should not engage in combat operations because it will diminish our sovereignty,” she said. “There might also be a culture of military dependency on foreign powers already.”

Santiago said she would ask anti-VFA forces to present an alternative to the accord as the inherent flaws of the agreement had become obvious.

She added that while the Philippines should be grateful for US aid, it had been getting only obsolete weaponry and junk from the American defense department.

US stay gets backing

Meanwhile, Speaker Prospero Nograles and opposition Rep. Roilo Golez supported the stay of 600 Americans on counterterrorism mission in Mindanao, citing mutual benefits to both countries.

“Mindanao needs all the help because of terrorist atrocities. And we are part of the international community against terrorism,” said Nograles, a congressman from Davao City, one of the highly urbanized cities in Mindanao.

“Any place in the Philippines that will breed or train terrorists will be a threat to the world and we need all the help and sophisticated equipment we can get hold of from any country, including the US,” he said.

Nograles issued the statement following the decision of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to keep an elite contingent of 600 counterterrorism troops in the Philippines.

He said the country needs US expertise in battling terrorists in war-torn Mindanao.

For his part, Golez – who was the first national security adviser of President Arroyo – also welcomed the continued stay of US troops belonging to the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, saying they can stay “for as long as they don’t engage in actual combat.”

“International terrorism requires transnational and international cooperation. The US task force provides us training in modern counterterrorism tactics and equipment. This is allowed as long as they don’t engage in combat,” he said.

He pointed out that the continued presence of the US troops here is mutually beneficial.

“They (US troops) also benefit from interacting with battle-hardened Filipino troops, especially in dealing with rugged terrain like that in Jolo and Basilan,” he said.

Golez belongs to the opposition bloc and is designated as House deputy minority leader.

A left-leaning lawmaker, however, branded the stay of American soldiers as “illegal.”

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares called on the government to immediately expel the US troops. This is one of the reasons why the VFA should be scrapped, he said.

“Firstly, the entry of foreign troops is prohibited under the (1987) Constitution in the absence of an enforceable treaty. Participation in counterinsurgency operations is erstwhile prohibited,” he said.

“US intervention, in the manner of stationing troops for counterinsurgency operations against the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF, is therefore not allowed by the Constitution and even in the VFA,” he added.

According to the party-list lawmaker, “foreign participation in counterinsurgency operations is illegal and an intervention that is detrimental to Philippine sovereignty, human rights and the peace process.”

“Even the MILF must immediately condemn this intervention, considering that the US admitted to lumping them with the Abu Sayaff and terrorism and that US troops have participated in operations against the MILF,” he said.

Meantime, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) urged yesterday the Senate to investigate what it perceived as the prolonged stay of US forces in Mindanao, citing it as a possible violation of the VFA.

In a statement, Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary general, said US troops have been based in the Philippines since 2002 without any basing treaty, in violation of the Philippine Constitution.

“They have been engaged in other activities that go against the Constitution. Eighteen years after the Philippine Senate rejected a new bases treaty with the US, the American forces are again well entrenched in the country,” Reyes said

“The retention of US troops in the Philippines is an affront to our sovereignty, disguised as some questionable humanitarian mission. They have based themselves in the Philippines, particularly in Camp Navarro in Zamboanga since 2002, without any basing treaty. There’s not even a time frame for the deployment. It’s open-ended. It could be forever,” Reyes said.

Bayan said that the continued presence of foreign troops, even if only 600, sets a dangerous precedent.

“The US troops might decide to stay longer. They might decide to deploy more troops, maybe thousands. What’s to stop them from doing that? What’s to stop them from setting up de facto bases in Mindanao?” Reyes said.

The militant group said it would raise before the Supreme Court these new developments as part of their petition to declare the VFA unconstitutional.

Bayan, along with Gabriela and Bayan Muna, were among the petitioners questioning the validity of the VFA.

“What we know is that 1) the American troops have overstayed beyond the period supposedly contemplated by the VFA, 2) they have set up de facto bases and permanent structures in Mindanao, and 3) they are engaged in combat functions,” Reyes said.

“All these violate the Constitution and are an insult to our sovereignty. They have managed to get basing rights even without a treaty concurred in by the Senate. If the US and the Philippines invoke the VFA as the basis of the prolonged stay, then the Senate has been duped when it ratified the VFA. The Senate should then seek the termination of the VFA,” he said. (Aurea Calica, Delon Porcalla and Perseus Echeminada / Philippine Star)


Link: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=498518&publicationSubCategoryId=63

US military investigates allegations against its soldier in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 6, 2009) – The US military on Thursday said it is investigating allegations against a serviceman accused of grave threats and physical injuries after a traffic altercation in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

One of the victims, Mika Guanzon, said the soldier was drunk and pointed his gun at her early Wednesday after a heated argument in downtown Zamboanga, the Radio Mindanao Network reported.

She said the unnamed serviceman allegedly rammed his truck to the motorcycle they were using and injured her companion Don Henry Lim.

Police did not release the name of the soldier, but said the victims would file charges against the serviceman, who is part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force which is assisting the local military in fighting terrorism in the southern Philippines.

US Air Force Major John Hutcheson, director of Public Affairs of the Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines, said they are investigating the allegations and is cooperating with the police.

“We are continuing our investigation into the allegations against one of our service members as a result of an auto incident early in the morning of August 5 in Zamboanga. We also continue to cooperate fully with the Philippine National Police in their investigation. These are serious allegations and we are doing everything possible to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident,” Hutcheson said.

”Any incident that distracts us from that mission is regrettable, and we will do everything we can to resolve it quickly and justly. If the allegations are substantiated, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken,” he added.

Hutcheson also did not release the name of the soldier and said: “Until we have gathered all of the facts surrounding the incident, we are not prepared to release a name to the news media.”

It was not the first time that US soldiers were dragged in scandals. Several years ago, a drunken US soldier also rammed his truck into a house and street pole in Zamboanga City and then fled the scene even before police could arrive to investigate the incident.

In 2007, US troops stationed in Sulu province forcibly closed down a government hospital in Panamao town.

Last year, a US soldier driving a jeep hit a man outside a military base in Zamboanga City and fled the scene before policemen could arrive to investigate. A teenager was also shot and seriously wounded by a US soldier while gathering firewood near a firing range in Zamboanga City.

US soldiers participating in previous military exercises with local troops in Zamboanga and Sulu also chased and detained journalists and prevented them from taking pictures and videos of the foreigners in public places.

Human rights groups also cited several cases involving US troops who participated in past joint military exercises with Filipino troops in Basilan and Sulu provinces. Among them the shooting of a Muslim villager, Buyung-Buyung Isnijal, by an American soldier identified by witnesses as a certain Sgt. Reggie Lane, who was accused of participating in a military operation on July 27, 2002 in Tuburan town in Basilan.

Militant groups also cited cases of shooting and maiming of civilians allegedly by US soldiers who accidentally fired at civilians in the community while on a test missions. One case was the shooting and wounding of Arsid Baharun in Zamboanga City while soldiers were conducting a marksmanship practice in 2004, and the second was in September 2006 where shrapnel from a misfired bomb hit a 50-year old Muslim woman, Bizma Juhan in Indanan town in Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

Filipinos accuse US soldier of grave threats, physical injuries in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 5, 2009) – Three Filipino women accused a US soldier of grave threats and physical injuries in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, reports said on Wednesday.

The women said the soldier was drunk and pointed his gun to them after a traffic altercation early Wednesday in downtown Zamboanga. The unnamed serviceman also rammed his truck to the motorcycle the women were using, prompting them to seek police help, the Radio Mindanao Network reported.

Police did not release the name of the soldier, but said it would file charges against the serviceman, who is part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force which is assisting the local military in fighting terrorism in the southern Philippines.

There was no immediate statement from military officials about the accusations, but it was not the first time that US soldiers were dragged in scandals. In 2007, US troops stationed in Sulu province forcibly closed down a government hospital in Panamao town.

Last year, a US soldier driving a jeep hit a man outside a military base in Zamboanga City and fled the scene before policemen could arrive to investigate. A teenager was also shot and seriously wounded by a US soldier while gathering firewood near a firing range in Zamboanga City.

US soldiers participating in previous military exercises with local troops in Zamboanga and Sulu also chased and detained journalists and prevented them from taking pictures and videos of the foreigners in public places.

Human rights groups also cited several cases involving US troops who participated in past joint military exercises with Filipino troops in Basilan and Sulu provinces. Among them the shooting of a Muslim villager, Buyung-Buyung Isnijal, by an American soldier identified by witnesses as a certain Sgt. Reggie Lane, who was accused of participating in a military operation on July 27, 2002 in Tuburan town in Basilan.

Militant groups also cited cases of shooting and maiming of civilians allegedly by US soldiers who accidentally fired at civilians in the community while on a test missions. One case was the shooting and wounding of Arsid Baharun in Zamboanga City while soldiers were conducting a marksmanship practice in 2004, and the second was in September 2006 where shrapnel from a misfired bomb hit a 50-year old Muslim woman, Bizma Juhan in Indanan town in Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

US, Philippine troops frequent Davao Gulf

Speedboats carrying Philippine and Americans soldiers are spotted frequently in Davao Gulf off island of Samal and Davao City. Hundreds of US troops are deployed across Mindanao and Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces and helping the local military defeat terrorism. (Photo by Jonald Mahinay)

MILF rebels attack soldiers in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 26, 2008) – One army soldier was killed and three more wounded after suspected Moro rebels attacked a road security Wednesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

The soldiers were guarding a highway in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Shariff Kabunsuan province in the restive Muslim autonomous region when they came under fire near the village called Makir.

The attack triggered a firefight that left four soldiers wounded, but one of them, died before reaching the hospital, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division. “One soldier died before reaching the hospital and three others were wounded in the fighting,” he said.

Ando said the rebels, who were members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades and soldiers retaliated and killing or wounding a still undetermined number of gunmen.

Sporadic fighting continues in central Mindanao between the US-backed Filipino military and rebel forces since August after the peace collapsed. Manila also reneged from a deal that would have granted more than four million Muslims their own separate homeland across over 700 villages in Mindanao.

The accord initially approved in Malaysia, which brokered the peace talks, also sparked massive protests from Christian residents and politicians who opposed the Muslim territorial agreement. The Supreme Court also ruled the deal as unconstitutional.

The hostilities in Mindanao have displaced over half a million people, many in temporary refugee shelters across the troubled region.

Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the influential Organization of the Islamic Conference, has expressed deep concern about the increasing deterioration of the situation in the southern Philippines. He said the continued military operation severely affected civilians in Mindanao.

Ihsanoglu also appealed to the Philippine government and the MILF to stop the fighting and resume peace talks.

President Gloria Arroyo suspended the talks after rebel forces attacked civilian targets in Mindanao over the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal, which would have created the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

Arroyo already disbanded the government peace panel negotiating with rebels and demanded the MILF to surrender three commanders – Ameril Kato, Abdullah Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian – who led the deadly attacks in at least 3 provinces in central Mindanao.

Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of Macapaar, Kato and Pangalian. Arroyo said the government would only return to the peace talks if the MILF surrenders the three rebel commanders. But the MILF rejected the demand and said it would resume talks if Arroyo honors the ancestral domain deal.

US troops are deployed in central Mindanao and were aiding local military forces in fighting the rebels. Just early this month, MILF rebels shot down and recovered a US spy drone inside their territory near Maguindanao province. US forces are also helping the Filipino military track down members of the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya who, according to local authorities are being coddled by the rogue MILF commanders. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mga sundalong Kano, umani na naman ng batikos sa Sulu!

Ang Capitol ground sa bayan ng Patikul sa Sulu province. Patuloy na umaani ng maraming batikos ang mga sundalong Kano sa Sulu dahil sa kanilang pagiging arogante at bastos, ayon sa ilang mga nagreklamo. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 23, 2008) - Sa kabila ng maraming development projects ng US military sa lalawigan ng Sulu ay dumarami rin ang mga reklamo ng mamamayan sa mga dayuhan dahil sa pagiging arogante at bastos na asal nito.

Sinabi ni Hajji Gul-amo, isang prominenteng lider sa Sulu, na dumarami na umano ang mga batikos na tinatanggap ng mga Kano mula sa mga lokal na residente. Nagaasta umanong hari ang mga Kano sa lalawigan at ilang ulit ng sumabit sa mga eskandalo.

Maging ang Air Transportation Office sa Sulu ay nagreklamo na rin dahil sa hindi pakikipag-koordinasyon ng mga Kano sa kanilang tanggapan sa tuwing may dumarating ng mga eroplano o chopper ng US military sa air port.

Kadalasan ay makikitang nakaparada sa runway ang mga hummer at humvee ng mga sundalong Kano na mahigpit na ipinagbabawal.

At kung may binibili naman sa bayan ng Jolo ang mga Kano ay mistulang Afghanistan ang kapaligiran dahil sa asta ng mga sundalo na tila bang may aatake sa kanilang mga terorista at maging sibilyan ay pinalalayo sa kanila. “Grabe yan mga Kano at akala mo sa kanila itong Sulu, mga bastos at walang-hiya at walang modo, walang respeto sa aming mga Muslim sa sarili namain lugar,” ani Gulamo.

Ilang ulit na rin umano nakabangga ang mga sundalong Kano sa Sulu at sa ilang pagkakataon ay binalikan pa ng sundalo ang nabangga upang muling banggain. Ngunit sa kabila nito ay nagbubulag-bulagan naman ang lokal na liderato ng militar at kalimitan ay ipinagtatanggol pa ang mga Kano dahil sa laki ng ibinigay na suporta nito sa Armed Forces at Philippine Marines na siyang nasa Sulu.

Nuong nakaraang taon ay ipinasara naman ng mga bastos na sundalong Kano ang Panamao District Hospital ng ilang linggo at binaril pa ang ilawan nito at pinagbantaang babarilin ang mga personahe ng pagamutan.

Naunang nagbanta si Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan na paalisin ang mga Kano kung hindi nila igagalang ang karapatan ng mga Muslim. (Mindanao Examiner)

President Arroyo Cancels Trip To Sulu

A Filipino photojournalist speaks to soldiers guarding the Sulu airport Thursday, November 20, 2008. President Gloria Arroyo has canceled her trip to Sulu where she would have graced the conference on peace of dozens of Catholic and Protestant bishops and ulama because of bad weather condition.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez, center, and President Peace Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, left, feast on durian with Gov. Sakur Tan in Sulku province Thursday, November 20, 2008. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 20, 2008) – Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo canceled her trip Thursday to Sulu province where she was invited to grace the conference on peace of the Catholic and Protestant bishops and ulama.

Francis Dacer, of the Presidential Management Staff, said the President aborted her trip because of bad weather condition. “We are so sorry but the President cannot come to Sulu because of bad weather condition. She waited for an hour in Zamboanga for the weather to clear, but there is no way the President can come,” he told local officials and reporters here.

Supporters of President Arroyo and local officials were dismayed by the cancellation of the trip, saying, they had prepared a huge welcome in Sulu.

But Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said the safety of the President is more important than the preparation of her visit. “The safety of President Arroyo is more important than anything else. The President will visit us soon,” he said.

President Arroyo’s security and peace advisers Norberto Gonzales and Hermogenes Esperon arrived earlier in the day and attended the Bishops-Ulama Conference held at the Notre Dame University.

Security was tight the entire day. The President canceled her trip two days after Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a Filipino and US military convoy in Indanan town.

There were no reports of casualties from the military side, but one militant was wounded in the exchange of gunfire, according to a report by the local ABS-CBN television network, quoting, Col. Eugene Clemen, commander of the Philippine Marines 3rd Brigade in Sulu.

He said the soldiers were on their way to inspect an infrastructure project when they were ambushed, it said. The attack coincided with the capture of an Abu Sayyaf bomber Almid Jundam in Sulu on Tuesday. Jundam is a notorious member of the Abu Sayyaf's urban terrorist group, who was behind the planting of a homemade bomb at the Sulu airport runway on Saturday.

But Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of military forces in Sulu, quickly denied the report. “That's not true. It did not happen,” he said.

Col. Joseph Mouer, commander of US forces deployed in Sulu, did not want to give any statement and told reporters to interview local military officials.

“I cannot give any statement, you should ask the local commanders,” he said.In August, Abu Sayyaf militants also ambushed a Philippine and US military convoy in Sulu, killing four Filipino soldiers and wounded ten more in the village of Bonbon in Patikul town.

The incident was also not reported to the local media, but the Guam Army National Guard released a brief statement confirming that one of its servicemen was unharmed following an attack on his unit in Sulu.

The US soldier was not identified, but the Guam Army National Guard said the serviceman is attached to a platoon with the 294th Infantry Regiment deployed in May in Sulu to aide in the ongoing conflict there.

The Philippine military and the US Embassy in Manila insisted no US soldiers were in the attacked convoy.

American troops are training and assisting local soldiers in defeating terrorism in the southern Philippines on the request of the Philippine government. Earlier this month, Filipino soldiers also captured an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Sakirin Andalan Sali and killed another militant, Faidar Hadjadi, in a firefight in Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: US Air Force Plane Flies Out Of Zamboanga City

A US Air Force C17 Globemaster cargo plane flies over Zamboanga City on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 in the southern Philippines. Hundreds of US troops are deployed in the southern Philippines since 2001 and aiding the Filipino military in fighting terrorism. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: US Troops In Southern Philippines

A convoy of US and Philippine troops pass on a village in Jolo town in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, April 27, 2008. At least 30 US soldiers from the Guam Army National Guard are expected to arrive in the southern Philippines to secure American forces assisting and training local troops in battling terrorism and engage at the same time in numerous development and humanitarian projects. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: US Soldiers In Jolo Island

A US soldier mans his machine gun mounted on a hummer as he guards American and Filipino troops who joined a coastal clean up campaign in Sulu province Sunday, April 22, 2008. Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan led over a hundred Muslim villagers in the clean up of a beach front in Patikul town in celebration of the World Earth Day. And a boy curiously looks at a US soldier talking to a Filipino marine as they guard American and Philippine troops who joined a coastal clean up campaign. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Fear Not The Balikatan, Military Says

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 03, 2008) – A senior Filipino military commander doused fears of human rights violations and abuses by soldiers who will participate in a joint RP-US Balikatan training in southern Philippines.

Balikatan, which means "shoulder-to-shoulder," is the codename of the joint anti-terror drill held each year since 2001. The training will begin February 18 in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Lanao, where militant and anti-US activists are opposing the war games.

“There is nothing wrong with the Balikatan and troops will concentrate on humanitarian and medical missions in the provinces. Our only aim is to help the people though various humanitarian activities and nothing more,” Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, which has jurisdiction over half of the region, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Some 6,000 US and Filipino soldiers are expected to participate in the Balikatan, but most of the military training exercise would be held in Luzon.

But hundreds of US troops have been deployed in Zamboanga City and Sulu since last year where they are helping the local military fight terrorism.

Militant groups and activists opposed to US presence in the Philippines said they would stage simultaneous rallies in the province to protest the holding of the Balikatan. They accused US troops stationed in Sulu of human rights violations after soldiers forcibly closed down a government hospital in Panamao town last year.

Last week, a motorcycle rider was injured after a US soldier driving a jeep hit the Filipino man outside a military base in Zamboanga City and fled the scene before policemen could arrive to investigate.

A teenager was also shot and seriously wounded by a US soldier while gathering firewood near a firing range in Zamboanga City. US soldiers participating in previous Balikatan in Zamboanga and Sulu also chased and detained journalists and prevented them from taking pictures and videos of the foreigners in public places.

Amirah Ali Lidasan, president of the Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), urged President Gloria Arroyo to scrap the Balikatan because of the abuses involving the US troops.

“Suara Bangsamoro calls on President Arroyo to heed the call of the Moro people and the people of Mindanao and put a stop to the Balikatan exercises. We also hope that our peace-loving legislators in the Senate and Congress will look into the complaints of the victims,” she said.

”American officials and their soldiers should be made answerable to the complaints made by civilians against them,” Lidasan said, citing an incident that occurred in December in Zamboanga City where passengers of a motorcycle taxi complained at a radio station about US soldiers who rammed their vehicle.

“Instead of helping the victims to get up, US soldiers got down from their vehicle complete with high-powered guns that according to the complainants looked like they were going to war. Ordinary citizens of Mindanao have been exposed to the impertinent attitudes of the US soldiers, and this is aggravated if government officials do not act on it,” Lidasan said.

While criticizing arrogance of some US troops, Lidasan praised Sarangani province Gov. Miguel Dominguez for apprehending armed American servicemen at a restaurant.

“It is a pain for the victims of Balikatan to learn that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears as the government gave a go-signal to commence the Balikatan exercises in their areas despite of the unresolved cases of human rights violations that involved US soldiers,” Lidasan said.

She also cited several cases involving US troops who participated in past Balikatan in Basilan and Sulu. Among them were the shooting of a Muslim villager, Buyung-Buyung Isnijal, allegedly by an American soldier identified by witnesses as a certain Sgt. Reggie Lane, who was accused of participating in a military operation on July 27, 2002 in Tuburan town in Basilan.

Lidasan said the involvement of an American soldier in combat operations is a violation to the Terms of Reference under the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines in defining and limiting the conduct of the joint military exercises.

Another was the reported involvement of US soldiers in combat operation against the Moro National Liberation Front in Sulu in 2005.

Lidasan also cited cases of shooting and maiming of civilians allegedly by US soldiers who accidentally fired at civilians in the community while on a test missions. One case was the shooting and wounding of Arsid Baharun in Zamboanga City while soldiers were conducting a marksmanship practice in 2004, and the second was in September 2006 where shrapnel from a misfired bomb hit a 50-year old Muslim woman, Bizma Juhan in Indanan town in Sulu.

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) called on Congress and the Senate to immediately launch a thorough probe on the real role of US troops in Mindanao.

"We are calling on both Houses of Congress, to call for respective investigations on the matter…We have to uphold our sovereignty if not then foreigners will just trample it under their feet," Rafael Mariano, chairman of KMP and president of the Anakpawis party-list group, said.

The Balikatan demonstrates Washington's resolve to continue the commitment to train, advice and assist the Philippine military to build capacity to counter terrorism.

The Balikatan includes support for comprehensive defense reform; security assistance modules for counter-terrorism training; operations intelligence fusion; and aspects in education programs, logistics, and engineering, equipment, and maintenance and helicopter programs.

It will also enhance the skills and capabilities of Filipino and American forces in combating terrorism and other internal and external security threats. And improve inter-operability between RP and US forces through the exchange of training skills and techniques.

The training is part of Washington security assistance to the Philippines, a key US ally in Southeast Asia in the so-called global war on terrorism. (Mindanao Examiner)

US Troops Losing War For Hearts And Minds In Sulu

SULU ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 29, 2007) – Philippine authorities have began an investigation into disturbing reports that US troops deployed in Sulu province had ordered the closure of a government hospital in the town of Panamao.

The soldiers allegedly barged into the Panamao District Hospital on Dec. 3 and ordered its closure for a still unknown reason.

US troops are in Sulu province since early this year to assist and advice Filipino forces in fighting terrorism.

Dr Silak Lakkian, head of the hospital, has complained about how US troops meddled into their operations.

The news only broke out Saturday after local journalists learned about the incident, but US military officials were not available to make any statement.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said he will personally on the reports involving US troops and has talked to Major General Reuben Rafael, commander of Philippine military forces in the province, about it.

“US troops have no authority to impose on us,” he said.

It was not immediately known whether the US military tried to cover up the incident, but General Rafael, also said that he will look into the reports. “We will look into this,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Local villagers and some Filipino troops also have complained about the arrogance of US soldiers in Sulu. Some US troops have allegedly treated Filipino soldiers like janitors and laborers in the province.

Heavily-armed US troops were also preventing curious Muslim villagers to go near them in public places as though the locals were terrorists.

American troops had in the past also harassed Filipino journalists who were covering joint RP-US military war games in Zamboanga City and Sulu and in some occasions arrested and seized the cameras of reporters who took photos and videos of them.

It was also in Sulu that hundreds of US soldiers slaughtered some 800 Muslim villagers, including innocent women and children, during the Moro rebellion in March 1906 that has become known as the First Battle of Bud (Mount) Dajo also called the “Moro Crater Massacre.”

During this battle, 790 men and officers, under the command of Colonel J.W. Duncan, assaulted the volcanic crater, which was held by several hundred rebels protecting Muslim villagers.

This dark part of history always hound US troops in Sulu where activists and villagers opposed their presence in the province. It was unknown how the Panamao incident will affect the presence of Americans in Sulu. (With reports from Nickee Butlangan and Juan Magtanggol)

US Chopper Attacked In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 18, 2007) – A helicopter transporting US soldiers came under fire while flying over the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where local security forces are battling Abu Sayyaf militants, officials said on Tuesday.

"The chopper was hit by hostile fire. We still don't know if there are casualties," Mayor Joel Maturan, of Unkaya Pukan town, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Fighting was raging on Tuesday in the town where suspected militants attacked government soldiers, he said. "The fighting is intense," he said without elaborating further.

Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, said the attack on the chopper occurred on Monday and that one passenger was injured after debris hit him.

"A civilian helicopter conducting a routine support and logistics flight with the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines was hit by small-arms fire over Basilan island."

"The helicopter landed at the airfield in Zamboanga without difficulty. One individual aboard suffered minor injuries from flying debris. All personnel are safe and accounted for," he said.

Maturan said the fighting erupted Tuesday after Abu Sayyaf gunmen, backed by rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), attacked government soldiers in Ungkaya Pukan.

"We still don't know if there are casualties from both sides," he said. Troops were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan island, blamed for killing more than two dozen soldiers in sporadic clashes the past months.

A small contingent of US troops is deployed in Basilan to help Filipino troops defeat terrorism. The Abu Sayyaf is included in the US list of international terrorist groups and Washington offered as much as five million dollars for the capture of the group's known leaders. (Mindanao Examiner)

U.S. Troops Establish New Kind Of Base In Southern Philippines: Report

MANILA, Philippines - A Bangkok-based international research organization that has been following the US military in the Philippines today warned that US troops spotted in Mindanao are not only involved in the ongoing warbut that they have also established a new kind of US base in the South.

According to Focus on the Global South, the US troops spotted by theAgence France Press photographer belong to the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), a unit that has been indefinitely stationed insouthern Mindanao since 2002.

Contrary to previous efforts by the US and Philippine governments to portray the troops as participating only in temporary training exercises called the Balikatan, it has since been revealed that this unit has stayed on and maintained its presence in the country for the last six years.

Contradicting claims that they are not involved in the fighting, Focus has gathered pronouncements by US troops themselves who have gone on record to say that their mission in the south is “unconventional warfare” – a US military term that encompasses combat operations.

With the Philippine government not giving a definite exit date, and with US officials stating that this unit – composed of between 100 to 500 troops depending on the season – will stay on as long as they are allowed by the government, it is presumed that it will continue to be based in the Philippines for an indefinite period.

Beyond being involved in the war, Focus draws attention to this unit having effectively established a new kind of basing in the Philippines.

According to Focus’ research, the JSOTF-P’s stationing in the south is a prototype of the new kind of overseas basing that the US has introduced as part of its ongoing effort to realign its global basing structure.

Since 2001, the US – which has more than 700 bases and installations in over 100 countries around the world – has embarked on the most radical realignment of its overseas basing network since World War II.

Part of the changes is the move away from large permanent bases – such as the ones in Subic and Clark – in favor of smaller, more austere, more low profile bases such as the JSOTF-P’s presence in Zamboanga and in other places in southern Mindanao.

In terms of profile and mission, Focus points out that the JSOTF-P is very similar to the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa which was established in Djibouti in western Africa in 2003 and which has been described as a sample of the US austere basing template and the “model for future US military operations.”

Focus believes that the Philippines is one of the “nodes for special operations forces” that former Defense Secretary Donal Rumsfeld himself revealed the Pentagon would establish as part of its changes in Asia.

Focus notes that US troops themselves refer to their base in Jolo as “Advance Operating Base-920.”

(Focus on the Global South’s research on the JSOTF-P, Unconventional Warfare: Are US Special Forces Engaged in an ‘Offensive’ War in the Philippines?, was published earlier this year and can be downloaded for free from: http://www.focusweb.org/index.php? option=com_remository&Itemid=105&func=startdown&id=23)

REFERENCE:Herbert Docena, Research Associate, Focus on the Global South