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US TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES!
NO “SELF-DEFENSE” FOR AGGRESSORS!
STOP KILLING FILIPINOS & FILIPINAS!!!

GABRIELA Network USA condemns the deployment of over 1000 US military troops to the Philippines, now touted by mainstream media as "The New Vietnam." Deployed as part of a supposedly joint military exercise called "Operation Balikatan" (shoulder to shoulder) and as part of a supposed US global war on terrorism, the deployment of US troops (1) violates the Philippine Constitution, (2) subjects Philippine territory to re-occupation and re-colonization by her former colonial master and (3) poses a continuing threat of militarization and criminality against local communities, and of sexual exploitation and degradation to the women and children of the Philippines. Furthermore, the presence of US troops in Mindanao, which lies close to Malaysia, Indonesia and other places predominantly Muslim and Islamic, threatens to de-stabilize the whole region, paints the Philippines and Filipinos unfairly as US stooges against Islam, and can result in the partition and loss of Philippine territory.

The latter has historical precedents: Philippine involvement in the US-Japan
war cost it the island of Guam, while involvement in the Indochina war cost it
the Spratly Islands. GABRIELA Network condemns the Macapagal-Arroyo government for not only using the notorious Visiting Forces Agreement to allow the return of foreign troops to the Philippines but even extending VFA provisions and circumventing its restrictions, as well as those of the Philippine Constitution and laws, to enable US troops to engage in acts of war on Philippine territory under the pretext of “self-defense.” No soldier deployed to another country, in violation of prohibitions by that country's laws and despite protests and objections by that country's population, has the right to claim self-defense. By their presence alone, such troops are aggressors by any half-way decent definition, legal or otherwise.

GABRIELA Network USA condemns Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who took over the presidency from the ousted corrupt and incompetent president Joseph Ejercito Estrada, for selling her nation's and people's sovereignty, well-being and freedoms for a guarantee of US backing in the coming presidential elections. She knows full well the Philippines' historical experience with US occupation and alleged support. At no instance have the Philippines and Filipinos fared well under so-called American protection and/or assistance.

Indeed, the abject condition of the Philippine economy, its weak government and its state of chronic crisis all have their origins in US intervention in Philippine internal affairs.

GABRIELA Network USA condemns both US and Philippine governments for not factoring into their games of macho power-politics the well-being of women of the Philippines. For nearly four decades, the women of the Philippines have been forced to “entertain” US troops, with girls as young as eleven years old subjected to sexual battering. One such girl died when a vibrator wielded by a US GI broke off and left a piece inside her. In other areas where the US military "practiced" its war games, sexual assaults were par for the course. Just last year, five girls and one woman were gang raped by US soldiers in the Australian towns of Darwin, Hobart, and Perth.

Cases of rape around US bases in Korea, Okinawa, and Hawaii have also been documented.

GABRIELA Philippines reports, "We have our own experiences in Olongapo and Clark. Over a hundred cases of sexual abuse were filed against US troops at the height of the US bases occupation. US troops acknowledge rape and sexual abuse as an effective tool of war." What happened in Olongapo and Clark are only waiting to happen in Mindanao.

US troops were deployed to Mindanao to target the Abu Sayyaf, a one hundred men band already confronted by thousands and thousands of Philippine troops. Despite this overwhelming government superiority, Macapagal-Arroyo insulted her own Philippine armed forces by causing them to accept "training" on antiterrorism and anti-guerrilla war. It is a gesture replete with irony and self-abnegation, because Filipinos have time and again served as US experts on counter-insurgency and anti-guerrilla war, beginning with former Philippine colonel Napoleon Valeriano who helped devised tactics for the US war in Vietnam and the rest of Indochina.

In solidarity with GABRIELA Philippines, we oppose the deployment of US troops in the Philippines and the unstated objective of building new US military bases in Cebu and Mindanao Islands. The purpose of US military presence in these areas is not to help the Philippines but to establish chokepoints of control over the region, threatening Indonesia and Malaysia, and poising possible takeovers of oil production and reserves in the area and under the sea. George W. Bush, true to his nature as an oilman, goes after oil fields in a large way, using whatever is convenient as an excuse.

GABRIELA Network USA extends its solidarity to the communities of Mindanao who continue to oppose and resist US aggression. GABRIELA Network USA extends its solidarity to the communities of Cebu Island who do likewise. GABRIELA Network supports the efforts of the Cebu and Mindanao women to oppose and resist US sexual slavery.

GABRIELA Network calls on all women of Philippine ancestry to join in its protest against US troops in the Philippines. GABRIELA Network calls on all progressive individuals and organizations to support the Filipino people's struggle for social justice and a lasting peace, for true freedom and national
democracy.