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By Scott Scheffer
Manila, Philippines

During a week in the Philippines that saw militant protests against the presence of Pentagon troops, organizers of the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) exposed a report of a U.S. soldier shooting an unarmed Filipino civilian on July 25. The ISM reported from Isabela, the capital of Basilan, that the shooting occurred during an arrest operation in the Tuburan area of the small island.

A U.S. soldier shooting a civilian would mean that the United States military was illegally participating in operations, which they are restricted from doing by the Terms of Agreement between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The incident became national news in the Philippines and was carried by the Associated Press and French Press Agency.

The ISM was organized by Filipino organizations that are fighting to get the U.S. troops out for good. Participants from nine countries were asked to take part in fact-finding to document human rights violations during a joint exercise between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines that ended on July 31. Another such exercise is planned for October.

Official spokespeople for the joint operations state that their purpose is to fight against the Abu Sayaf Group, which they claim has ties to Al Qaeda. But movement activists feel that the operations are actually meant to target groups connected to the people's anti-imperialist struggle.

Congressional Representatives Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza demanded a full congressional investigation of the shooting. Ocampo and Maza are members of BAYAN Muna, a political party whose roots are in the militant people's movement. Both served as spokespeople for the ISM.

Home invasion by troops

Huraida Isnijal, the wife of shooting victim Buyong-buyong Isnijal, first reported the incident to the ISM on July 26. She still bore bruises on her nose and forehead from the struggle that ensued after the soldier shot her husband.

Two young children were sleeping in the next room when soldiers entered the house. The shooter yelled in English, "Sit down, sit down, sit down" and then shot Isnijal in the left thigh.

Family members, neighbors, the attending doctor at the local hospital where the victim was treated, as well as physical evidence gathered by ISM members corroborated her account.

The news was a major embarrassment for the government of President Macapagal-Arroyo, who was already being criticized for allowing the U.S. troops to come to the Philippines. The presence of the troops is a violation of the country's constitution and defies the will of the Filipino people who had waged a successful mass struggle to close Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval base. Those bases were the largest U.S. military facilities outside the U.S. itself.

The AFP and Arroyo administration responded by labeling the ISM leadership "Abu Sayaf-lovers," communists and terrorists. They flew Abu Sayaf Group victims to Manila from all over the country to participate in a press conference intended to counter the bad publicity.

The news of the shooting came at a particularly sensitive time. Even though the Balikatan exercise was winding down, the country was anticipating a visit on Aug. 2 and 3 by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. The atmosphere was charged all week long as anti-Pentagon protesters took to the streets in spite of police beatings and arrests.

Their determination seemed to have an effect. Before Powell's visit, the press had been suggesting that it would be used to sign the Mutual Logisitics Support Agreement. It was rumored that the agreement would give the U.S. the right to re-establish military bases and a permanent presence in the Philippines.

After the ISM forced the shooting into the spotlight of national news, and amid all the protests, the Arroyo regime began saying that the MLSA wouldn't be signed during Powell's visit, and by Aug. 1 Powell himself was saying that the agreement would not include base rights and that the U.S. doesn't seek a permanent military presence in the Philippines.

Nevertheless, more than 2,000 demonstrators greeted Powell on Aug. 2 to let him know that the movement in the Philippines means business.