Filipino activists call Philippine President an accomplice to Abu Ghraib torture

FILIPINO ACTIVISTS CALL ARROYO AN ACCOMPLICE TO ABU GHRAIB TORTURE

Anti-war coalition steps up pressure on Philippine government to withdraw
support to the war

Anti-war activists in the Philippines denounced the Arroyo
administration for its silence over the atrocities committed by US Soldiers
against Iraqi prisoners of war. In a statement issued in a rally in front
of the US Embassy in Manila last Friday, activists from the Iraq-Solidarity
Campaign (ISC) said ³The torture in Abu Ghraib prison should have been met
with gravest condemnation by the Philippine government, being a signatory to
the Geneva convention and other international conventions and treaties on
human rights. It instead chose to remain silent and by doing so became a
silent accomplice to these atrocities.²

²President Arroyo should be also be charged for being accomplice to Bush in
the mass murder of Iraqi civilians and the death of 2 Filipino OCWs," added
DJ Janier of Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD).

Echoing the guilty verdict handed down by a session of the world tribunal on
Iraq held in New York, ISC also implicated President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
along with US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
of war crimes in Iraq and crimes against humanity.

Stepping up the pressure on the Philippine government to withdraw its
support to the illegal war and occupation, around 200 activists marched to
the US Embassy with banners and placards calling ³ Bush, Blair and Arroyo,
guilty of war crimes,² and ³GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) and BUSH Butchers
of Baghdad².

The activists were greeted by a phalanx of anti-riot policemen about two
blocks away from the US Embassy. Deciding to hold their ground, the
activists conducted a sit-down, street press conference, where the
representatives of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign (ISG) delivered their
messages.

³The lives of around 4,000 Filipino overseas workers are at serious risk in
Iraq. The GMA government should see to it that these workers are brought
home without delay² said Edwin Bustillos of the Alliance of Progressive
Labor (APL). Romy Castillo of Partido ng Manggagawa (Workers Party) decried
the situation that forces Filipinos to go abroad and face life-threatening
conditions to secure their livelihoods. ³The government should work to
provide opportunities at home so that Filipino¹s won¹t have to leave their
families and risk their lives just to earn a decent income² said Castillo.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier reported that more Filipinos
in Iraq are expected to signify their intention to return home despite the
Philippine government’s stand to delay the forced evacuation of the 4,000
workers and 51 peace-keepers in the war-torn country.

Last week, two batches of Filipino OFWs returned to Manila. The first batch
of returning OFWS included the remains of Filipino truck-driver Rodrigo
Reyes, the first Filipino casualty in Iraq.

Activist Priest Father Robert Reyes of Peace Camp called Bush and Arroyo
³Shameless! in perpetuating this illegal war and the occupation of Iraq².
Fr. Reyes prayed for the souls of the thousands of civilians killed in the
war including the 2 Filipino workers and for the safe return of the
thousands more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)still in Iraq.

" It is unforgivable that Bush’s greed pushes on this war of aggression when
even the American people have condemned this act. We should respect the
Iraqi people’s right to self-determination. The US may have helped in
overthrowing the Saddam dictatorship, but wants to install itself as Iraq’s
next ruler or colonizer," explained Rasti Delizo of Sanlakas.

The members of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign vowed heigthened actions in the
days to come as the US prepares to ³hand-over full-sovereignty to the Iraqi
people² by June 30, 2004.

The Iraqi Solidarity Campaign was formally formed as an alliance of
political blocs and organizations after the outbreak of widespread uprising
in Iraq at the beginning of April. It calls for the ending of the US-led
occupation and the withdrawal and evacuation of Philippine troops and
workers from Iraq.# (ISC)