[asia-apec 592] VFA and the Anti-Terrorism Bill: Boon or Bane?

[tpl at cheerful.com]

>KARAPATAN <karapatan at bigfoot.com>
>Press Statement
>Reference: Antonio Liongson, KARAPATAN Deputy Secretary General
>
>VFA and Anti-Terrorism Bill:
>A boon to the US,
>A bane to the Filipino people
>
>Human rights advocates join other militant organizations and individuals
>in opposing the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)
between the US and Philippine governments.   
>
>According to Antonio Liongson, deputy secretary general of KARAPATAN, 
>“It is not coincidental that Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado
>is also pushing for the certification of the Anti-Terrorism Bill as an
>amendment to the Immigration Act of 1940.  Foreign Secretary Siazon’s
>admission that the VFA will one-sidedly benefit US military forces and
>Secretary Mercado’s affirmation that the proposed amendments to the
>Immigration Act is precipitated by the bombings of the US Embassies in
>Africa, show the Philippine government’s subservience to US interest.”
>
>Liongson averred that “the true meaning of the VFA to the Filipino people
>is - Violence,  climate of Fear, and Attacks against the toiling masses.”
>
>With the ratification of the VFA, there will be rampant violation of the
>peoples’ rights in the country and the Asia-Pacific region. “Since the VFA
>provides that the US military forces could enter and utilize the country’s
>twenty-two ports anytime, human rights violations perpetrated by US
>military personnel could happen to anybody, anywhere and everywhere.  Our
>grave experience with the US military bases should have taught us enough,”
>said Liongson.
>
>Liongson cited incidents of human rights violations at a time when the US
>military bases were still in the country.  In 1987, Lourdes
>Ramos, 39 years old, was arrested by two American personnel while
>scavenging inside the Clark Air Base.  At gunpoint, she was forced to take
>off her clothes and was raped by her captors.  In another incident, on
>April 21, 1987, Isagani Pioquinto and Rowena Custodia were sprayed with
>bullets when they passed by the Crow Valley Firing Range. The two victims
>sustained multiple gunshot wounds. 
>
>Worse, the VFA does not guarantee that local courts will have jurisdiction
>over American personnel committing criminal acts.  Should there be a crime
>perpetrated by an American soldier it could very well be passed-off as “an
>act of official duty” and/or the US may compel the Philippine government to
>turn over the suspect to them.  
>
>“This shows that the agreement is one-sided, with the US government getting
>the better end of the deal, as the case has always been. We believe there
>is a hidden agenda here, that is, the granting of immunity to American
>offenders,” Liongson averred
>
>Under the VFA, there is no provision preventing the entry of weapons of
>mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological) into the country. And
>the poor Filipinos could not scrutinize or even question what their 'Big
>Brothers' are bringing in as pasalubong (gifts).“With its loopholes on the
issue
>of nuclear weapons, the Filipino people will be living dangerously and
>under a climate of uncertainty and fear.  Accidents or leaks will be costly
>to the lives of the people and would imminently harm the environment,” said
>Liongson.   
>
>“The Americans need the VFA, we don’t.  With all its loopholes and
>one-sidedness, the VFA can only be advantageous to the US.  It is obvious
>that the Americans are using this strategy of creating military allies to
>secure its economic and political interests in the Asia-Pacific region.”
>
>“On the other hand, Mercado’s Anti-Terrorism Bill can be utilized
>to intimidate the people’s militant anti-imperialist struggles.”
>
>“The VFA is an attack on the Filipino people and undermines our
>sovereignty. Only the Violent Forces of America will be protected by both
>the VFA and the Anti-Terrorism Bill.  It is highly probable that the
>ratification of the VFA and the Anti-Terrorism Bill will spur the
>commission of human rights violations in the country.   And while the
>Estrada government acts fast in giving protection to the US, it drags its
>feet in providing justice to the victims of human rights violations,”
>Liongson concluded.###
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights)		
>23-D Mabuhay St., Central District, Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES
>Tel. Nos. (++632) 434-1865 / 435-7828
>Permanent E-mail Address: karapatan at bigfoot.com
>Permanent Web Address: http://www.bigfoot.com/~karapatan
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>