Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 5 March 2 - 8, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
Negrenses
Join Anti-War Protest Negros
Occidental, a province in central Philippines known for its sugar industry that
has not recovered since the crush of mid-1980s, woke up last Friday to witness
another landmark event. It was a Day of Prayer and Fasting – a day when
thousands of Negrenses turned up in the streets to shout “No to the U.S. War
on Iraq!” By
Karl G. Ombion and Edgar
A. Cadagat
BACOLOD
CITY – Americans, Europeans, Asians and other nationalities in their millions
and in massive rallies are standing up against the impending war on Iraq. Last
Friday, 5,000 Negrenses also lent their voice to the anti-war upsurge as they
massed up and held a colorful march for the nationally-coordinated
prayer-protest. Local
militant organizations and anti-war activists have been marching in the streets
since last year to register their opposition to the war. But last Feb. 28’s
anti-war protest brought in more peace advocates from the church, schools,
artists and civic organizations. Leslie
Garcia, a convenor of the Pilgrims for Peace, said the Feb. 28 anti-war
mobilization in Negros was part of their commitment to bring about a lasting
peace in the country and across the globe. "This
is our local contribution to the global efforts to frustrate the rampaging U.S.
imperialism now in extreme desperation to get out of its terminal crisis of
overproduction and financial deficits," Garcia said. He
also said that the rally was his organization’s "response to the call of
the Pope and the Churches to stand for peace, and resist the U.S. war on
Iraq." It has always been the stand of the progressive church to uphold
life and oppose all forms of unjust wars and assaults on humanity, he said. In
his pastoral letter, Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra declared Feb. 28 as a Day of
Prayer and Fasting, as he urged the faithful and all those concerned to join as
the Church storm the heavens with prayers. The
Feb. 28 anti-war mobilization was spearheaded by the Promotion for Church
People’s Response (PCPR) - Negros, Pilgrims for Peace and the Inter-Faith
Movement. The
march, highlighted by street plays showing the horrors of war, with brief
stopovers in strategic areas for speeches and cultural presentations, ended at
the city's public plaza for the rally. The Concerned Artists in Negros (CAN)
organized the street dramas and plays. At
rally points, several priests took turns calling on American forces to leave the
Philippines and the Middle East. Near the city, Fr. Jecson Davao of
Karapatan-Negros, echoed the call of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines to end the war against Iraq and all U.S. wars of aggression. Bulatlat.com/Cobra-Ans We want to know what you think of this article.
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