N. Cotabato Officials Reject U.S.-RP War Exercises

Local government officials are united with cause-oriented groups in protesting the U.S.-RP military exercises to be held in February. They all denounced national leaders for ignoring the atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers against the people of Mindanao a hundred years ago.

BY JHONG DELA CRUZ
Bulatlat

Anti-Balikatan caravan in North Cotabato ARKIBONGBAYAN PHOTO

Memories of unjust shooting, killing and forced evacuation in Muslim provinces were rekindled following the holding of the U.S.-RP Balikatan (literally shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises in North Cotabato and Sulu (1000 kms. from Manila) starting next month. But for this year, the opposition is highlighted by the rejection of the U.S. government in granting the Philippines custody of the four U.S. soldiers charged with rape of a Filipina in Subic Bay, Zambales. In a manifesto, the North Cotabato local government expressed its rejection of playing host to U.S. troops and urged other local government units to do the same. Jolo Councilor Coccoy Tulawie told Bulatlat the local residents feared the month-long stay of the joint armies would be extended. “There is no time frame for their stay in Sulu,” Tulawie said when told by Lt. Col. James Maxwell by phone. He was informed by the U.S. military head that “some will leave…others will stay.”

He said that the Balikatan would be followed by “Bayanihan,” another military exercise whose date is not yet final but is projected to be longer.

Balance Piston

Tulawie said some 300 U.S. soldiers will arrive in the area on Jan. 31. Some 5,000 U.S. soldiers will participate in the exercises called Balance Piston 06-02. Around 250 of them will be deployed in Sulu, while others will be in Ternate, Cavite, the former Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Camp Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

The Sulu cluster will be coming mostly from Hawaii and Okinawa, Japan, reports said.

Last Jan. 17, some 60 soldiers arrived in Carmen, North Cotabato for the Balance Piston. According to a U.S. embassy statement, “the month-long Balance Piston 06-02 training exercise in Carmen town will be on Small Unit Tactics, Basic Rifle Marksmanship, Advanced Rifle Marksmanship, Combat Lifesaver Training and Field Training Exercise, as well as medical and dental training services to the local communities.”

Government officials in Cotabato, along with militant groups, protested the arrival of U.S. soldiers. The 5,000-strong Inter-Regional People's Caravan kicked-off in Davao City on the same day, Jan. 17. The Caravan proceeded to Carmen, North Cotabato.

Tulawie, also vice chairperson of the Suara Bangsamoro Party-list, said that majority of the councilors of the town of Jolo are against the holding of the Balikatan exercises in Sulu which will begin on Feb. 3 and end on March 5.  “I speak for the councilors of Jolo town and majority of the Suluanons, we are strongly opposed to the presence of U.S. forces. The people are wary of the U.S. spy planes roving every night in Sulu. It is apparent that the U.S. is poised for war, actual combat and intelligence gathering. We know that U.S. forces have not really abided by the VFA rules that they must not engage in actual military combat. So their mere presence is already a signal of war that puts the people in far greater danger.” 

Tulawie said that despite the brief conduct of the war games, Major Maxwell’s pronouncement clearly implied that the U.S. contingent in Sulu will stay as long as there is work to be done.

For her part, Amirah Ali Lidasan, secretary general of the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA), stressed the urgent need “for unified action against the U.S.-RP Balikatan exercises and the Visiting Forces Agreement to uphold the dignity of the country. What the province of Cotabato did should be emulated by all local governments, especially those hosting U.S. military troops in their hometowns. Indeed, how can we feel safe when we have knowingly welcomed in our backyards potential human rights violators who are above the law with the indulgence of the Arroyo government?”

Volatile

"A hundred years have passed and yet the Muslims are still pressing for their freedom and autonomy. The venues where the Balikatan exercises are held are considered Moro dominated areas. The presence of U.S. troops will only aggravate the already volatile situation in the far south. It may even trigger war," Party-list Rep. Joel Virador (Bayan Muna or People First) said.

According to Suara Bangsamoro, the joint war games has actively engaged U.S. soldiers in combating local insurgents thereby victimizing innocent Moro civilians like in Basilan during the first Balikatan in 2002.

No need

Lidasan said that the call for the stop of all the Balikatan exercises stands “legitimate and just” due to the “biased merits” of the VFA, even if the U.S. government, by any chance, recognizes the appeal for custody of the four accused U.S. soldiers.

Last Jan. 17, Katig Mindanao and the League of Filipino Students (LFS) picketed the United States' Embassy to protest the back-to-back joint U.S.-RP military exercises in Mindanao.

“The Bud Dajo massacre is a horrendous part of our history. It's like a nightmare that haunts our Muslim brothers and sisters. Some 900 Muslims, including women and children, were slaughtered by U.S. soldiers in 1906 at Bud Dajo in Jolo. This brutal act was later congratulated by then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt on what he claimed as a brilliant feat of arms where the honor of the American flag was well upheld,” he said. Bulatlat

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