While the Arroyo administration celebrated July 4 as Filipino-American Friendship Day, Filipino activists showed their indignation to the “continuing relations between a master and a slave.”

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance) and allied organizations marked the Filipino-American Friendship Day with protests. As in the past, they underscored the unequal relations between the Philippine and U.S. governments.

Justice for Hazel

Gabriela held a picket in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to demand justice for Hazel, a Filipina allegedly raped by an American soldier in Okinawa, Japan.

Hazel’s mother, Nanay Melly, joined the protesters. She said, “Since I appealed for help last June 19, we have not heard from the DFA.”

In a correspondence with Gabriela, Fr. Rommel T. Cruz, MSP, guardian of Hazel in Okinawa, said that the biggest obstacle in the case is Consul Ako Alarcon. Cruz said, “Ako’s continued silence about Hazel’s case is not helping Hazel get justice. Wala talagang pakialam sa kaso!” (He is not concerned at all.)

In a statement, Joms Salvador, spokesperson of Gabriela, said, “The Arroyo administration is slacking off in its responsibility over Hazel, seemingly hoping that the case would just quietly die down.”

Salvador added that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could have taken up the case of Hazel when she visited U.S. President George Bush. “That Arroyo did not say a word on the case is not unexpected. A minion, after all, constantly fears to tick off her master.”

Meanwhile, Lian Santos, deputy secretary general of Migrante International said, “Hazel’s plight not only reminds us of the Arroyo administration’s criminal neglect of overseas Filipino workers and their families, but also of how iniquitous the relationship is between the U.S. and the Philippines.”

He added, “As a Filipino, I feel shame for this administration that treats OFWs like cheap commodities, hailed when needed and abandoned and neglected in the times of their need.”

Raping RP’s natural resources

In his speech at the rally, Himpad Mangumalas, spokesperson of Kalipunan ng mga Katutubo sa Pilipinas (KAMP), criticized U.S. imperialism’s rape of the country’s natural resources.

Mangumalas said that Moro and indigenous peoples are driven away from their ancestral lands to give way to American corporations’ projects.

Military agreements

Rita Baua, Bayan international officer, said, “There can never be equal relations between the Philippines and the U.S. so long as both countries retain and strengthen military agreements such as the Mutual Defense Treaty, Visiting Forces Agreement, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement and Security Engagement Board.”

She said that the assistance of the U.S. to the typhoon victims is but a veil to the U.S.’ underlying interests.

Baua called on all “freedom-loving Filipinos to resist U.S. intervention and aggression. She also said, “The real and long-lasting friendship that the Filipino people can forge with the American people is a common fight against U.S. strategic politico-military, economic agenda against the peoples of the world.”

(Bulatlat.com)

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