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EMERGENCY NATIONAL RALLY AGAINST MARTIAL LAW IN PHILIPPINES

by GABRIELA Network, SF/Bay Area (sfbayarea [at] gabnet.org)
On the 20th anniversary of People Power and the ouster of Marcos, a State of Emergency/Martial Law has been declared in the Philippines. All rallies are banned. Email and texting curtailed. Massive rallies are going on being met with violent dispersal by Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. Disparate forces from the mass movement to former President Cory Aquino are calling for the president's ouster.
gabnetaction-defactomartiallaw.pdf_600_.jpg
GABRIELA Network Opposes De Facto Martial Law!

THE MOST ONEROUS EMERGENCY IN THE PHILIPPINES IS ITS DE FACTO PRESIDENT

In an act of collective punishment, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while still claiming the title and position of president of the Republic of the Philippines and despite the general perception that she cheated at the elections, has declared a State of National Emergency throughout the archipelago.

Even though the justification given were nebulous reports of an impending coup by some military officers, Macapagal-Arroyo chose to punish all the people of the 7,100 islands of the Philippines.

Proclamation 1017 declaring a state of emergency bans all rallies and demonstrations, allows warrantless arrests, seizure of private property, including media outlets; and the transfer of civil authority to the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the say-so of the President.

By any other name, it is martial law. It requires constitutional changes so vast that, among others, they effectively remove such guarantees as freedom of the press. They have also effectively blocked much of the Internet, preventing thousands including senators from text messaging or emailing. Violence is raging in the streets and everyday people are hiding indoors fearing for their safety.

No Philippine president would, of course, dare undertake such a drastic grab for power without the approval of its colonial master. It is no coincidence that this comes while 5,500 US troops are in the Philippines, distributed in strategic areas from the north to the Muslim south. It is the largest number of US troops to be in the country in a decade. The US sees the Philippines as the second front in the war on terror and views Arroyo as one of its closest allies. It also intends to open new bases territories close to the region's vast oil and natural gas reserves.

GABRIELA Network condemns this obvious and pathetic ploy of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her cronies to set themselves up as the new Philippine dictatorship. We note that the whole thing: alleged conspiracies of the left and right; coup attempts by military officers - never court-martialed for their actions- stinks of the of the late Dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

We join with the people of the Philippines: from former President Cory Aquino, to the church to the mass movement, in demanding the ouster of Macapagal-Arroyo. We call on all men and women who believe in true democracy and liberation to join us in opposing this president's declaration of de facto martial law.

Here’s what You can do next…
DEMAND AN END TO THE DE FACTO MARTIAL LAW:
Call/Fax the Philippine Embassy: 202/467-9300 or 202/467-9417 (fax)
The SF Philippine Consulate General: 415/ 433-6666 to 69 or 415/ 421-2641 (fax)

Join GABRIELA Network’s demonstrations against the Bush – Arroyo Regime
Get in touch with us. We’d love to come and speak to you or your group.

Get more information - Good Sources include: http://www.bulatlat.com http://www.gabnet.org
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