International protests mark 103rd anniversary of start of Filipino-American War

For Immediate Release
BAYAN Bay Area
Contact Person: Jane/Roy Comandao (415) 407-0161; Mario Santos (510) 427-2203; Pat (510) 206-3647
January 31, 2002

International protests mark 103rd anniversary of the start of the Filipino-American War

BAYAN International-USA holds US-wide protest actions against US military intervention

BAYAN International-USA based in Los Angeles and its allied organizations all over the US will commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the beginning of the Filipino-American War, February 4, 1899, and protest the escalating US intervention in the Philippines with the start of the BALIKATAN War Exercises in Mindanao. A picket/rally will be held Tuesday, February 5, 2002 in front of the Philippine Consulate at 447 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

Member-organizations of BAYAN Bay Area, such as AnakBayan, Filipino Workers’ Association (FWA) –San Francisco, First Quarter Storm Movement (FQSM) – Northern California, International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) – Bay Area and the Philippine Information Network Services (PINS) are organizing the February 5 action in San Francisco. Many other anti-war solidarity organizations are also participating in the protest action.

In Los Angeles, a rally/vigil will take place a day earlier on February 4 the anniversary date itself in front of the Philippine consulate to be organized by BAYAN International Los Angeles. In Chicago, a picket in front of the Philippine consulate will also be on February 4 led by BAYAN allied organizations like Philippine Solidarity Committee, League of Filipino Students (PSC) and others.

Meanwhile, the multisectoral Inang Bayan is leading a picket on February 3 in time of President Arroyo's participation to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the meeting of the world’s political and corporate elite. BAYAN allied organizations will also take part in two of the largest blocs protesting corporate globalization, the Anti-Imperialist Bloc and the Another World Is Possible (AWIP) coalition.

In Seattle, a forum on US intervention will be held on February 12 at Seattle University to be organized by AnakBayan-Seattle, Filipino Workers’ Action Center and others; while in Washington DC, a TV forum-discussion is being organized by Diwang Iisa sa Wastong Adhikain (DIWA) and other Filipino organizations.

Joe Navidad, BAYAN International-USA National Coordinator said, "We commemorate the Centennial of the Filipino-American War that started on February 4, 1899 when the American troops fired on the Filipino forces guarding the San Juan Bridge. This US military adventurism goaded the US Congress to pass the Treaty of Paris by one vote. The US subsequently annexed the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico and the US became a world power. The Filipinos especially the Muslims in Mindanao dragged the US to military campaigns until 1916. It is reported that 1.4 million Filipinos perished in the duration of the war."

“At present, the US with the connivance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her defense Secretary General Angelo Reyes deployed more than 600 Special Forces troops in the Philippines in so-called ‘joint military exercises’ and military operations against the bandit Abu Sayyaf Group. To us, this tramples our national sovereignty and our country’s territorial integrity and is a blatant violation of the Philippine constitution," the BAYAN International-USA statement said.

US President Bush himself confirmed in his state of the union address that the US troops are in the Philippines to "train, help and advise" the Filipino troops and warned, "If other nations are not going to do, we will," referring to the campaign against "global terrorism."

"On February 3-5, BAYAN International-USA joins nationalist and progressive forces in the Philippines that are staging nationwide protests against US intervention by launching our own US-wide coordinated mass actions. We demand that President Macapagal-Arroyo stop her puppetry to US interests and instead focus on genuine socio-economic development especially for the country’s poor. She should also free herself from the clutches of the military and pursue genuine peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDFP and the MILF," the BAYAN statement concluded. #