Please join UP Rage Against US Aggression (UP RAGE)

Please join UP Rage Against US Aggression (UP RAGE)

N.B. - Below is the statement of UP Rage Against US Aggression (UP
RAGE) on the Balikatan 02-1 and US military aggression. UP RAGE is
formally launched as a UP-based broad alliance on February 5, 1 p.m. at
the UP CMC auditorium.

If you want to sign the UP RAGE petition, you may download at
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contend_up/files/> our two files
<rage.doc> and <petition.doc>. The first is a one-page layout of the
statement, while the second is a one-page signature sheet.

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No to Balikatan 02-1! No to US Aggression!

The University of the Philippines (UP) has a rich tradition of
denouncing policies that compromise Philippine sovereignty. True to its
role as a social critic, UP has helped mold public opinion through the
years by actively participating in various forms of mass actions.

In the context of US aggression, UP students, faculty and alumni have
campaigned against the extension of the US military bases that resulted
in the historic Senate rejection of the proposed Treaty of Friendship,
Cooperation and Security on September 16, 1991. The same is true for
the Visiting Forces Agreement where UP’s collective rage echoed not
only in UP campuses but also in the streets leading to the Philippine
Senate that unfortunately ratified it on May 27, 1999.

Now is the time to strengthen our commitment to uphold national
sovereignty and denounce US aggression! At present, the expansion of US
military hegemony becomes apparent with the Balikatan 02-1 which
started on 31 January 2002 and may last for six months in Basilan and
Zamboanga (the center of offensive military operations against the Abu
Sayyaf bandit group). More than 600 US troops and thousands of Filipino
soldiers are taking part in this unprecedented “joint military
exercise” that involves the use of live ammunition in actual combat
zones against live targets.

Unlike previous “Balikatan” exercises, the current joint US-RP activity
is held in areas where a shooting war could happen. Despite government
assurances that the Balikatan is good for the country, we are alarmed
by statements of officials like National Security Adviser Roilo Golez
who admits that “US soldiers will be at the rear of combat sorties in
Basilan “ Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, for his part, explains that
“in the course of this joint effort, we expect the Abu Sayyaf
neutralized and the hostages rescued.”

We believe that Balikatan 02-1 is not covered by the 1951 Mutual
Defense Treaty (MDT) and the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The
MDT only allows the entry of US troops in times of external aggression,
while the VFA is recognized only as an executive agreement (not as a
treaty) by the US. Balikatan 02-01 therefore violates the
Constitutional ban on the entry of foreign troops and facilities in the
absence of a treaty recognized by both the US and the Philippines.

In this vein, we therefore demand the following:

1. That the Macapagal-Arroyo government release to the public the
Operation Plan and Orders of Balikatan 02-1 including the mission,
situation, objectives, duration, forces, concept of operation and
logistics involved and, in particular, the role of US forces in such
exercises;
2. That the review or termination of the 1999 RP-US Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA) and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) be immediately
done to prevent future attempts to justify US armed interventions in
our internal affairs; and
3. That pending satisfactory resolution of the above issues, the
Balikatan 02-01 exercises be suspended and all US troops in the
Philippines be immediately pulled out.

UP Rage Against US Aggression (UP RAGE)
February 5, 2002