News
Burnham exposes military-Abu Sayyaf collusion
American missionary Gracia Burnham, who was held captive by the Abu Sayyaf for more than a year has confirmed the long-time collusion between AFP officials and the terrorist group.
In her book entitled In the Presence of my Enemies which came out in the US in the first week of May, Burnham revealed that an AFP general bargained with Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya for a share of the captives� ransom. The deal failed to push through because the general wanted too high a percentage.
Burnham also said that it was the AFP that supplied the Abu Sayyaf with medicine, rice and other foodstuff. She said soldiers would leave the items by the roadside whenever the Abu Sayyaf passed areas near military detachments. She also said that the military supplied the bandits their weapons and ammunition.
Gracia�s husband Martin, who was captured with her, died in a failed rescue operation on June 7, 2002. Gracia was hit in the leg and one other captive, a Filipino, was killed.
The collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf had earlier been exposed by other captives and by Lamitan, Basilan parish priest Fr. Cirilo Nacorda. According to Fr. Nacorda, the AFP purposely allowed the bandits to escape when the Abu Sayyaf attacked Lamitan in 2001. But nothing came out of the investigation on their complaints.
As a result of Burnham�s revelations, a congressman has filed a resolution calling for the reinvestigation of the Lamitan incident. Meanwhile, the senate plans to issue subpoenas to the military officials involved in the incident. Among them are Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez (now chief of the Northern Luzon Command), Col. Juvenal Narcise and Maj. Eliseo Campued.
Dean Malay passes away
Dean Armando J. Malay passed away on May 15 at the age of 89, leaving behind a brilliant record of six decades of struggle as a patriotic journalist, activist and human rights advocate.
Malay started out as a reporter in 1935. For fighting the Marcos dictatorship, he was incarcerated along with the entire editorial board of WE Forum in 1982. They were acquitted of subversion after the EDSA I uprising in 1986.
Along with progressive and revolutionary forces, Malay set up a number of human rights organizations that defended the people�s rights and welfare. He had a long and fruitful friendship with the Communist Party. (AB will publish a longer article on Dean Malay in its next issue)
Peasant leader summarily executed
Melencio Gloriani, 51, an officer of the Kalipunan ng mga Magsasaka sa Kabite-KMP was found dead by relatives on May 9, a few days after he was arrested by the Philippine National Police. His body was riddled with bullets when it was found at Sitio Kapantayan, Barangay Bucal, Maragondon, Cavite.
Meanwhile, his two companions, peasant activists Ronilo Pagao, 22 and Gerry Ciacos are still detained at Camp Pantaleon in Imus on charges of being members of the New People�s Army.
Human rights violations intensifying in Region 11
No less than the Commission on Human Rights has admitted that cases of human rights violations in Region 11 (Southern Mindanao) are on the rise. Sixty-seven cases were filed in the first quarter of this year�116.3% higher compared to the same period last year. The cases included attempted murder (12), assault (17) and intimidation (6) as well as shooting, bombings, arson, rape, coercion, abduction, illegal arests and illegal detention.
Mabini death centenary observed
The 100th year of Apolinario Mabini�s death was commemorated on May 13. Mabini, known as the �Sublime Paralytic,� was born in 1864 in Tanauan, Batangas. Although he came from a poor family, Mabini was able to finish law in 1894 through his own perseverance. Not long after, he joined the Katipunan.
Due to an illness, he became a paralytic in January 1896. Despite his condition, he was imprisoned by the Spanish colonialists from 1896 to 1897 for his involvement in the Katipunan.
He served as prime minister of the First Philippine Republic when it was declared in June 1898. He was captured by the American colonialists in 1899 and exiled to Guam.
Allowed to return to the Philippines in 1903, US officials demanded that he swear allegiance to the American flag. Unlike other officials of the First Republic, Mabini refused to kowtow to the foreign occupation forces until his death from cholera on May 13, 1903.
Ba�ez-AGILE collusion bared
A congressman has exposed the collusion between former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner Rene Ba�ez and AGILE, an institution set up by the US CIA, to destroy the BIR and put up the Internal Revenue Management Authority to cover up the huge anomalies committed by BIR officials.
Ba�ez�s grant of billions of pesos worth of tax breaks to the Metro Pacific Group of Companies, where he formerly worked, was one of the factors behind the fall in BIR collections last year, said Southern Leyte congressman Aniceto Saludo. It is estimated that the BIR failed to collect up to P38 billion in taxes due to this anomaly. Metro Pacific includes corporate giants like PLDT, Smart, Piltel, Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation and Negros Navigation.
Saludo said that the regime makes it appear that it is ordinary BIR employees who are at fault for the decline in collections to cover up Ba�ez�s involvement in graft and corruption.
PIATCO contract cancelled
After extorting and benefiting from it, the Arroyo regime eventually cancelled the Philippine International Air Terminals Inc.�s (PIATCO) contract. PIATCO was assigned to build the NAIA Terminal 3.
As early as last year, Macapagal-Arroyo had wanted to boot out the Cheng family, the project�s lead investors, as a favor to Lucio Tan who wanted control over all international and local airport terminals. The Supreme Court�s cancellation of the contract this May leaves Lucio Tan�s group free to enter the fray and reap the spoils from the fully constructed NAIA Terminal 3.
PIATCO is now demanding that the government return the $500 million it spent in building the terminal. Macapagal-Arroyo and her cohorts are sure to rake in millions of dollars once more from the scheduled negotiation for the reimbursement of PIATCO�s expenditures.
Indonesia declares martial law in Aceh
Up to 45,000 Indonesian troops attacked Aceh after Indonesia declared martial law on May 19. The declaration was made after talks collapsed between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government due to GAM�s refusal to give up its bid for independence in exchange for autonomy. Indonesia has accused GAM of torching 30 schools, using this as the pretext for the invasion.
GAM has been fighting for an independent Aceh for close to 27 years. The province which lies in northern Indonesia, is strategic to Indonesia and the imperialist countries because of its rich oil and natural gas resources.
North Korea pulls out of anti-nuke treaty
North Korea (Democratic People�s Republic of Korea or DPRK) backed out May 13 from a treaty with South Korea banning nuclear arms in the entire Korean peninsula. The DPRK said that the US has rendered the accord meaningless.
The Bush administration has systematically and completely destroyed the denuclearization process in the Korean peninsula, said the DPRK in a statement. �Thus, the declaration of the Korean peninsula�s denuclearization has become a dead document.�
For months, the US has been coercing North Korea into scrapping its nuclear arms program. North Korea has asserted that arming itself will deter threatened US aggression.
CPN(M) removal from terror list urged
Forty-five parties and organizations from various countries urged on May 4 the removal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or CPN(M) from the US list of supposed terrorists.
The organizations, which included the NDFP, participated in the 12th International Communist Seminar held in Brussels, Belgium.
The US included the CPN(M) and the United People�s Front (UPF) which the CPN(M) leads, in its list of �terrorists� on April 30, with the goal of blocking the ongoing peace talks in Nepal.
The 45 organizations likewise called for the expulsion of 48 American military advisers of the reactionary government and expressed support for the peace process in Nepal.
Commander of US troops in Iraq charged
Nineteen Iraqis filed charges against Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of American forces in Iraq, as well as other US officials, for crimes against humanity. Among others, they have been accused of indiscriminately killing Iraqi civilians, bombing a marketplace, targetting ambulances and failing to stop the massive and indiscriminate looting of hospitals. There is strong evidence that the US not only allowed the looting to take place but even encouraged it.
The Iraqis� lawyer Jan Fermons has filed the case in Belgium under a law allowing Belgian courts to try anyone, even foreigners, for war crimes committed in any part of the world.
The US has warned the Belgian government against trying the case. The case, however, is in danger of coming to nought because of a provision in Belgian law that states that such cases should be filed in the accused�s country of origin if the accused comes from a �democratic� country.
Strike paralyzes France
Up to two million workers struck against the French government�s new pension system, paralyzing the country for almost the entire day on May 13.
Up to 80% of international and local flights were cancelled. Ships and trains also came to a standstill. Many hospitals and schools closed down, as did the postal service. Up to 700,000 joined 100 protest actions held nationwide.
The workers struck to oppose a new law requiring them to work for an additional two and a half years before retiring and enjoying full pension benefits.
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