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Bombings in Davao
The US-Macapagal-Arroyo regime plotted the bombings in Davao to justify further military rule and imperialist intervention
The perpetrators of the April 3 and March 4 bombings in Davao City are one and the same: the US-Macapagal-Arroyo regime.
On April 3, a bomb was detonated at the Sasa Wharf in Davao City, killing 16 persons. Hours later, four mosques in the city were bombed and strafed and still other bombs exploded in other parts of Mindanao. Meanwhile, more than 20 were killed in the bombing of Davao City airport on March 4.
All these acts of terrorism have the same purpose: to create the conditions for the escalation of repression and imperialist intervention in the Philippines. The regime intends to make the bombings appear as the handiwork of Moros � particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, supposedly in collusion with the Abu Sayyaf, the al Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiah. The regime likewise concocted the story that the New People's Army was also involved in the March 4 and subsequent bombings. The regime also aims to bolster its "terrorist" tag on the MILF and NPA and sabotage the peace talks between the government and the revolutionary forces.
To put further stress on the story that Moros were behind the explosions, the actual perpetrators lay the blame on just about any Moro individual. Immediately after the bombing on March 4, the regime released an obviously fabricated letter purportedly from Hamsiraji Sali of the Abu Sayyaf implicating the MILF and the NPA in the bombing. An innocent Moro who was waiting for arriving relatives and was killed in the bombing was accused of being a suicide bomber. Nine alleged MILF forces were arbitrarily arrested by the regime. The April 3 bombing and strafing of mosques were later added to the scene to make it appear that non-Moros were retaliating. More than 50 Moro civilians have already been arrested and five more have been abducted and are still missing.
These terrorist attacks are but a continuation of a plan hatched by the Pentagon and the CIA. US Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld ordered Defense Sec. Angelo Reyes to execute the plan during the latter's visit to the US just days before the bombing at the Davao City airport. Such schemes are desperate attempts to sidestep strong protests and circumvent the constitutional ban on American troops engaging in combat operations in the Philippines. The US wants to concentrate its forces on the NPA and the MILF. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo barefacedly exploited the tragedy for her image-building. She hypocritically announced that she will donate the 1 million peso fund intended for her grand birthday bash to pursue the perpetrators.
A day after the bombing, Arroyo placed under a "state of unlawful violence" not only Davao but the whole of Regions 11 and 12. The regime wants to use the incident as a pretext for the immediate enactment of fascist bills like the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the National ID system that are being pushed by the US and Malacañang.
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 07 April 2003
English Edition
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Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and standpoint on current issues.
AB comes out fortnightly. It is published originally in Pilipino and translated into Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.
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