Protest actions against war of agression and reaction continue in the Philippines
On October 10, more than 1,000 workers, peasants, urban poor, women, youth and Muslim groups belonging to the Justice Not War Coalition (JWC) once again rallied in front of the US embassy in Manila to protest the US military attacks on Afghanistan and the Macapagal-Arroyo regime's support for these actions.
"With the way Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been unhesitatingly defending the US and Britain's war of aggression against Afghanistan, she has proven herself to be the primary puppet of US imperialism in Southeast Asia," explained Ka Mameng Deunida, leader of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay.
On October 3, member organizations of the JWC sponsored Oplan Tanghalian for a number of politicians, Moro community leaders, churchworkers, artists and professors. They also issued the call for a P125 across-the-board wage increase for workers and put forward the slogan "dagdag na sahod at pagkain sa mesa, hindi imperyalistang gera" (more wages and food on the table, not imperialist war)."
Simultaneous with this protest action, rallies, noise barrages and gatherings were held in the cities of Baguio, Naga, Cebu, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, General Santos and Davao.
In Bacolod, Moro communities condemned the US-led war because the US, they said, had no strong evidence that Osama bin Laden was behind the criminal attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11. According to representatives of Muslim Brotherhood, Inc., Muslims all over the world are opposed to US bombings against the major strongholds of the Taliban. The Moros also stated that they support the jihad declared by the Taliban. They said that they threw their support behind the Taliban-declared jihad as soon as they learned that their Muslim brothers and sisters were being affected by the bombings.
In Iligan, a peace rally was launched by Christians and Muslims on October 10 to protest all forms of terrorism against innocents.
In Lanao, around 10,000 Maranaos decided to join the Taliban-declared jihad to help defend the civilians among their Muslim brothers and sisters who were being trapped by the US war.
In separate assemblies in Mindanao, the Catholic church disapproved of the US' targetting of civilians, and stated that "the roots of terrorist action must be specified in order to find a long-term solution to the problem". The church also said that "if we seek justice, we ourselves must not become terrorists."
Before this, the Justice Not War Coalition launched a week-long protest from September 25-30. It began with a Gabriela-led women's march on September 25 at Mendiola, which was considered a preparation for the International Day of Action against the US war of aggression in Afghanistan that was launched on October 27 (October 28 in the Philippines).
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