News
�GMA, traitor!�
Over 2,500 activists lashed out against Gloria Arroyo�s betrayal of the aspirations of EDSA II on January 20. Some 1,500 persons gathered in Iloilo City and over 1,000 marched along EDSA that day to commemorate the third anniversary of the EDSA uprising that ousted the Estrada regime and installed Arroyo in power. The demonstrators said that Arroyo betrayed the promises she made during EDSA II because of the serious corruption, puppetry and repression of her regime.
In Metro Manila, demonstrators led by BAYAN attempted to rally in front of the EDSA shrine but were blocked by police while they were still one kilometer away from it. Members of KMU, KMP, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women�s Party, Anak ng Bayan, Migrante, Kairos and other organizations were among those who joined the protest action.
Palparan deployed to Iraq
Gloria Arroyo approved on January 15 the deployment of Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan as head of the 96-man group of AFP soldiers that would supposedly help in Iraq�s rehabilitation. As head of the Philippine contingent in Iraq, Palparan will be enjoying a higher allowance (aside from his salary as a general) and additional benefits.
Palparan was deployed to Iraq so he could evade cases of grave human rights violations in Mindoro. Palparan was formerly the commander of the butcher 204th Brigade which was responsible for the murder of many activists and civilians suspected of supporting the revolutionary movement. The most prominent case involved the summary execution of KARAPATAN-ST secretary-general Eden Marcellana and KASAMA-TK chair Eddie Gumanoy in Oriental Mindoro in April 2003.
Despite his bloody record, Arroyo rewarded Palparan by promoting him to general in 2002. She made a show of suspending the promotion after it met with much criticism, and quietly assigned Palparan as deputy commander of the Philippine Army 2nd ID. Palparan had not occupied the position for a year when he was once again granted a position of privilege.
MSP holds lightning rally on 25th anniversary
Some 50 activists from the health sector staged a lightning rally in a number of crowded streets in Metro Manila on December 5, the eve of the 25th founding anniversary of the Makabayang Samahang Pangkalusugan (MSP � Patriotic Health Association).
The MSP called for the overthrow of the Arroyo regime, which it said was no different from previous puppet regimes.
The MSP, a national-democratic underground mass organization, is one of the 17 allied organizations under the NDFP. At present, it has members among doctors, nurses, hospital workers and students, among others who belong to the health sector in various regions of the country.
Number of US forces killed in action in Iraq exceeds 500 mark
The number of American soldiers killed in continued fighting in Iraq has exceeded the 500 mark. The latest additions were three soldiers killed when a bomb was detonated on January 17 under their Bradley cargo armored vehicle in the town of Mashahidah, 30 kilometers north of Baghdad. Two members of the Iraqi Civil Defense were also killed, while two more troops of the US Army 4th Infantry Division were wounded. The Humvee vehicles that were following it were also burned down.
Before this, nine American soldiers were killed when Iraqi guerrillas used a surface-to-air missile to bring down a US Black Hawk helicopter in the southeastern part of Fallujah. On January 7, guerrillas rained mortars on the Seitz Logistical Base west of Baghdad. One soldier was killed and 34 wounded among the troops of the US Army 541st Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Corps Support Command.
US bombs Afghan civilians
Four children were among the eleven civilians killed when American soldiers bombed their community on the night of January 18. A US helicopter bombed a house in Saghatho village, Deh Rawood town, Char Chino District in Uruzgan province. In December, at least 30 civilians, 15 of them children, were killed in US military operations.
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