12 Aug, 2002, From LINK ARMS 2002 NETWORK
Please share this and study it in discussion groups with all persons and groups concerned.
LAUNCH FORUMS, MOBILIZATIONS, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES!
U.S. TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES NOW! EXPOSE AND OPPOSE THE IMPACTS OF POST-911 LAWS AND POLICIES ON FILIPINOS AND IMMIGRANTS! JUSTICE FOR AIRPORT SCREENERS NOW! JUSTICE FOR ABSCONDERS, JUSTICE FOR ALL! G.M.A. OUT!
In response to recent events, August and September 2002 are a crucial period to carry-out more intensified mass political work, campaigns and education amongst the Filipino community, American peoples, people-of-color, allies, supporters, and throughout international networks.
We must continue the mass campaigns and political calls of our network and launch new initiatives among the people to build a stronger movement, lobby the U.S. government and increase public press and media coverage to expose the conditions of the Filipino people (including Filipinos in the US) and its contradiction with the US-Arroyo tandem.
GMA's recent declaration of all-out war against the New People's Army is linked to the desperate attempt of drumming-up support for her administration due to her huge decline in popularity among the Filipino people. GMA has exposed herself as a puppet to US imperialism and also as anti-people to the Filipino workers, peasants and petty-bourgeois. Organizations now in the Philippines are calling for her immediate exit or for her downfall and defeat in the 2004 elections.
GMA's declaration of all-out war against the New People's Army has a significant meaning for the legal movement of peoples and organizations who do not bear arms openly against the US-Arroyo regime. Her declaration assists in the black propaganda and red-baiting against any individual or group who has a legitimate criticism, cause and opposition against the U.S.-Arroyo regime. It paves the way to tag anyone as “terrorist” and degrades the efforts of the broad masses of people who believe in moving towards or supporting the legitimate demands of national liberation, freedom and democracy for the Filipino people.
All-out peace should be the program and efforts of the United States Government and Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). Peace talks should resume between the GRP and National Democratic Front (NDF) based on previously reached agreements, steps and processes such as those in the Hague Declaration and the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL).
Although, GMA's prounounement of all-out war signifies a move towards greater authoritarian rule, there have been occuring human rights violations and killings by the Philippine military and Arroyo death squads (a.k.a.-CAFGU-Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units) ever since; and, they must be exposed as they have always been going on before her declaration of all-out war. Human rights vioations against innocent civilians can be expected to increase. Human rights violations became rampant and significantly increased in the post-September 11 fast-tracking of US's “global war against terrorism” and due to the deployment of US military advisors US troops to the Philippines in January for Balikatan 01 and April for Balikatan 02.
Following Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the Philippines in early August, which came with a military aid package of US$55 million and the bargaining of the Mutual Support Logistics Agreement (MLSA), the U.S. quickly placed the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on the list of global terrorist organizations on August 9 as publically declared in the Federal Register. This is significant to the Filipinos and supporters in the peace movement in the U.S., in that it can clamp down on, red-bait and tag as “terrorists”, anyone in the U.S. who supports national democracy, liberation, and peace for the Filipino people.
Secret counter-intelligence operations (a.k.a.-Co-intel Pro) by the Federal Burea of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are assumed to be in place and the Bush administration is pushing for the public TIPS program, which calls on American citizens, public utility workers and neighbors to “snitch” on and do surveillance of businesses and individuals who are reportedly doing ‘suspicious pro-terrorist behavior’. As well, the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) are offering “S” visas, (a.k.a.-"snitch" visas), to any immigrant wanting a visa, who may provide evidence on persons linked to “terrorist” activity.
Organizations in the U.S. must fight the suspension and decline of civil liberties in the United States due to the pretext of the “international war against terrorism”. In addition, law groups are encouraging that personal and group security measures must be strengthened among U.S.-based groups who carry a pro-peace agenda and work with people's organizations in the Philippines, as these will be the first targets of U.S. red-baiting and investigation by the U.S. government in fighting “terrorism” on the Asian front.
In spite of the U.S. prounouncement, mass campaign work and education criticizing the US-Arroyo regime can continue because the concerns of human rights, peace, social justice, US troop deployment in the Philippines and against US imperialism are legitimate demands of the people.
IMPACT OF SEPT 11 The impact of the September 11 tragedy is the context in which all our campaigns and issues can link. Intensified immigrant scapegoating and immigrant-bashing have been the standard operating procedure of the U.S. government. Civil liberties of citizens as well have been suspended. Foreign military intervention has increased. The theme of the impacts of 911 can clearly run through and either be featured or touched upon in all our campaign propaganda, education and statements.
We can educate and expose how US anti-immigrant, anti-Filipino, anti-people and foreign aggression have been ongoing for the Filipio people and overseas Filipinos since 1898; and, we can link this to its intensification and worsening for the people, since the September 11 tragedy. There are many examples and many experiences that we can gather from the people.
For example, post-911 legislation approved the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) has called for the mass termination and lay-offs of over 1000 Filipino immigrants and over 7,000 immigrants nationwide who are not U.S. citizens.
Post 911 legislation also put into effect the Absconder Apprehension Initiative, which led to the arrest, detention and deportation of William Manalastas and 62 other Filipinos, deported en masse to the Philippines last August 2002. This is the largest mass deportation of Filipinos on one air flight in recent history. Filipinos now top the list among Asian deportees.
More examples can come from the mass bases and people that organizations work with and serve.
New initiatives by Filipino organizations in launching forums and petition drives on the Absconders issue have bee reported in various cities. A special national mass campaign under the call “Justice for Absconders, Justice for All Immigrants” is underway. All organizations who support immigrants rights can become members of this national campaign, both Filipino and non-Filipino. A broad network of “personalities” is forming which includes academics, church persons, lawyers and other “personalities” is underway, which will play a lead role in initiating and leading the campaign. Persons in different cities can help in identifying “personalities” for this list as well as organizations to join the campaign. In areas where forums are not yet planned, groundworking can be done to pave the way for broad alliance work and forums or other activities to take place.
Coming out of the Link Arms, Raise Fists Conference, the first resolution was followed-up, regarding lobbying the US government on human rights violations and protesting the Balikatan 02. The initial assessment is that less than 10 faxes were sent to the US Human Rights Caucus; and the number of e-mails sent to them is unknown. This is a fairly weak response, considering the mobilization of over 300 persons nationally to the conference itself. Measures must be taken to strengthen the capacity of increasing the national response to campaign calls and campaign actions.
A second resolution was for a US-wide national network to form. This will greatly increase the capacity to strengthen national response to national calls for action. A post-Conference Action Resolution committee composed of National Steering Committee persons of the Conference will pave the way to implement the national network. The character of the national network is to pave the way for multiple-issues to be run through the same national campaign machinery. However, even when doing this special issue-based formations can be formed to gather the broadest support for any specific issue, which can extend beyond the established national campaign machinery coalition or alliance.
The third resolution is related to title of this communicae,which is to launch mobilizations, forums and other activities during Augest and September 2002. The Link Arms Conference resolution was to commemorate the Sept. 16-ousting of the U.S. military bases and Sept. 21-declaration of martial-law in the Philippines, as well as Sept.11-one-year anniversary of 911 tragedy. All of our campaign calls can be conveniently featured or touched upon under these commemorations because they are all linked. As well, many exposurists from the International Solidarity Mission have returned, and the issue of absconders, airport screeners, civil liberties, GMA, US troops can all be points of education to the public.
As well, our public education can include recent international situationers. The move by the Bush administration to go into an Iraqi war does not have the united support of all US Congressional members nor of the Eurpean countries. Germany has outrightly said it wouldn't support the US going into Iraq, and England is proceeding with caution. This shows that contradictions amongst the imperialists are also coming to a head. The US superpower through its unilateral war declarations and aggression is in desparate need to expand its US economic interests, in a shrinking world of neo-colonial countries. The US is desperate to do this because of its current economic crisis due to over-production and staggering unemployment rates. Other imperialist countries as well need the Third World natural resources and labor.
The US has been projecting through the media a “flip-flopping” stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but its stance is essentially only to support Israel in order to de-stabilize the entire Middle East region for US interests in oil.
In Columbia, the US is now allowing US financial aid to be directly used for military purposes against the guerilla movement, FARC. US$1.5 billion can be used for this purpose. This is a change in the open policy for the US, although it is not a change in its continuing policy to oversee imperialism in that county. The U.S. has been longtime been giving aid to Columbia under the pretext of drug enforcement, but which has been used to repress the peoples movement in that country. In addition, in South America the economic meltdown of Argentina is spreading to other countries in that region. So, globalization too, continues to take its toll on the people. And peoples movements in opposition to US imperialism and their puppets is on the rise.
Sincerely,
Jay Mendoza, North American Steering Committee, Link Arms 2002 Conference
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