November 18, 2001
Sunday, November 18, 3:30-5:00pm at the Philippine Consulate
556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th & 46th Streets Manhattan
Dear sisters and brothers of R&R!,
We are writing to you about an important demonstration next Sunday in Manhattan. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is visiting the U.S. from November 16-20. OFFICIALLY she will address the UN, visit Ground Zero at the World Trade Center, and mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty with President Bush.
IN FACT, Arroyo is coming to NYC and Washington D.C. for meetings with U.S. government and business leaders to:
(1) Arrange for increased aid and weaponry for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which has a long history of human rights violations;
(2) Pledge support for the U.S. "war on terrorism" (President Arroyo has been the point person in East Asia for U.S. global war plans since 9/11); and
(3) Draw up plans for direct U.S. military action (or "joint operations"
with the AFP) in the Muslim areas of the southern Philippines.
The PRETEXT for these plans to escalate U.S.-led military operations in the Philippines is the Abu Sayyaf group, a small gang of Islamic terrorists. Like Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, they were trained and funded by the CIA in Afghanistan in the 1980's. The Abu Sayyaf has a reputation for violent attacks on civilians. It is currently holding a number of hostages, including two Americans, on the southernmost islands of the Philippines.
However, the ACTUAL CASUALTIES at Ground Zero in the Philippines will not be the Abu Sayyaf terrorists--but tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Using U.S- supplied airplanes and guns, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue to focus ITS terrorist attacks on progressive, non-terrorist organizations such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the leftist National Democratic Front, which have widespread popular support in the southern Philippines.
While GMA visits her masters in Washington D.C. to beg for more money and weapons, her government is NOT doing anything to effectively address the 75% rate of poverty in the Philippines. The Filipino people badly need genuine land reform and national industrialization to create jobs at living wages. Instead, GMA and the wealthy elite she represents have exported 10% of the population of the Philippines to support the floundering economy.
For ALL concerned people, organizations and communities in the NY-NJ area, November 18 will be an opportunity to:
Oppose any U.S. military or economic aid to the Philippine government, which routinely uses terrorist methods against its own people;
Voice our united opposition to the brutal U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan; and
Publicize and oppose the plans of Bush & Co. to expand their "war on terrorism" to the Philippines, Iraq, Colombia or any other part of the world.
***************
The Inang Bayan (Motherland) Movement invites you to join this demonstration and to become a co-sponsor. It will be held on:
Sunday, November 18, 3:30-5:00pm at the Philippine Consulate
556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th & 46th Streets Manhattan
Sponsored by: Inang Bayan (Motherland) Movement: A coalition of the Philippine Forum, Filipino Workers Center, DAMAYAN Domestic Workers Organization, MAKABAYAN Youth, Filipino Organization for Women's Advancement, Rights, and Dignity (FORWARD), Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines (NISPOP) and the cultural group Kinding Sindaw.
Co-sponsors (list in formation): War is Not the Answer Coalition, Haiti Support Network, Nicaragua Solidarity Network/NYC, International Action Center, Queers for Racial and Economic Justice, New York Committees of Correspondence.
To sign on or for more information, please call 212-741-6806 x FWC, or write to philforum@juno.com
JOIN US at the Philippine Consulate on NOVEMBER 18!
[posted 11/12/01]
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