The arrival of the USS Vandergrift warship in
Cagayan de Oro for purportedly goodwill activities in the city is
questionable as it is unwelcome. It comes only a month after the people of
Mindanao waged widespread protests against the Balikatan exercises.
The US Navy ship's arrival has surprised the people in Cagayan de Oro. It
is also sinister that prior to arriving in Cagayan, the Vandergrift visited
General Santos City's Makar Wharf last March 11 to 12, according to the
government website of the said city.
How the the USS Vandergrift is freely entering ports in Mindanao is
suspect. Whether this is part of the areas covered in the terms of
reference in Balikatan 08, the Philippine government must answer.
The USS Vandegrift, by any means, is not on a goodwill mission. It is a
guided-missile frigate that is the flagship of the commander of the Seventh
Fleet. It had played crucial logistics support for the US military in wars
in the Persian Gulf. It is the first US military ship that docked in Vietnam
30 years since the defeat of American forces in the Vietnam War. Its
critical role in the political and military agenda of the US in the
Philippines can not therefore be underestimated.
This so-called goodwill visit cannot erase from our minds the recent report
of a Filipina OFW raped by a US serviceman in Okinawa, Japan last February
18 (as the Balikatan exercises commenced in Mindanao). American forces have
not shown goodwill in many parts of the globe, surely we can not expect the
same in Mindanao. For that we cannot simply allow US war vessels and troops
to come in freely and roam our cities, now do we simply surrender our
sovereignty.
Vandegrift's message is unmistakeable: the US brings its humanitarian and
goodwill intentions at the tip of the barrel of the cannon.
Atty. Beverly Selim-Musni
Convenor, Out Now! Mindanao
Mobile # 0920-920-0522
