Anti-War Coalition Demands
Independent Investigation, Constant Monitoring: US AMBASSADOR'S LIES ABOUT
US BASES IN MINDA MERIT PROBE
MANILA - A broad coalition of anti-war advocates in the
Philippines
today slammed US Ambassador Kristie Kenney for lying about the US military
bases in the country, saying US troops themselves, as well as supporting
documents and easily verifiable facts, contradict her statement.
Stop the War Coalition, a broad and independent coalition of social
movements, NGOs, human rights groups, women’s, religious, students’, youth,
and other organizations, pointed out that it was the US Department of
Defense itself that officially announced the $14.4 million contract awarded
to a US military construction group for a unit that has been indefinitely
stationed in the south – the Joint Special Operations Task
Force-Philippines (JSOFT-P).
The US embassy itself has admitted that the US is building what it claims
to be "temporary” military structures. The Visiting Forces Commission has
also confirmed that the US maintains “living quarters” as well as stock
supplies in the south. US troops
themselves, in publicly available documents, refer to their structures in
Mindanao
as “advance operating base” or “forward operating base.”
“All these prove that Kenney is lying through her teeth,” the coalition
said in a statement released to the media.
The coalition also challenged the US’ description of the bases as
“temporary” by noting that the unit which uses them, the JSOTF-P, has not
been given an exit-date by the Philippine government and are therefore
staying in the country indefinitely.
This, the coalition pointed out, is a patent violation of the Philippine
constitution which states that “Foreign military bases, troops, or
facilities shall not be allowed in the
Philippines
except under a treaty …”. The Visiting Forces Agreement, which exempt US
troops from Philippine laws, cannot be construed as the treaty which allows
for this exemption, the coalition maintained.
The coalition agrees with Representative Crispin Beltran’s demand for an
independent inspection of the facilities but also called the establishment
of an independent body that will officially and continually monitor US
actions in the country.
While applauding Senator Aquilino Pimentel’s call for the government to
verify the existence of bases, they expressed doubt as to whether the
government would have the incentive to do so since it has been the
government that has permitted the US to build the bases
in the first place. The coalition instead urged Pimentel to call for a
Senate investigation into the issue.
