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ZAMBOANGA CITY: A senior Filipino military commander doused fears of
human rights violations and abuses by soldiers who will participate
in a joint RP-US Balikatan training in southern Philippines.
Balikatan, which means
“shoulder-to-shoulder,” is the codename of the joint antiterror
drill held each year since 2001. The training will begin February 18
in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Lanao, where
militant and anti-US activists are opposing the war games.
“There is nothing wrong with the Balikatan,
and troops will concentrate on humanitarian and medical missions in
the provinces,” said Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western
Mindanao Command, which has jurisdiction over half of the region.
“Our only aim is to help the people through various humanitarian
activities and nothing more.”
Some 6,000 American and Filipino soldiers are
expected to participate in the Balikatan, but most of the military
training exercise would be held in Luzon.
But hundreds of US troops have been deployed in
Zamboanga City and Sulu since last year where they are helping the
local military fight terrorism.
Militant groups and activists opposed to US
presence in the Philippines said they would stage simultaneous
rallies in the province to protest the holding of the Balikatan.
They accused US troops stationed in Sulu of human rights violations
after soldiers forcibly closed down a government hospital in Panamao
town last year.
Last week, a motorcycle rider was injured after
a US soldier driving a jeep hit a Filipino man outside a military
base in Zamboanga City and fled the scene before policemen could
arrive to investigate.
A teenager was also shot and seriously wounded
by a US soldier while gathering firewood near a firing range in
Zamboanga City. US soldiers participating in previous Balikatan in
Zamboanga and Sulu also chased and detained journalists and
prevented them from taking pictures and videos of the foreigners in
public places.
Amirah Ali Lidasan, president of the Suara
Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), urged President Gloria Arroyo
to scrap the Balikatan because of the abuses involving the US
troops.
“Suara Bangsamoro calls on President Arroyo to
heed the call of the Moro people and the people of Mindanao and put
a stop to the Balikatan exercises. We also hope that our
peace-loving legislators in the Senate and Congress will look into
the complaints of the victims,” she said.
“American officials and their soldiers should
be made answerable to the complaints made by civilians against
them,” Lidasan said, citing an incident that occurred in December
in Zamboanga City where passengers of a motorcycle taxi complained
at a radio station about US soldiers who rammed their vehicle.
“Instead of helping the victims to get up, US
soldiers got down from their vehicle complete with high-powered guns
that according to the complainants looked like they were going to
war. Ordinary citizens of Mindanao have been exposed to the
impertinent attitudes of the US soldiers, and this is aggravated if
government officials do not act on it,” Lidasan said.
While criticizing arrogance of some US troops,
Lidasan praised Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez for apprehending
armed American servicemen at a restaurant.
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