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June 17, 2002, Asian Political News, Protests mar Philippine Independence Day celebration,

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June 17, 2002, Asian Political News, Protests mar Philippine Independence Day celebration,


 

MANILA, June 12 Kyodo -- At least 150 protesters on Wednesday held a rally near the tightly guarded U.S. Embassy in Manila to denounce anew the presence of U.S. troops in the country and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's support for the troop presence.

 

The protesters, carrying placards and banners, urged the U.S. troops to ''go home,'' and accused Arroyo of being a ''puppet'' of the U.S. A few blocks away, Arroyo led a festive Independence Day celebration attended by a few hundred people.

 

The protesters said Arroyo's decision to allow the U.S. troops to take part a joint counterterrorism exercise in the southern Philippines ''makes a mockery out of the independence day.''

 

''Arroyo and her generals' insistence that more American troops are required to crush the Abu Sayyaf betrays the fact that despite 104 years of Philippine independence Philippine independence refers to the struggles of the Filipinos for independence from colonial rule —first by Spain, and then by the United States.

 

The Philippine-American War, with its devastating use of military force, was a prime example of American might at the , the government and the Philippine armed forces are still hopelessly dependent on the U.S.,'' said Teodoro Casino, secretary general of the left-leaning organization Bayan.

 

There are at least 1,000 U.S. troops in the country to help train Philippine troops in the fight against Abu Sayyaf rebels, who have alleged links to the al-Qaida terrorist network.

 

Police barred the protesters from going near the embassy compound.

 

A similar protest action was also held in Davao City The City of Davao: De Facto Capital of Mindanao (Tagalog:Lungsod ng Dabaw; Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Dabaw) is one of the most important cities in the Philippines and the chief city of the island of Mindanao. in the southern Philippines.

 

Unfazed by the protest actions, Arroyo urged the people to unleash what she called the nation's collective ''just wrath'' on the Abu Sayyaf. She added that now is the time to regain freedom from the terrorists that had wrought havoc and cost much bloodshed in the southern Philippines.

 

In her Independence Day message at Rizal park, where she called for greater patriotism among the people, Arroyo said there is no one to blame for the ''poverty, chaos and fear'' in the southern Philippines but the Abu Sayyaf. 

 

The same time last year, Arroyo cited the ''barbarism and material greed'' of the Abu Sayyaf after the group beheaded American Guillermo Sobero, who with 19 others including an American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burhnam, were abducted May 27 from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan Province. 

 

In her messages at the Malacanang presidential palace, she said the time is ripe for eliminating once and for all the Abu Sayyaf scourge as the group no longer has any hostages and her administration is safe from the threat of any coup attempts. 

 

Arroyo earlier led flag-raising rites in Lamitan town in the southern Philippines' Basilan Province, and spent Tuesday night in a convent that the Abu Sayyaf tried to raid on June 2 last year. She's the first Philippine president to do so. 

 

She said the entire country should look at the example being set by Lamitan, which was rent apart by events of the past year, when Abu Sayyaf members stormed the town with the Dos Palmas hostages in tow, to seek medical attention for their wounded. The Abu Sayyaf hauled away Lamitan residents as additional hostages as they withdrew from the town, among them Ediborah Yap. 

 

Yap and Martin Burnham were killed in the rescue operations Friday last week in southern Zamboanga del Norte Province. Burnham's wife was rescued as a result of the firefight and has since been reunited with her family in the U.S.

 

Arroyo also cited international help in the country's bid to fight terrorism and poverty, specifically the "Balikatan" (shoulder to shoulder) counterterrorism exercise with the U.S. which, she said, "holds a profound significance to national security."

 

"I look forward to a continued partnership with your respective nations and peoples. We are dealing sharp blows against poverty," she said.

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on Dec 26, 12