MANILA, Philippines The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Saturday said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her officials must be investigated and held accountable for allowing US intervention in the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Bayan issued the call following reports that the Arroyo government welcomed and fully-supported United States intervention in the MILF.
Based on a report of the United States Institute for Peace, the US-initiated and funded Philippine Facilitation Project was supported by both US President George W. Bush and President Arroyo. The report also counts three meetings between officials of the USIP and Mrs. Arroyo, once in 2003 and twice in 2004.
According to the USIP report, the US government divided its work between the USIP, the USAID and the US embassy and State Department. The US Embassy was tasked to encourage" the Philippine government to pursue peace talks. The USAID was tasked with economic development" of Mindanao while the USIP was tasked with engaging and influencing key players in the peace process.
The report also states that the US Embassy coordinated with the US Pacific Command in counter-terror training and in ensuring high visibility of US troops in Mindanao.
Senator Joker Arroyo earlier questioned the presence of US Ambassador Kristie Kenneys presence in the aborted signing of the memorandum of agreement On ancestral domain by the Philippine government and MILF panels last Aug 5. in Malaysia.
Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general, said the US intervened in an internal affair as it tried to influence key players in the peace process.
The Arroyo government is guilty of allowing such brazen intervention. Arroyo and US interests likely intersected on the issue of charter change and the prospect of US investments in Mindanao," Reyes said.
Ambassador Kenney has explained that she - together with other members of the diplomatic corps - were merely invited to Kuala Lumpur to witness the signing of the memorandum of agreement.
between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The US ambassador to the Philippines on Friday said that her government does not support an independent Mindanao and that it does not want to put up bases in the area.
She also denied that the US - through her - was directly intervening with the peace negotiations.
There is an impression that the US is interested in Mindanao, that the US is interested to have military bases in Mindanao. That is not true. The US does not have any military bases in the Philippines. The US does not have any plan to have military bases in the Philippines, not in Mindanao and not in any part of it," Kenney said.
But Reyes on Saturday said Ambassador Kenneys claims that the US does not intervene in the internal affairs of the Philippines is a pure lie."
Her claim that she has not read the text of the memorandum of agreement is also quite unbelievable. From the USIP report, the US government, through various agencies, was involved in the peace process on many levels, Reyes added.
He said that that early on, the USIP report already anticipated the issue of Charter change because some provisions in the MOA on Ancestral Domain might be declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The Arroyo government pounced on the opening for the Cha-cha as an opportunity to advance its own self-serving agenda of term extension," Reyes said.
What does the US want in the peace process? The US does not want the genuine recognition of the rights of the Bangsamoro. The US seeks an end to the armed conflict in Mindanao to secure a stable area for its investments and troops. It seeks to curry favor with the MILF insofar as US investments and basing opportunities are concerned," Bayan said.
An example of the interests being protected by the US is the $100 million off-shore oil exploration in Sulu recently announced by Exxon Mobil, the worlds biggest oil and gas producer.
US involvement in the peace process bodes ill for the cause of the Bangsamoro people. The US has long sought to gain a solid foothold in Mindanao. It has sought to exploit the resources of Mindanao particularly oil and minerals. It has sought to strengthen US military hegemony and presence in the region through military exercises and the forward presence of its troops in Sulu and other provinces.
Reyes said the US governments claim that it does not support independence for the Bangsamoro is belied by the USIP report, which deals with forms of intervention available to the US.
The report describes US policy instruments in Mindanao to include diplomacy, conditionality of US economic and military assistance programs, and more punitive measures on the counterterrorism front."
Bayan said the above statement could mean that the US government is also open to direct military intervention. - GMANews.TV