This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

United $tates sends Philippine government tons of military aid

Dozens of Amerikan troops arrive on Mindanao; up to 1000 more planned

The United Snakes and the u.$.-Macapagal-Arroyo regime in the Philippines have taken the September 11 bombings in New York and Virginia as a cue to step up their war against the Filipino masses. Immediately following the September 11 attacks, Filipino President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pledged her government's support for the so-called War against Terrorism. Now Amerika has made a massive new grant of military aid to the Philippines.

The two governments are redoubling their efforts to seize the island of Mindanao for military and commercial property. Twenty-five Amerikan military "advisors" arrived in eastern Mindanao on January 10 joining eight other officers. The U.$. military proposed sending as much as a battalion -- 500 to 1000 soldiers. Officially, the U.$. soldiers would be limited to training government soldiers.(8)

However, the experiences of Vietnam and El Salvador (just to name two) teach us that the line between "advisor" and active participant is diffuse. Amerikan "advisors" in both countries accompanied their "trainees" on military operations. The Amerikan material aid package already includes a C-130 transport plane; an unspecified collection of 16,000 pounds of military hardware; sniper rifles, mortars, grenade launchers and more. Still to come are 100 army trucks and "approximately" eight Huey helicopters, plus money to build up the Philippines' own armed forces.(3) The Philippine government has also held meetings with Indonesian and Malaysian officials to plan a so-called rapid-response force, to "combat terrorism" with u.$. aid.(2) The headline- grabbing threat in the Philippines comes from the Abu Sayaaf gang, which has made an international name for itself by kidnapping foreigners. Yet even Macapagal-Arroyo admits that she is not so worried about the immediate threat of the Abu Sayaaf as she is about allowing continued Amerikan access to the Philippines. She said "the important thing is the strategic alliance has been redefined and reaffirmed ... The warmth is as it was in the old days when we were unequivocal allies."(1)

Mindanao is long-contested territory. When the previous u.$.-Estrada government launched an all-out offensive against the Moro International Liberation Front (MILF) and the New People's Army (NPA) MIM wrote "the Estrada regime is certainly using the hype around Abu Sayaaf to discredit the MILF and NPA and justify a declaration of martial law. Perhaps not coincidentally, the united $tates is eyeing Mindanao as the site for military bases granted it under the Visiting Forces Agreement."(7)

U.$.-based multi-national corporation Dole also has huge pineapple plantations on Mindanao. Reactionaries in the Philippines have argued openly in the past that the Amerikan military presence would strengthen the war against the protracted people's war of the NPA, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines.(4) The reactionary Philippine government's military strategy against Abu Sayaaf mostly consists of long-range bombardment. People have fled their villages for fear of being killed. By October of last year some 10,000 civilians had been evacuated.(5) The military has seized some of the abandoned land. Villages have become forward bases for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. "The AFP admits to killing four civilians. Refugees fleeing the offensive say 100s have been killed, including 10 who were bombed while attending a wedding."(5) The united snakes tries to justify its assistance to the toady Macapagal- Arroyo regime by again placing the New People's Army on a list of international terrorist organizations created by the USA Patriot Act. Jose Maria Sison points out that this is not the first time the united snakes has blacklisted the NPA in an effort to derail the Filipino people's struggle.(6) People in this country should not be fooled by this trick. Amerikans must wake up and realize that the Filipino people have their own national aspirations. Only when the imperialists have been driven out will the masses be able to carry out their own desires to quash terrorism and all reactionary thugs. Ultimately, the best thing people within the united snakes can do to support the Filipino people's desire for national self- determination is build a strong anti-imperialist movement here. We must stubbornly resist the chicanery of those who would make Amerika's international war into one of self-defense. Get in touch with MIM to lend your voice and end this madness.

Notes:
1. "U.S. Use of bases in Philippines renewed," Los Angeles Times 18 December, 2001.
2. "3 Southeast Asian nations draft anti-terrorism accord," LA Times 29 December, 2001.
3. "U.S. Arms arrive for Philippine army," LA Times 20 December, 2001.
4. "Wimmin's movement leader from the Philippines speaks out against the Visiting Forces Agreement," MIM Notes 185 May 1, 1999.
5. MIM Notes 220 October 15, 2000.
6. The U.S. and its puppets cannot terrorize the NDFP 10 December, 2001. http://inps- sison.freewebspace.com/US%20and%20Its%20Puppets.htm
7. MN 216 August 15, 2000.
8. CNN, 11 Jan 2002.