Sunday, August 24, 2008 Leftists hit 'American involvement' in MILF war
A MILITANT coalition against the presence of American troops in Mindanao is questioning the troops’ involvement in the Philippines Army's operations in Baliki, Midsayap.
The US Troops Out Now Coalition-Mindanao questions the involvement of the US troops in the actual combat operations conducted by the Armed Forces in pursuit of Moro rebels in Mindanao region.
A Mindanews news team covering the operation reportedly saw parked vehicles bearing Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) plates in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
Philippine military reportedly commissioned American soldiers to detonate unexploded bombs in Baliki, Midsayap, North Cotabato last week.
Bishop Felixberto Calang of Iglesia Filipina Indepediente (IFI) and convener of US troops Out Now Coalition-Mindanao demands Senate and congressional investigations into the increasing involvement of American troops in Mindanao and US meddling in the government-MILF peace negotiations.
Calang said their coalition is apprehensive that the US military presence is part of US government's double-edge policy of engagement with the MILF. While it facilitates peace negotiations and provides post-settlement aid package in one hand, it is engaged in counter-insurgency pursuit operations in the guise of counter-terrorism on the other.
The team reported in their website (www.mindanews.com) seeing four American soldiers in a hilly portion of Barangay Baliki, near a detachment of the 38th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army on August 17. Government air strikes against MILF positions, the report said, had started on August 10.
Next to the February 4 massacre in Maimbung, Sulu where residents claimed to have seen US soldiers accompanying local troops in military operations, the Baliki incident is another proof that the United States has been engaged in actual military intervention in Mindanao wars.
While Philippine Army officials try to justify the US troops' participation as mere assistance in ordinance disposal, this shows that the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is blurring the distinction between “exercise” and “actual combat” to legally justify permanent American presence and engagement in Mindanao.
Government's failure to disclose to the public the Terms of Reference (TOR) governing the presence of US troops in Mindanao, including the docking of US warships like the USS Vandegrift in March this year, is highly suspect. (Cong Corrales)
