The Anti-Imperialist Movement Grows in the Philippines, Part Two
by Wendy Hazard
Continued from the autumn issue
As a Fulbright scholar who was teaching courses in the history of US foreign
policy at the University of the East, I was often asked to speak at other
universities all over the Philippines. I used these opportunities to talk
about the role the U.S. has played in the Middle East since the end of World
War II, and the Bush Administration's recent policy toward Iraq. Among the
most memorable of these forums was a Mindanao-wide conference on
international relations that had gathered, for the first time ever, Muslim
and Christian students for a frank discussion of international affairs and
their implications for the Philippines. When it became clear to the audience
that I was critical of US intentions in Iraq, students and faculty members
at first were shocked, and then, it seemed, grateful for the opportunity to
let loose their own feelings. Several Muslim students were convinced that
the war on terror was a religious war against Islam. While I tried to
emphasize the United States' very real geo-strategic interests in the
Persian Gulf and central Asia, I had to acknowledge that Bush's invocation
of a "crusade" against terrorism and his political reliance on the
evangelical Christian right were evidence that these young people weren't
altogether wrong.
Others in that audience, and in subsequent forums as well, expressed fear
that once again, the Philippines would be dragged into a broader war over
which they would have no control and in which they were likely to suffer
greatly. Some recalled what happened in World War II when the Japanese
attacked US bases in the Philippines and then occupied the entire country
for four years. Many Filipinos believe that they were badly betrayed by
General Douglas MacArthur's poor military planning that allowed the Japanese
an easy victory in 1941, and by U.S. military planners, who quickly withdrew
the US command from the Philippines and decided to concentrate US war
efforts in Europe, not Asia. Filipinos suffered terribly under Japanese
occupation, and got precious little assistance during that period from their
alleged protector and benefactor. The Americans finally "liberated" the
Philippines in 1945 from Japanese occupation with a massive bombing campaign
that destroyed much of Manila and thousands of homes, churches and historic
buildings in other cities and towns as well.
Filipinos also recall the Vietnam war when their soldiers were drafted to
fight alongside the Americans, and when Clark Airfield and the Subic Naval
Base became launching sites for air and sea attacks on Vietnam. Spent fuel,
toxic debris, and rusted ordnance poisoned the soil and groundwater on the
bases and in all the outlying communities, as well. Today, the bases are a
wasteland, and cancer rates in adjoining communities have soared. During all
of this time, American soldiers stationed at Clark and Subic and those
taking R & R leave in the Philippines spent their money freely. Bars,
brothels and strip joints flourished, distorting local economies and
destroying the lives of young Filipinas who were lured into prostitution.
The Marcoses and their cronies profited handsomely from the trade. Their
countrymen and women bear the scars. Like many of their counterparts in
Japan and South Korea, Filipino nationalists want no part of U.S. military
bases.
When the war in Iraq finally broke out, tens of thousands of Filipinos in
cities and towns all over the Philippines took to the streets in angry
protest. The police and the Army struck back. In Manila, a contingent of
Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team, armed with machine guns, kept the
crowds at a distance from the US embassy, and then dispersed them with water
canons and truncheons. In Bagio City, Cebu and Iloilo, anti riot police
blocked protesters from marching on government buildings, and in Mindanao,
the Philippine Army, with the Pentagon's generous financial support, stepped
up its assaults on MILF strongholds and on communist guerrilla forces. Human
rights groups accused the military of abuses, including the murder and
disappearance of prominent activists. Randy David, a prominent journalist
wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "What the (Philippine) government is
doing in Mindanao and the rest of the country is becoming clear. To put it
bluntly, it is trying to put an end to the Moro rebellion, the communist
insurgency, and the mass poverty that breeds them, by riding piggyback on
the American war on global terrorism." He concluded with a warning. "We have
nothing to gain... But if our recent past is a guide, it should tell us
in very clear terms what dependence on outside powers has done to us. It has
prevented us from looking inward and developing our own resources and
energies. It has destroyed our confidence in ourselves. It has prolonged our
birthing as a nation."
Filipinos face enormous difficulties in binding their divided nation and
building just and sustainable economies that will provide decent
opportunities for all. But they are a resilient people who, in a regional
partnership with their neighbors in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China
, can build a strong nation that does not need to tolerate political
corruption, perpetual wars or dependence on the long arm of Uncle Sam. They
know this and articulate it brilliantly. I was privileged to spend time with
some of them and look forward to working with the friends I made there in
the years ahead.
Back to Peace Talk Index,
Winter, 2003 - 2004