Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the United States government’s continued defense on the operations of its military troops in the country.
“The US is the principal force responsible for the ongoing hostilities, crimes, and havoc in the land of our Bangsamoro people,” said Elmer Labog, KMU national chairperson.
“The US embassy’s claim that they don’t have US forces permanently in the Philippines, so they come and go and executive secretary Ermita’s statement that GIs look alike so we don’t notice them leave are plain stupid. Since VFA’s (Visiting Forces Agreement) implementation in year 2000, 1,600 to 6,000 US soldiers were ‘coming and going’ to the Philippines yearly, not considering all the clandestine operations they have withheld from the public.
“The AFP was also quick to defend the US that all their operations are permitted and in close coordination with the Philippine army.
“We see the connivance of the US and Philippine governments’ armies; so we do not expect any truthful report from Arroyo’s commission to investigate US involvement in the Mindanao war,” added Labog.
“It is evident that it is the Arroyo and US regime benefits most from this war. Arroyo uses it to revive her charter change plans and advance her despotic measures against all her opponents, and the US continues to hide under the pretense of military assistance to exploit the natural resources in Mindanao and strengthen their political control in the country.
Labog also cited that the US have funded more than 330 million US dollars of military and security aid in the country since year 2000.
“War itself is a big profit activity for the US for they supply and sell the equipment and machinery of war in Mindanao,” added Labog.
“We, the Bangsamoro, Christian, and all sectors of the masses, are at the sure losing end from all the continued atrocities. We have the duty to bring the US-Arroyo war to a conclusion,” said Labog.
KMU demanded for the immediate pull out of US troops, and the repeal of the VFA.
