In the Philippines: May 14th elections ? ?Too soon to tell?

By Steven Rood The Asia Foundation While waiting for clarity in these races, it is useful to reflect on past elections for the light they shed on the present. One lesson is how all Philippine governments rely on elections for their legitimacy, and care a great deal about foreign opinion about those elections.

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Philippines president says ‘the Filipino rules the future’

Departure statement of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: On her visits to Italy, Portugal & China

The sun never sets on the work of the Philippine President in the modern world. In the past two weeks, I have traveled across East Asia to reap greater tides, peace and prosperity for our nation; and I am embarking today for the Vatican and Portugal in a virtually uninterrupted voyage for trade, investments, peace, security and spiritual rearmament for the Filipino people.
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CHR clears military in Grecil’s death

In a May 21 decision, the Commission on Human Rights in Southern Mindanao said Grecil Buya was killed in a legitimate crossfire between soldiers and rebels, and that there was no evidence that the soldiers violated the rights of Grecil. It also said that there was no evidence to suggest that she was a communist guerrilla, as earlier alleged by the military.

Grecil Buya's parents had sued the soldiers before the CHR, alleging that the troops summarily executed the girl. (Photo courtesy of MindaNews)

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Farcical and fraudulent: Kontra Daya’s assessment of the elections in Muslim Mindanao

As in the 2004 presidential elections, the Arroyo government has cynically and deliberately exploited the impoverished and anarchic situation in Mindanao to achieve its narrow partisan objectives.

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World journalists condemn ?intolerable impunity? and vow to show global solidarity in fight to defend Russian journalists

MOSCOW — Journalists from all over the world today expressed outrage and condemnation over killings of their Russian colleagues and the dark shadow of government intimidation cast over the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ).
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