From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Back To The Philippines: What To Expect HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- http://www.inq7.net/brk/2002/jan/30/brkpol_17-1.htm Wednesday Jan. 30, 2002, Philippines US troops violated rules of past war games: ex-official Posted: 7:27 PM (Manila Time) | Jan. 30, 2002 By INQ7.net ABUSES were committed by American soldiers in past training exercises with Philippine troops, a former official of the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission said Wednesday, a day before the two countries launch unprecedented six-month exercises aimed at helping the government crush the notorious Abu Sayyaf bandit group. Facing members of the House of Representatives conducting a hearing on Philippines-US war games that will begin Thursday, former VFA Commission executive director Elmer Cato said American soldiers violated the "terms of reference" that governed the joint training exercises last year. Cato furnished members of the House defense and foreign affairs committees with a "briefing paper for monitoring team for Balikatan 01" which listed the violations. He said the document resulted from his own investigation. Representative Imee Marcos read some of the reported violations, which included alleged "displacement of Aetas, Olongapo explosion, shelling of a village in Zambales, beheading of a Marine officer, and the mauling by two US servicemen of a cab driver." Cato said that on two occasions the VFA Commission called the attention of US troops to flying exercises in Clark Field ? a former American air force base in Pampanga province north of Manila ? unaccompanied by Filipino counterparts. Past Philippine-US military training exercises were done in Cebu in the central Philippines and in the Central Luzon region north of Manila. Under the VFA, they should last no more than four weeks. Scheduled to begin Thursday are six-month exercises with about 600 American soldiers and tons of US equipment for "training exercises" against the Abu Sayyaf bandits in their jungle stronghold on Basilan island in Mindanao. Militant groups have criticized what they call government's "lack of transparency" on the new exercises, dubbed "Balikatan 02-01". Armed Forces chief General Diomedio Villanueva said Wednesday the terms of reference for this year's exercises are expected to be signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after she returns from the United States on Sunday. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
