The United States should be held accountable for the bloody Mamasapano debacle. It has now been revealed that they sacrificed the lives of Filipinos on the altar of their “war on terror.”
Sixty-nine Filipinos—44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos, 18 Moro fighters and at least seven civilians—died in an operation funded, masterminded and directed by the United States and implemented by no less than President Aquino.
The revelation of the US role in Oplan Exodus exposed Mr. Aquino as an obedient US puppet and a traitor to the Filipino people. The United States instructed Mr. Aquino to direct a secret mission, keep it a secret from other government agencies and pursue it at all costs, even at the cost of the lives of civilians, Moro fighters and our own policemen.
Mr. Aquino zealously implemented the US order and used the SAF as cannon fodder for the operation.
This likewise bared the extent of US intervention in the country. The United States has been known to launch secret “antiterror” assassinations and abductions in violation of national sovereignties and local laws around the globe. In 2012, the United States bombed civilian communities in Sulu in the quest to get Marwan. Its soldiers have been operating in a secret headquarters in Zamboanga and have implemented several “oplan” in the country with the complicity of the President and the local police force.
US officials involved in the bloody offensive should be held accountable. Reports that Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey was directly involved in hatching the plan, while Gen. Joseph Votel of the US Special Operations Command took part in its execution, should be looked into.
They and other US officials in the country should be called to investigations and should be held liable for the incident.
These revelations bolster the call to end US-Philippine military agreements and exercises. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Visiting Forces Agreement should be junked and all US military operations in the Philippines should be ended immediately.
We are calling on youth groups nationwide and all patriotic Filipinos to rise in protest and fight for justice, national sovereignty and genuine change. Let us go to Edsa on Feb. 25 and hold a nationwide walkout protest on Feb. 27.
—VENCER CRISOSTOMO,
national chair, Anakbayan,
anakbayan.media@gmail.com