New York City, Sept. 21, 2002
GABRIELA Network USA joined various organizations in commemorating the 30th anniversary of martial law in the Philippines and calling for an end to the US war “on” terrorism. The action was organized by the Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines and co-sponsored by GABNet USA, New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Student Liberation Action Movement (SLAM)- Hunter College, and Nodutdol for Korean Community Development. More than forty individuals and representatives of several organizations gathered in front of the Philippine Consulate in Manhattan.
The following is the statement given at the event by GABNet USA Co- Chairperson Dorotea Agustin Mendoza:
This US war on terrorism is being sold to us as a means to protect freedom. But it is doing just the opposite. It is infringing on our civil liberties. It has led to war-mongering. The so-called war on terrorism has led to more deaths. It has led to more racism. To fascist governance. The so-called war on terrorism has led to seizure of territories. It has exacerbated armed conflicts. Nations around the globe are pressured by the US government to give up their national sovereignty.
The US War ON Terrorism is persecuting Filipino exiles around the world.
Prof. Jose Maria Sison and Julieta Sison de Lima spent decades struggling against the fascist Marcos dictatorship. They ve been involved in the peace talks sessions between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the government of the Philippines. Despite these humanist efforts, they ve been labeled as “terrorists.” Surrendering to US pressure, in the name of this so-called War ON Terrorism, the Dutch government has put a freeze on their joint bank account; it has terminated all benefits due them; it has deprived them of their basic necessities of life and has violated their basic human right to life. Prof. Sison and his wife are political refugees currently living in the Netherlands& THIS is the US War ON Terrorism.
The US War ON Terrorism is killing and terrorizing innocent people around the world. In the Philippines, an 8-year old girl was shot to death with her parents; a 15-year-old was sexually molested by an army officer; women organizing and advocating for their rights have had their homes sprayed with gunfire they re hoisted in front of military interrogators and accused of subversion; sex trafficking of women has peaked sharply; women are ordered and delivered into US military camps for sex purposes& THIS is the US War ON Terrorism.
Indeed, let s call it what it is. It is NOT the US War ON Terrorism. It is the US War OF Terrorism.
Let’s tell it as it is. The US War OF Terrorism is not being fought for our safety. It s not being fought to protect our freedom. The US War OF Terrorism is being fought to create a safe place for multinational companies. It is being fought to create a safe passage for oil pipelines.
Among the people of the Philippines, there s an increasing awareness of what constitutes national interest and national vision. It s this national interest and national vision that propels the people to continue their struggle, to continue their resistance. And it is this resistance that the US War OF Terrorism is trying to stop. The US War OF Terrorism is trying to pre-empt the development of true democracy in the Philippines. But, as demonstrated in the people power movements that ousted corrupt fascist regimes, the people of the Philippines have the will and tenacity to continue the struggle for liberation.
We gather here today, to tell the US government, to tell the world that we know the truth. We know the real purpose of this US War OF Terrorism. Many people around the world, in places like the Philippines, also know this truth.
Upon this, we base our united resistance. GABRIELA Network is here today in solidarity with the struggling peoples of the Philippines and around the world. GABRIELA Network stands with them, and they with us, in saying: Justice, Not Vengeance; Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Not Fascism; Peace, Not War.