Ahead of President Benigno Aquino III’s scheduled address to the nation Wednesday evening to address the deaths of more than 40 policemen in Maguindanao on Sunday, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan challenged him to “answer one all-important question: Did he approve the Mamasapano operation?”
Bayan posed the question after both Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and acting Philippine National Police chief Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina admitted being kept in the dark about the mission ostensibly intended to capture terrorist bombers Zulkifli Abdul bin Hir, also known as “Marwan,” a Malaysian, and his Filipino cohort Abdul Basit Usman, who carry a total bounty of $7 million from the US.
The group also cited a report in the Manila Standard TODAY newspaper claiming that Aquino had assigned the mission to suspended PNP Director General Alan Purisima, who is facing graft charges, with instructions to operate “incognito.”
“There are strong indications that what happened in Mamasapano was a US-directed counter-terror operation sanctioned by Aquino himself,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. claimed in a statement.
“It is hard to believe that 392 elite PNP SAF were being mobilized for an operation against a so-called high-value target and yet our top officials claim they were not aware,” Reyes said. “Aquino has a lot of explaining to do. If he knew of and approved the Mamasapano operation, upon the directive of the United States, then the President is also accountable.”
Bayan said Aquino “cannot feign ignorance” about what happened in Mamasapano since he was in Zamboanga City that day, to visit victims of a car bombing that happened there Friday (Jan. 23) night.
“Assuming General Espina is telling the truth, that he did not know of the operation, then who did? Who gave the go-signal? It is hard to imagine that the SAF was acting on its own without any clearance from top officials,” Reyes said.
Making the case for alleged US involvement, Bayan said American forces “are already based in the headquarters of the 6th ID (Infantry Division) in Maguindanao and may have been coordinating the operation from there. US forces were also reportedly involved in identifying the bodies of the alleged terror suspects after the Mamasapano clash.”
It also noted the involvement of the US in the air strike, which the government maintains was carried out by the Philippine Air Force with the Americans providing intelligence support, but which other quarters insist involved an American drone, that targeted Marwan in 2012 but failed to kill him.
“The President must come clean about his role in all this,” and not use his address to mount a “whitewash,” Reyes said.
No to all-out war
At the same time, Bayan rejected calls for an “all-out war” against the MILF over Mamasapano, saying this would never solve armed conflict.
“Some of those agitating for all-out war are doing so from the safety of their laptops and TV screens in Manila,” Reyes said. “But if you are a civilian from Mindanao, all-out war is the last thing you would wish for. Those who have witnessed armed conflict up-close know that all-out war is never a solution.”
“The way forward is to investigate thoroughly the Mamasapano incident while continuing with the peace process,” he added. “Those who instigated the botched operation should be held accountable. Scuttling the peace process would only mean a deterioration of the situation, and civilians will again be collateral damage during massive military operations.”
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/103917/ahead-of-address-to-nation-aquino-asked-did-you-approve-mamasapano-mission
The commies never pass up an opportunity to disseminate disinformation that routinely alleges that US military forces are conducting offensive military operations on Philippine soil in violation of the country's constitution and sovereignty. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-New Patriotic Alliance) is the main Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) multisectoral umbrella front organization active in the Philippines. The group routinely disseminates disinformation about the US military presence in the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteThe US involvement in the Mamasapano tragedy appears to have been limited to providing medical assistance/evacuation at the request of the Philippine military for those police personnel wounded during the fighting in the area. If anything, US involvement could be more properly characterized as a humanitarian assistance mission. The photos of the Americans that have appeared in the media show US personnel helping to administer IVs to the wounded and then evacuating the casualties in a timely manner using civilian helicopters contracted by JSOTF-P for medical support. My guess is that the civilian contract helicopters are piloted by contract pilots and that is probably the reason why they are wearing civilian clothes. There was no US involvement in the planning or conduct of the law enforcement operations by the police. All commie allegations to contrary are outright lies/disinformation.
And that includes BAYAN allegations concerning US involvement in the 2012 air strike targeting Marwan. The operation was carried out by the Philippine military probably with some intelligence support from JSOTF-P. There was no US drone strike. This is just more disinformation from CPP propagandists.