From the pro-CPP online publication Bulatlat (Feb 28): Youth solon wants Congress review of departing US Special Forces troops
“A review of the JSOTF-P operations in the Philippines will reveal the extent of US military intervention in the Philippines.”
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon is set to file a resolution calling for a “congressional review on the performance and activities” of the 600 US Special Forces under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P).
The JSOTF-P, which was based in Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City since 2001, was formally deactivated on Feb. 24, with a closing ceremony with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“The JSOTF-P is one of the most controversial US military programs in the Philippines,” Ridon said.
“Several whistleblowers, including former Navy officer Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Gadian, have revealed that this special US force engage in direct combat in Mindanao.
As such, we cannot just let them depart without conducting a review of the program’s performance, undertakings, and their past activities with Philippine forces,” he said.
Ridon will file the resolution on March 2.
“We plan to invite the commander of the JSOTF-P and US Ambassador Philip Goldberg to testify before Congress, for we believe that it is in the interest of the Filipino people to know what exactly these special troops were doing in Mindanao during their 13-year stint there,” Ridon said.
The youth solon said that the involvement of US troops in the bloody Mamasapano clash must first be cleared before they leave. Witnesses reported seeing the body of a “tall, blonde, blue-eyed Caucasian” among the casualties of the Special Action Forces (SAF).
“There are serious allegations of US military intervention – through the JSOTF-P – in the botched Mamasapano operation. The JSOTF-P’s involvement in intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance have been widely reported, yet the US Embassy remained mum,” Ridon said.
The JSOTF-P closing program also gave tribute to 17 fallen US troops, among them 10 Special Operations Aviators and Air Commandos, called the “Wild 42,” [2] who died on Feb. 24, 2002, when their Chinook helicopter crashed in the Bohol Sea “while returning from a mission in Basilan.” Two other US soldiers died on Sept. 29, 2009 in Jolo. [3]
Ridon said the demise of the 17 JSOTF-P troops should also be accounted for. The death of a US troop in combat is a “case of serious infringement of our sovereignty,” he said.
“A review of the JSOTF-P operations in the Philippines will reveal the extent of US military intervention in the Philippines. We cannot let an affront to our national sovereignty slip out of our islands quietly,” Ridon insisted.
The phase-out of the JSTOF-P was announced by the US embassy in 2014. Government critics say that it was in anticipation of the entry and stay of more US troops in “agreed locations” under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca).
http://bulatlat.com/main/2015/02/28/youth-solon-wants-congress-review-of-departing-us-special-forces-troops/
Bulatlat is an online publication that essentially functions as a propaganda organ for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its associated front organizations. Bulatlat regularly articulates current propaganda themes and messages in support of the overall agenda of the CPP and its military wing the New People’s Army (NPA).
ReplyDeleteTerry Ridon is a long-time CPP activist dating back to his University of the Philippines days where he was associated with several CPP student/youth front organizations to include the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP), the NNARA Youth (a youth peasant group) and the League of Filipino Students (LFS). In fact he served as chairman of the LFS from 2009-2011.
Kabataan (Youth) party list political party claims to be the first and only truly “youth” oriented political party Nonetheless, the founding members of the party are all known CPP student/youth front groups and include the National Union of Students (NUSP), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), the League of Filipino Students (LFS), Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (LFS), Anakbayan and Kabataang Artisa para sa Tunay na Kalayaan. Kabataan is also a member of the CPP’s umbrella political front Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan) that brings together all the CPP-associated political parties (Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan, Courage, Migrante, ACT-Teachers, Katribu, Akap Bata, Piston, Kalikasan and Aking Bikolnon).
Thus, Rep. Ridon’s intention to introduce a resolution to “review” the activities of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) should come as no surprise. He has long railed against the US military presence in the Philippines and his use of lies, innuendo and discredited “witnesses” in his propaganda attacks against JSOTF-P is obvious to most impartial observers and thoughtful Filipinos.