US used Filipinos as cannon fodder; Aquino a puppet — Anakbayan

Note: What follows is a statement by Anakbayan National Chairperson Vencer Crisostomo.

The United States (US) should be held accountable for the bloody Mamasapano offensive. It has now been revealed that they sacrificed the lives of Filipinos in the altar of their “war on terror.” More than 70 Filipinos, 44 SAF, 18 Moro fighters and at least 7 civilians died in an operation funded, masterminded and directed by the US and implemented no less than President Aquino.

This reveals Aquino as an obedient US puppet and a traitor. The US instructed the president to direct a secret mission, keep the mission secret from other government agencies and pursue the mission at all costs, even at the cost of the lives of civilians, Moro fighters and its own police force. Aquino zealously implemented the US orders and used the SAF as cannon-fodder for the operation.

This likewise reveals the extent of US intervention in the country. The US has been known to launch secret “anti-terror” assassinations and abductions, violating national sovereignty and laws around the globe. In 2012, the US already bombed civilian communities in Sulu in the quest to get Marwan. They have been operating in a secret headquarters in Zamboanga and have implemented several Oplans in the country with the complicity of the president and the local police force.

The US officials involved in the bloody offensive should be held accountable. Reports that FBI 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-PH military agreements and exercises. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Visiting Forces Agreement should be junked and all US military operations in PH 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 February 25 and hold a nationwide walk-out protest on February 27.