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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 10:27 |
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Written by Kazi Mahmood, WORLD FUTURES Many of those who joined were weeping and shouting "Allahu Akbar”. Taken by surprise, the American soldiers immediately beat a hasty retreat with the protesters still running after them and stoning their vehicles.
Muslim Moro youths and women’s groups numbering about a hundred clashed with American military personnel who were about to enter the city to undertake “humanitarian missions” as part of the US-RP Balikatan Joint Military Exercises. As early as 7 a.m., the unarmed Moro youths and women’s groups had gathered with their flags and banners at Banggolo in the center of the city for what was originally planned as a human barricade against the arrival U.S. troops but reports reached the protesters that the schedule of the US medical mission in Marawi City was cancelled for unknown reasons. A week earlier, about 100,000 Moro Muslims gathered in Marawi City to vehemently protest the arrival of US troops under the Balikatan. Moro youths vowed that they would launch an intifada (unarmed resistance) against the Americans if they persist on ‘invading’ Lanao del Sur and Marawi City. Although the US Embassy in Manila had come out with a statement that the Balikatan in Lanao del Sur will be confined to “humanitarian” activities, the Moro youths in particular and the people of Lanao del Sur in general question the sincerity of this statement by arguing that the US government has civilian instrumentalities which it can use for humanitarian purposes, so why does it have to utilize the US military? The anti-Balikatan Muslim protesters had prepared a cable rope at the entrance of Banggolo Bridge purposely for the human barricade to prevent the entry of the US military personnel scheduled to conduct the medical mission in the city. They also burned spare tires placed at the corners of the said bridge to attract the attention of passing vehicles. While the burning tires caused a little congestion at the Bridge, passengers and car owners waved and chanted “Allahu Akbar” in support of the youthful protesters and not minding the smoke and the delay. READ MORE HERE
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