Peace activists hold anti-terror rally

Some 200 militant pacifists, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) held a rally at the Spanish Embassy in Makati City, to praise the new Spanish leader's policy to withdraw combatant troops in Iraq.

The protesters lighted candles and offered red and yellow roses near the entrance of the embassy, in sympathy for the 200 Spanish nationals, including one Spanish-Filipino, who died in the recent bombing incident at the train station in Madrid. The Spanish ambassador reportedly allowed them to hold the rally.

They called for justice for the victims of the bombing incident in Madrid, and virtually called for the punishment of suspected terror group such as the Al Qaida network of Osama bin Laden.
However, their sympathy for the victims in Madrid clashed with their call for the withdrawal of all combatant troops in Iraq, believing that a support for the US-led war in Baghdad has been the root cause of terror attacks worldwide.

One of their streamers said, "We have the right to live in a peaceful world."

"There is no place for terrorism in a civilised world, No belief can justify the slaughter of innocent people," said Akbayan President Ronald Llamas.

Several OFWs who lined up at the embassy early in the morning also joined the rally. Several passers-by were attracted by the rally, which called for sympathy for those who died the terror attack in Madrid, which is Europe's deadliest.

Meanwhile, Vice President Teofisto Guingona will lead a vigil that will be sponsored by the Justice Not War Coalition, on the eve of the March 20, 2003's formation of the "Coalition of the Willing" which invaded Iraq for alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction. Many pacifist groups said it was US President George Bush's pretext to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was formerly a US ally.

"We do not want what happened in Iraq and in Madrid to happen to us here," Guingona said while holding a meeting with the organisers of yesterday's protest rallies.

The Philippine anti-war coalition which is composed of cause-oriented and religious groups called on President Gloria Arroyo to stop supporting the US-led war in Iraq, call for the pullout of the 96 Filipino noncombatant contingent in Iraq.

The group will hold rallies today with their counterparts in 45 countries worldwide, which all spearheaded a global protest rally against the US and the United Kingdom's occupation of Iraq. The rally will start at a plaza in Manila at 9 am, followed by a rally at the US Embassy on Manila's Roxas Boulevard.

"We must look at how we can help the situation in Iraq," said Guingona, formerly a foreign affairs secretary who resigned from his post because of differences with Arroyo.

He recently joined action star Fernando Poe Jr, Arroyo's closest rival in the May 10 elections.
At the same time, pro-administration Senator Manuel Villar urged Arroyo to reconsider her decision to retain a Philippine contingent in Iraq.

"The Philippines had survived her decision to join the Coalition of the Willing. But we don't need to continue to be at the centre stage of this war.

"Not to pull out the Philippine contingent in Iraq is a big mistake because the bombings there will never cease," said Villar.

"I was approached by their wives and husbands, and was asked to facilitate the release of a budget to take them home," Villar said, adding that he and Guingona relayed their views to Arroyo during a recent meeting of the National Security Council.