| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Southeast Asia | |
| Last Philippines Troops Leave Iraq; Country Split over Decision | |
| 2004-07-22 | |
| The predominence of the Overseas Workers throughout Philipine society make the response to this hostage-taking pretty complex. The Gulf States are chalk-full of Phillipinos. Many of the vessels I saw in the Persian Gulf area were crewed exclusively with with Philipino sailors. Some seven million Filipinos work abroad to earn a living for their families left behind. Known as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), there are more than a million in the Middle East, including around 4,000 in Iraq. Critics of Arroyo's decision to withdraw the troops early have voiced concern about the implications for OFWs' safety in years to come. "This is a moral hazard," political analyst Alex Magno said from Manila Tuesday. "It endangers our OFW community in the Middle East. One million workers are now more vulnerable to 'hostaging' because the terrorists now know that our government gives in to demands." Magno, who heads the Foundation for Economic Freedom and is an advisor to the president, said Arroyo - who only began a new term three weeks ago after a hotly-disputed election - had been in an unenviable position. She found herself under "intense domestic pressure" from a country riveted by a "made-for-television melodrama." Images of de la Cruz's grieving family were interspersed with footage of left-wing groups protesting against the troops' presence in Iraq, he said. In recent days some Filipinos had been drawing parallels between de la Cruz and Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina maid executed in Singapore for murder in 1995. The incident triggered a national outcry and strained ties between the two countries. Many Filipinos accused their government of not taking sufficient action to save Contemplacion, who became a symbol of exploited and overworked OFWs everywhere. Magno described the public reaction in 1995 as a "peculiar trauma" with lasting effects. "There was a large emotional outburst in the streets all over the country, and it forced the resignation of our foreign minister at the time." A number of commentators have now been saying that Arroyo faced a similar choice between risking international difficulties or facing the wrath of the Filipino people. Magno said the withdrawal of the 51 troops obviously did not constitute not a major reduction in coalition force numbers, and was "largely a symbolic thing." But it was "an issue of national self-respect and credibility." Terrorists had been appeased and allies had been let down. He voiced the hope that long-term counter-terror cooperation with the U.S. would continue.
In a survey carried out by HB&A Research International and published last Thursday, 49 percent of respondents in the capital said Arroyo should give in to the terrorists' demands and 50 percent said she should reject them. Magno said he doubted the Iraq troop decision would make much difference to the president's domestic political standing in the longer term. Her traditional opponents supported the pullout move, while her supporters criticized it. In both cases, he predicted, the trend would be "short-lived." | |
| Posted by:Anonymous4828 |
| #1 Scerw you Philippines. You are with us or against us. You made your choice. I'll be bitching over every dime in aid you get for now on. |
| Posted by: FlameBait93268 2004-07-22 10:23:24 PM |