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Pro-US rally staged in Jolo
More than 1,000 Filipino Muslims staged a pro-American rally in Jolo, on the island of Sulu, over the weekend.Impoverished Sulu is about 600 miles south of the capital Manila and has been the site of an ongoing Islamic insurgency. According to local media, the islanders were demonstrating their support for a joint U.S.-Filipino military exercise called "Balikatan" -- "shoulder-to-shoulder." The joint military drill and humanitarian mission begins Feb. 20 and runs until March 5. Approximately 5,500 U.S. personnel and 2,800 Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel will participate in the exercise, the 22nd in a series that began in 1981. Approximately 250 U.S. personnel along with Filipino colleagues will provide medical, dental and veterinary care and work on civic action projects during the exercise. Jolo is one of Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Region's poorest districts. The Manila Times reported that some of the demonstrators came from as far as Parang in southern Sulu. The influential but reclusive Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun, led the rally. The rally is the first time Pulalun has openly supported the Balikatan exercise. Pulalun, a staunch supporter of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, told those at the rally, "I call on every Muslim in Sulu to support the government and the Balikatan program, because this will bring us more humanitarian aid. Let us show the world that we are peaceful citizens. I appeal to every Muslim to welcome our American visitors and support their peaceful cause." Many attended the rally after hearing Pulalun appealing on local radio stations for the public to support the military drills because it would bring humanitarian and medical aid to Sulu. Security for the exercise will be tight, as Jolo is also known as a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which Filipino intelligence believes to be closely linked to al-Qaida. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=142616 |