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Philippine police battle with protesters
As police battled with thousands of protesters, Philippine's president vowed to keep up the pressure on terrorists and kidnappers in her second state of the nation address. Around 500 anti-riot police blocked 5,000 protesters outside the congress on Monday as they demonstrated against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and in particular, the presence of U.S. troops in the southern Philippines. At least 16 people were injured after police used batons and water canons to fight the rock-throwing mob, according to wire reports. The mostly left-wing activists charged Arroyo with being a puppet of the United States, but the Philippine president said she would carry on with a burgeoning military partnership with Washington. This is why the Indonesians can't do more against the Bad Guys, assuming those at the top want to. The "mostly left-wing activists" see the U.S. as more of a threat than living under Saudi hegemony. Guess old habits die hard. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-07-22 |
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