01 Aug American Activists Protest the Use of Lumbia Airport as US Military Base
Image Source | www.mindanews.com
Last July 29, 2016, tying themselves on the gates of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) base in Lumbia airport were three American activists namely Arturo Viscara, a human rights lawyer, Luis Patterson, A social worker, and Kelsen Caldwell, leader of the Coalition of Anti-Racist whites in Seattle, washington. They were then joined by some 60 local militants during their rally in Lumbia. Their act was to protest the use of the base by the Americans which is under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the United States and the Philippines.
As said by Caldwell, “The US military will just turn this beautiful place into a hotspot of glitzy bars. We will petition the US Congress to stop the funding for EDCA.”
To express their support for the city government’s plan to ask the national government to make Lumbia airport into “a community of socialized houses and commercial centers”, the militants filed a petiiton before the city mayor Oscar Moreno and the City Council.
Meanwhile, secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Northern Mindanao Walden Barros wondered why Lumbia was selected when the location is more than 1,358 kilometers away from the West Philippines Sea which is the potential flach point between China and the Philippines. “If the US really wants to help us, why doesn’t it establish a base at the West Philippines Sea or nearby instead?”
Source: MindaNews
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