For Mindanao as terrorism mecca tirade
US diplomat should be ousted along with US troops & spies

MIGRANTE Sectoral Party chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado today aired the sentiments of overseas Filipinos and their families on the irresponsible and interventionist statements of United States Chargé de Affaires Joseph Mussomeli:

"US embassy Chargé de Affaires Joseph Mussomeli should immediately be declared persona non grata by the Philippine government not only for his reckless statements branding Mindanao as the "new Mecca" of terrorism. He should be banished from the country along with all the US troops and spies know as operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency," Bragas-Regalado said.

"His statements, along with the continued presence of US troops and spies in the country, makes a daily mockery of our sovereignty and Consitution," she added.

The warning was made by Mussomeli on SBS-TV Australia that the "number of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) that are there, the links between JI and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group, may even be increasing."

"We share the apprehensions of certain legislators in Congress and the Senate that Mussomeli's statements can be a prelude to a massive deployment of US combat troops in the Philippines. Our problems in Mindanao are entirely internal in nature and the Philippine government has even claimed that the extreme poverty is being addressed in the island. We encourage Malacanang to expel this diplomat and all the US troops (also called anti-terrorist trainors or advisors) and CIA operatives from the country. Their continued presence violates our national sovereignty and condones outright intervention in our internal affairs," Bragas-Regalado said.

Malacanang has also berated Mussomeli and has said that "several infrastructure, agriculture and industrial projects are being pursued in Mindanao, using government funds and foreign aid, to enable the island to catch up with more economically advanced regions."

"But the presence of diplomats like Mussomeli, US troops and spies in Mindanao and the rest of the country will only heighten the conflict among Muslims, Christians, indigenous peoples," Bragas-Regalado ended. #