For those that mistakenly think the killings and fascist rule ended with the evil pair Marcos, a reminder that Arroyo is not so clean as many long to believe. Not learned the lessons of the past is an understatement. Our country deserves better than the same old crook under a different and more subtle guise, and the time has come for her government to understand that they must offer our people more than being better than the Marcos! Our young need jobs, stable education, services, and these infrastructures and opportunities are the only way to prevent the slipping back into desperate poverty. I hope, for what else is there to do.Filipino activists denounce corruption, killings on martial law anniversary
The Associated Press
Published: September 21, 2007
MANILA, Philippines: Thousands of Filipino activists marched in the streets Friday to denounce alleged corruption and political killings, saying little has changed since the repressive rule of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and '80s.
About 5,000 protesters marched toward a historic bridge near the presidential palace, which was sealed off by steel barricades. Activists who tried to push their way closer scuffled briefly with dozens of riot police, who pushed them back.
Carol Araullo, chairwoman of the largest left-wing alliance, Bayan, said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government "has not learned the lessons of Marcos."
"It has engaged in gross human rights abuses such as killings and abductions. It has even rivaled previous regimes in terms of corruption," she said. Marcos, who headed the country for 20 years, declared martial law in 1972 and ruled with an iron fist until he was ousted in a nonviolent "people power" revolt in 1986. Thousands were jailed, tortured or killed under this rule. The media and Congress were muzzled, as communist and Muslim rebellions flourished.Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. His wife, Imelda Marcos, has since returned and the courts have dismissed a number of criminal cases against her.
Recalling a recent scandal in which Arroyo's husband allegedly interfered in a government broadband contract on behalf of a Chinese company, Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes said the Arroyos appeared to be the reincarnation of the Marcoses' "conjugal dictatorship."
The protesters carried placards with pictures of Marcos and Arroyo side by side, stamped with the words "No Different" in Tagalog. Similar posters of Imelda Marcos and Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, bore the words "Imelda before, Mike Arroyo today." Arroyo, in a speech, urged her foes to end political wrangling to help sustain economic gains as the country enters "a new era where the vast majority can have a predictable future, a steady job and calm political climate."
"This government has stayed focused on what Filipinos yearn for most: a good job, steady prices, and a healthy family," she said. "We are tired of political drama and social instability."
Bayan also accused Arroyo's government of using U.S. aid "to violently suppress and deceive the people." It cited a new anti-terror law, which has been challenged at the Supreme Court by critics arguing that its broad definition of terrorism could turn one of Southeast Asia's liveliest democracies into a police state.
Supporters of ousted President Joseph Estrada joined the protest, denouncing Estrada's conviction on plunder charges last week as a sham. Human rights groups have blamed security forces for unexplained killings and disappearances of hundreds of people, mostly activists, since Arroyo came to power in 2001. The military has repeatedly denied accusations it is targeting activists because of their alleged links with communist rebels.
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