People's Movement Responses to U.S. Military Activities in the Philippines

Beyond the Fence airs every Friday at noon on Public Radio Guam-KPRG 89.3 FM, immediately following Democracy Now.  This one hour locally produced program features coverage of public events and interviews with diverse individuals that explore the complexities of the US military presence in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and the challenges of building community 'beyond the fence.'   Info on free audio podcasts available below. 

Ep. 117 “People’s Movement Responses to U.S. Military Activities in the Philippines” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames with production assistance of Joy White) was recorded in Manila on 3/17/12 and airs 6/8/12. 

In recognition of the 114th anniversary of Philippines Independence (June 12) and the ongoing struggle for territorial sovereignty against US military intervention,  our program guest is Corazon Valdez Fabros (corafabros [at] gmail.com), a lawyer and organizer who has been centrally involved with the anti-bases, anti-nuclear and peace movements in the Philippines for more than 40 years. She is currently the Lead Convenor of Citizens Peace Watch and the STOP the War! Coalition Philippines, a multi-sectoral coalition of Philippines social movements, trade unions, women’s organizations. non-governmental organizations, political parties, student formations and other concerned organizations and individuals in solidarity with the movement for peace and justice.  She is an an internationally known advocate, researcher, and expert on conflict resolution, democratization process, human rights and security and a regular speaker at international conferences and meetings, particularly in the Asia-Pacific, on peace building, nuclear disarmament, and environmental clean-up of former U.S. bases in the Philippines.

Although Ms. Fabros was issued a multiple entry visa last October, Delta Airlines was instructed by the Immigration and Border Protection to not let her board the flight leaving Manila en route to Puerto Rico on February 17, 2012 to attend the 8th Gathering of the International Women's Network Against Militarism which has been the focus of Beyond the Fence for the past two episodes. This network denounces the U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement and the deployment of U.S. forces to the Philippines which violates the terms of the Philippines Constitution. 

In this interview Ms. Fabros talks about learning to “go beyond myself”, the anti-bases movement, the “toxic legacy” of the US military, what it takes to organize constituencies, lessons from the struggle, the role and function of her organizations, the denial of her entry to the US, and the importance of  international solidarity and global resistance.  

Music selection is “A Pair of Voices” from the The Essential Gary Granada Collection, Polyeast Records, 2011.  

 

Audio podcasts of all episodes are available for free and may be downloaded within five days of the original broadcast date by going to the Beyond the Fence program link at www.kprgfm.com or directly to http://kprg.podbean.com/.