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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Independence from Whom? By Antonio C. Abaya Written June 11, 2006 For Standard Today, June 13 issue Good question, I would say. What exactly are we celebrating on our Independence Day, whether it be June 12, or, as a revisionist proposition wants to revert to, July 4? Chronologically, June 12 is more historically correct, since June 12, 1898 was when the First Philippine Republic was born and proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite. But � and our history is replete with �buts� � that independence was compromised when Aguinaldo, already victorious over the crumbling Spanish colonial government, allowed himself to be hoodwinked by his erstwhile American allies in the mock Battle of Manila. Having effectively boxed in the retreating Spaniards into their Intramuros enclave, Aguinaldo allowed himself to be sweet-talked by the Americans, then encamped on the swamps of Paranaque, into permitting American units to occupy forward positions at Fort San Antonio, near where the Manila Yacht Club is now located, over the objections of his own field commanders. The perfidious Americans then entered into negotiations with the besieged Spaniards to engage in a mock battle for Manila (i.e. Intramuros), in which, to save Spanish honor, some shots were to be fired by both sides as in a real battle, and then, after a decent interval, the Spaniards would surrender to the Americans. The agreement specifically forbade the entry of Aguinaldo�s Filipino revolutionary forces into Intramuros, as the Spaniards� sense of honor would not allow them to surrender to a non-European army, even if, in actual fact, they had been effectively defeated by the non-European army under Aguinaldo Thus, Aguinaldo (and, by extension, his revolutionary army and the First Philippine Republic) were robbed of the fruits of their victory in 1899, which set the tone of our relationship with the Americans all the way to the 21st century. Aguinaldo may have chosen the Americans as the lesser evil, or he may have been just plain na�ve, when he entrusted his First Philippine Republic to the �protection of the Great North American Republic� even before he was pointedly excluded from the mock Battle of Manila. When Admiral George Dewey sailed into Manila Bay in May 1898, to demolish the Spanish fleet, there were German and Japanese naval squadrons waiting nearby, off Subic Bay, looking for an opportunity to finish off the Spaniards themselves. In 1898, the Germans had annexed parts of New Guinea, the port of Tsingtao in mainland China and some islands in Micronesia. The Japanese had grabbed Formosa (now known as Taiwan) from a debilitated China, under the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895, as well as some Micronesian islands. Both Japan and Germany were ready to seize the Philippines from Spain to add to their expanding Pacific holdings. So if we had not been annexed by the Americans, we might have been annexed by either Japan or Germany, with Japan as the more likely post-Spain colonizer because of the proximity of Japanese-occupied Formosa. Because Aguinaldo chose to co-operate with the Americans after he had been captured in 1902 in Palanan, Isabela (not Tayabas or Quezon) by an American delta force, with the aid of Macabebe mercenaries from Pampanga, nationalists and communists denounce him, a member of the principalia class, as a traitor, and prefer to venerate the properly proletarian Andres Bonifacio. That the American colonial government subsequently gave greater prominence to Jose Rizal, rather than to Bonifacio, as the Philippine national hero, means that the Americans saw Rizal the Reformer, rather than Bonifacio the Revolutionary, as a �safer� Filipino hero, safer to their own colonial interests. That may be true. In addition, Bonifacio lost all his skirmishes with the Spaniards. He was a loser from the start. He overslept on the night the Katipuneros launched their first attack on the Spanish garrisons in Manila and so missed the signal (a flare) to attack the garrison assigned to him. His quarrels with the Cavite faction led by Aguinaldo, on who should lead the Katipunan, led to intramural squabbles that eventually cost him and his brother their lives. They were tried for treason by a Katipunan kangaroo court, convicted and then executed in the hills of Cavite. So if Bonifacio had won supreme leadership of the Katipunan, over Aguinaldo, the Revolution would likely have been defeated by the Spaniards in the first reel, and the Americans would have walked into Manila in 1898, without even having to humor the Filipino revolutionaries. It is historically correct to celebrate our Independence Day on June 12, as President Diosdado Macapagal had decreed in 1962, to replace July 4, even if pro-Americans are offended by this disconnect with the American colonial era. The Americans merely restored the sovereignty declared and won by Aguinaldo and his revolutionaries in 1898. That the Philippines regained its independence on July 4, 1946, through a parliamentary process pre-programmed by the colonizing power, rather than on the battlefield against that power � as was the case with most of our neighbors � may have had an effect on our national psyche that we have not yet learned to fully comprehend and appreciate.. The Indonesians won their independence from the Dutch in 1949 after four years of fighting against the colonizing power. The Indo-Chinese, led by the Vietnamese, won their independence from France after nine years of armed struggle that culminated in their spectacular victory at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. And they then protected that hard-won victory against American efforts to steal it, for another ten years of almost incessant warfare that culminated in another spectacular military victory in 1972-75.. No wonder the Indonesians and the Vietnamese are the proudest and most nationalistic people in this part of the world. They won their independence literally through an enormous expense, especially for the Vietnamese, of blood, sweat and tears. The Indians� struggle against the British was not military in nature, but was nonetheless militant in intensity and passion, as personified by the non-violent efforts of Mahatma Gandhi on behalf of Indian independence. The Malaysians and the Singaporeans were granted independence in 1957 by the economically exhausted British after World War II, who were forced to down-size their Empire east of Suez. But the Malays and the resident Chinese had to struggle through a bloody insurgency by the Malayan Communist Party that tried to hijack independence in favor of a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat, to defeat which they had to use draconian measures such as the Internal Security Act.. Only the Filipinos were given (back) their independence, in 1946, on a silver platter, with the full consent and pre-arranged acquiescence of the colonizing power, albeit with some built-in self-serving provisos for itself, such as military bases and parity rights. We did not have to struggle for our independence the way most of our neighbors had to. Or, to put it another way, our regained independence in 1946 was far removed from the actual struggle for it, by 48 years, beyond the living memory of most Filipinos then. In addition, the defining experience for most Filipinos in 1946 was being liberated from three years of Japanese cruelty, thus reinforcing their fondness for their American colonizers even more than 48 years of inescapable Americanization ever did. Our relatively benign history since the early 1900s accounts for our lack of national pride and the shallowness of our sense of nation. In a future article, I will dwell on �Freedom from What?� ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles since 2001 in www.tapatt.org. Current articles also in tonyabaya.multiply.com and the tapatt.yahoogroups.com OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to "Independence from Whom?" Thanks for the history lesson! Until I read your column, I only thought of Tsingtao as a brand of good, strong Chinese beer. <blush> Rome Farol, [email protected] Highlands Ranch, Colorado, June 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Your views are flawed and give little reasoning for the obvious dislike of American policies. The United States was not trying to colonize Vietnam, I don?t agree with the war but I certainly do not think the Vietnemese people benefited by the war. Filipinos should make closer ties with America, not pull away from them. D. Guinan, [email protected] June 13, 2006 MY REPLY. You obviously are not aware that the Geneva Agreement that ended the Indo-China War, after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, called for elections in both North and South Vietnam to determine who would rule a united Vietnam. The US refused to abide by this agreement because it knew that its manok, Ngo Dinh Diem, (who would later be assassinated by the CIA) could not win against the North?s popular Ho Chi Minh in any election. That was how the US got sucked into Vietnam. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, You really raised a valid point. I am confused also of the dates independence was really earned. I grew up during the era where July 4 was observed as independence day- the day when the Philippines was politically emancipated from the US rule and domination. Then comes some wise politician who changed the date in the great spirit of nationalism and buttressed by a sense of history. Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, [email protected] New York City, June 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished of an email sent to an egroup) In Oregon we celebrate in public schools and on city streets the Latino Independence Day Cinco de Mayo. I am wondering whether Dose de Hunyo shouldn't be, as well, despite our history of being killed by each other first like Bonifacio was or Marcelo del Pilar were. Abaya's piece is food for thought. We cannot abide someone else's leadership, we cannot "hang in there together" even for the country's sake, it seems. Was the Bonifacio brothers execution really necessary? Comments? Angie Collas Dean, [email protected] Eugene, Oregon, June 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Only one quibble: the "benign history from 1900" was, I suspect, the history of happenings in Manila particularly, which is what most historians write about (don't forget the economic boom-effects of the 1st World War on the PI). I agree with you fully about how 1942-45 sheltered the US from accountability for 1898-1941. Mahar Mangahas, [email protected] Social Weather Stations, June 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Greetings from Saudi Arabia. The other day we marked our 108th Independence Day. But are we really independent? It seems that we couldn't get off the coattails of the Americans. Look at our one hundred peso bill, the American flag is more prominent than ours. And what the HELL is the American flag doing in our sovereign currency? I've been saying this many times before that this one hundred peso bill is a manifistation that the Philippines is not that INDEPENDENT. Napoleon P. Serrano, [email protected] Dharan, Saudi Arabia, June 14, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, It was certainly a pleasure to meet with you a week ago and to discuss some issues with you. I really enjoyed our chat. I have also been enjoying your columns on independence and on the NPA. I think that you have a keen insight into the historical background and the current situation. I hope to continue with my research this summer and to finishing my paper. In the meantime, please include me on your mailing list. I really look forward to future posts. Jim Rice, [email protected] Lingnan University, Hong Kong, June 15, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Dear Isabel, Many thanks for forwarding this piece. I should mention that I'm already on the mailing list of Tony Abaya, so I get all of his columns directly, and that I even once knew him personally, as a frequent patron of his erstwhile shop named Erehwon (= Nowhere, backwards) Book Shop which was on Padre Faura just a few doors east of the Solidaridad Book Shop of F. Sionil Jose. Erehwon specialized in avant-garde, progressive, and radical literature, did you ever get to the shop? I recall one time it was revealed that Frankie Jose had previously received some sort of grant from the Asia Foundation, and that the Asia Foundation was a CIA funded front. In response, Tony Abaya put up a large sign on his front door announcing that his was the non-CIA bookshop. He certainly writes well, but I am becoming more and more unhappy with his analyses and political ideas. Even in this latest column, there are quite a few little errors, and shaky generalizations. I should add that my criticisms of his pieces are from the left, not the right, and that for now I am keeping them to myself, rather than giving him feedback. Mike G. Price, [email protected] Michigan Center, Michigan, June 15, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reactions to "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (April 02, 2006) Hi Tony, The crusades have been romanticized, and not pictured as they were in fact, a ruthless, suppressing army of the Vatican, comparable to Hitler's SS. I finally got a copy of the book which I ordered through Power Books. I'm in the middle and can't put it down. Thanks again for letting me know of its existence. I think the content may shock quite a few traditionalists as I was... Jack Sherman, [email protected] June 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The Da Vinci Code is Dead Here's the painful truth for Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Sony Entertainment, Columbia pictures et al. From the US Box Office perspective, The Da Vinci Code is a dud. It's not what it's cracked up to be after all. The American TFP (www.tfp.org) who successfully spearheaded more than 2000 protests against the movie all over the US has proven its point once again: Protests are effective. Jose Maria Alcasid June 13, 2006. The Da Vinci Code Is Dead Consider the numbers. By Austin Ruse June 13, 2006 The Da Vinci Code is dead. Four weeks after release, its box-office grosses this past weekend came in at a remarkably anemic $10 million. That's dead. The Da Vinci Code opened four weeks ago with an ungodly amount of free publicity and returned a whopping $77 million in its first week of release. It should have broken all records - it had that kind of momentum. But then it dropped like a stone. In four weeks it went from $77 million to $45 million to $18 million and now to $10 million. That's an 88-percent drop in a month. And this is while still appearing in more than 3,700 theaters. D-e-a-d. Make no mistake, the movie made its money back, but it needed the foreign markets to do it. Its production budget was $125 million. Add another $50-$75 million for advertising/marketing and prints and so far its $189 million domestic take is under water. Internationally, the movie has grossed $452 million in 67 countries, which will likely more than cover what must have been a substantial international advertising and marketing budget. (And shamefully, the "Catholic" countries of France, Italy, and Spain snapped up tickets to the tune of $29 million, $34 million, and $28 million respectively..) It is expected that ancillary sales will bring in substantially more, perhaps another $50 million in DVD rentals and sales. Toss in television and cable and they are looking at nice profit. So, how can I possibly suggest that The Da Vinci Code is dead and maybe even a failure? First, because it dropped so quickly - four weeks and poof. It can be argued that the first weekend viewers saw it because they liked the book or came in on the hype. Still, at roughly 21 million tickets sold, not even all the book-buyers saw it. What killed it was word of mouth. People hated it. Second, it is dead because it will not make much of a profit in domestic-box-office receipts. This is particularly delicious because this is what these guys slather over the most. Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are happy when they make money in the foreign and ancillary markets but it chaps their keisters to be saved by them. What they wanted was a movie that would top the domestic charts for this year and land in the top ten for all-time domestic releases. So far, they have failed. According to boxofficemojo.com, domestically for the year they are third, and the year is only half gone. As for all-time domestic releases they land in 75th place. As for all-time worldwide releases they are 30th. Likely what has disappointed them even more than needing European, African, South American, and Asian money to save them were the critics. One thing Hanks et al want - maybe even more than they want American greenbacks - is the praise of critics. Instead the critics literally laughed at them. As for those who worry about Jesus and the Church and even Opus Dei: I don't mean to be cavalier, but Jesus can take care of himself. And smart Christians are taking this an opportunity for evangelization. As for the Church, she has seen entire civilizations come and go and she is still here. She will see Sony pass. She will see Hollywood pass, too. As for Opus Dei; membership is up. And after all this, in the world's largest film market - the United States - The Da Vinci Code still LAGS FAR BEHIND The Passion of the Christ. Forgive me if I revel in that a bit. EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece has been edited since posting. (9:37 A.M., June 13) -Austin Ruse is president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww China's New Tyranny by Edward McMillan-Scott MEP, European Parliament vice-president June 12, 2006 With the World Cup well under way in Germany, across the world Beijing is preparing to host the 2008 Olympics. But if what I was told there recently by former prisoners is true, the civilised world must shun China. In a dingy hotel room with the curtains drawn, the men I met told of brutal persecution of their spiritual movement and worse, the sale of living organs, to order. Along with my interpreter, the men were rapidly arrested, detained and questioned for the 'crime' of meeting me. One practitioner is still missing and it is feared that he is being tortured. A few days before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre - June 4 1989 - I visited Beijing to pin down a terrifying new development: reports of 'organ harvesting'. Organs from prisoners are literally being marketed with the waiting time for a transplant often now being a matter of days. Nearly 400 hospitals in China share the booming trade in transplants with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000. Administrators tell inquirers "yes, it will be a Falun Gong, so it will be clean". As the founder of the EU's democracy and human rights initiative I wanted to find out why the Communist regime which has dominated the world's largest country since 1949 had now descended to genocide. In 1992 Falun Gong - a new Buddhist Tai chi-like movement - had begun to sweep China. When I first visited Beijing in 1996 every open space was filled with people practising its slow exercises and meditation. By 1999 it had some 100 million adherents. Because of its self-discipline and healthy approach - practitioners do not smoke or drink alcohol and have a rigorous moral code - it was encouraged by the authorities. Then in 1999 the regime, fearing that Falun Gong could become an organized force, began a ruthless crackdown, coordinated by its notorious '6-10' office, named after its foundation date. I had heard that practitioners were harshly treated and persecution by other prisoners is encouraged, but it was reports of transplants from living prisoners - a ghastly reward for their healthy lifestyle ? which took me to China. Sitting on the hotel bed in front of me was Niu Jinping, 52, and his two-year-old daughter. Niu had served two years in prison for practicing Falun Gong and his wife was still in prison. The last time he saw her, in January, her entire body was bruised from the repeated beatings she took as the torturers tried to make her denounce Falun Gong: she is now deaf. Niu was in despair: the beatings his wife suffered lasted sometimes 20 hours. He told me that 30 of the Falun Gong practitioners in his prison had died through beatings. When the crackdown began, Niu lost his work permit and had to sell his house to live. He earns about $90 a month guarding the cars of China's new rich. Was there anything about Falun Gong which was seditious, dangerous to the regime? No, said Niu bleakly. Falun Gong is not a membership organisation and charges no fees. In response to the crackdown, practitioners began a peaceful 'truth' campaign against the regime which has so far triggered more than 10 million resignations from the Communist Party and its affiliations. Volunteers produce its international Epoch Times newspaper and a TV and radio channel. It was an Epoch Times reporter who shouted at Hu Jintao on the White House lawn recently. According to the many diplomats, journalists and other observers I met, it is not just Falun Gong, but other Buddhists - especially Tibetans - Christians and Muslims who are being persecuted. Yet sadly, China's vast economic boom makes the same diplomats and visitors turn an official blind eye to the hundreds of thousands in "administrative detention". One man who has spoken out is human rights advocate Gao Zhisheng. His Beijing law office took up the cases of desperate people until the authorities put him under house arrest in February: he had advised Niu Jinping. Gao, a Christian, told me I was the only politician in seven years to meet Falun Gong ex-prisoners in China, and criticised Western diplomats for walking by on the other side of the street. The other ex-convict I interviewed was Cao Dong, 36, who had been in prison with seven Tiananmen Square protesters and told the same story. With tears he told me he saw the cadaver of his friend - a fellow Falun Gong practitioner - with the holes where organs had been removed. I have just heard that the secret police have used his flat key to collect his computer material and private papers. They had already interrogated his flatmate for five days: he is now in hiding, while Cao Dong has been missing since the interview. I have demanded an urgent meeting with the Chinese ambassador to the EU. If people in Beijing think this is the way to prepare for the Olympics they have made the wrong call. from http://www.clearwisdom.net. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |