U.S.: Don’t leave Iraq or else
By ESTRELLA TORRES
TODAY Reporter
Manila has apparently succumbed to threats of economic sanctions from Washington and will not now pull out Filipinos in Iraq.
A senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday that Washington had been constantly communicating with coalition members not to pull out their people.
He said Filipino diplomatic representatives in the US have been called to a meeting by Secretary of State Colin Powell to discuss America’s strong warning not to pull out or face political and economic sanctions.
“[The US] is trying to avoid a scenario where the coalition forces would withdraw their troops one by one. That would send a very bad signal,†said a senior diplomat, who requested not to be named.
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) senatorial candidate Didagen Dilangalen said, meanwhile, only Filipino troops would be left in Iraq after Spain, Honduras and El Salvador withdraw their forces.
Dilangalen said if only the Filipinos are left, it is not impossible that only they and the Americans would be the targets. “Maybe Mrs. Arroyo is still waiting for somebody to die before she acts on this.â€
In a statement, Dilangalen added, “If Spain, Honduras, El Salvador, Russia and even Thailand were able to easily make a plan, we too can do it. The problem is, GMA really has no plans of sending home the Filipino soldiers.â€
President Arroyo will meet today with Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), to discuss the Iraq situation. Cimatu has concluded a 10-day trip to Iraq to assess the situation of the Filipinos there.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Franklin Ebdalin said, however, there is no need to pull out 41 members of the Filipino humanitarian contingent and 3,000 Filipino workers in Iraq. “From what we have gathered, they are not the object of the attacks.â€
Ebdalin was citing an MEPT report furnished to the DFA that said the Philippine contingent remains safe in Iraq.
America is pressuring its coalition allies amid the decision of Spain to withdraw some 1,300 troops from Iraq. Other coalition members like the Dominican Republic and Honduras are also planning to withdraw their troops.
Ebdalin also denied Filipino workers want to leave Iraq. “Those who want to leave, we will assist them and we will facilitate their visas. But based on our past experience, they never do want to leave.â€
He said Philippine chargé d’affaires to Baghdad Eric Endaya reported that 2,000 of the 3,000 Filipino workers in Iraq have already been accounted for. With R. Padua
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