Clerical protest expects to be violently dispersed in Manila tomorrow

[ken hanly <northsunm@xxxxxxxxx>]

Notice that a permit was not even applied for. Many
groups think that a permit should not be required for
demonstrations.
    The earlier crackdown mentioned did not break any
heads but there were clips on TV of a feeble old
former vice-president being literally washed away by
the powers of the fire hoses and of priests trying to
keep him from falling. If the rally were organised by
communist fronts you could expect less "gentle"
treatment and injuries.

Huge clergy rally vs crackdown being readied in Manila




03/27/2006

An estimated 10,000 protesters are feared to face a
violent dispersal in Manila tomorrow as they rally
against the Arroyo administration?s continued
crackdown and implement-ation of repressive mea-sures
on its enemies.

Protest organizers yesterday said the rally will




be led by Catholic bishops who are outspoken critics
of President Arroyo.

Participants of the rally will wear pins bearing the
message ?Ayoko na kay Gloria! (I no longer want
Gloria!)?

?It is meant to challenge the CPR (calibrated
preemptive response) and all other repressive rules of
the Arroyo administration,? Kilusang Makabansang
Ekonomiya (KME) spokesman Jaime Regalario said in a
statement.

Last March 17 and 20, he said the group held forums to
discuss Mrs. Arroyo?s alleged constitutional
violations at the University of the Philippines in
Diliman, Quezon City, and at the University of Sto.
Tomas in Manila.

Expected to attend the protest are former Infanta
Bishop Julio Labayen, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias
Iniguez, and Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias.

Regalario said organizers expect some 10,000 persons,
including parishioners and members of basic
ecclesiastical communities, to attend the event.

Also invited to join the rally were Bacolod Bishop
Vicente Navarra and new Cagayan de Oro Bishop Antonio
Ledesma.

Navarra and Ledesma are members of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Permanent
Council.

Despite the involvement of some of its members in
anti-repression protests, the influential CBCP has
kept its distance from the crackdown issue.

Regalado said also invited to attend the event are
politicians, soldiers and policemen who he added
?still believe in democracy.?

The rally is set to start with a prayer at 1 p.m. at
the Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila.

Participants will deliver speeches until 6 p.m.

>From Plaza Miranda, the group will march toward
Mendiola, where riot police are expected to wait for
them.

Earlier, various groups had spoken out against Mrs.
Arroyo for using police and military units to crack
down on her critics since she declared a state of
national emergency last Feb. 24.

While Mrs. Arroyo supposedly lifted the state of
emergency last March 3, Malacañang continued to
?remind? media of practicing ?responsible journalism?
and subsequently linked its opponents to ?rebellion.?

Regalario said tomorrow?s rally will likely be the
second to involve violent dispersal by the police.

In October 2005, such dispersal took place when the
KME held a prayer rally near the Don Chino Roces
(formerly Mendiola) Bridge near Malacañang.

At the time, firefighters trained their hoses on the
marchers, among whom was former Vice President
Teofisto Guingona Jr.

Regalario said the group did not bother to apply for a
permit.

Jun P. Yap