War on Terrorism A bad time for American promises"

Returning century old religious artifacts may help arrest the plummeting credibility of the war on terrorism,

(PRWEB) September 5, 2004 -- War on Terrorism A bad time for American promises"

Americas government must decide to abide by its bilateral treaties, and by American law, if it is to turnaround the plummeting credibility of the war on terrorism, warns British historian Bob Couttie in a new book, Hang The Dogs: The True Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre".

Coutties warning is directed towards the governments refusal to return religious artifacts, two bells, looted from a church in the central Philippines more than a hundred years ago. Today they are mounted as war trophies in Wyoming, mainly by accident, according to Couttie.

It is ironic that the very first agreement signed by the US government with the new Philippine government, on the same day that the US gave independence to the Philippines, has been ignored for more that half a century. Under the treaty, the bells should have been returned, and they remain a sore point between the Philippines and the United States even today," says Couttie.

With the present war on terrorism, America needs every friend it can get and it needs to earn the right to be trusted. Breaking international treaties and agreements is not a great way to gain trust. Returning the bells would be a small gesture, but one that would show that America keeps its word."

Adding support to the return of the bells is their legal status -- under American law, both civil and military, they still belong to the town of Balangiga. If the American government wants other countries to adhere to, and enforce, American law then it must do so at home. The bells should be returned. If the most powerful man in the world cant do what is ethically and morally right then were all in trouble."

Filipinos have firmly backed the United States in every conflict of the 20th century. Last month the Philippine government was forced by domestic pressure to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Iraq. It was the first time in the countrys history that it turned down an American demand.

The Philippine president was elected on a slim mandate and she had little choice but to withdraw Philippine troops after the kidnap and threatened beheading of a Filipino truck driver," explains Couttie, Returning the bells, which are intensely symbol of the Filipinos fight for independence, may have given her the leverage she needed to keep troops in Iraq. So the issue is not just theoretical, not returning the bells is determental to Americas own interests."

The Balangiga incident itself occurred on September 28, 1901, during the Philippine War of Independence following the refusal of then-president William McKinley to recognize Philippine independence. Townspeople in Balangiga on Samar, central Philippines, attacked and defeated a garrison of the 9th Infantry, killing two thirds of the American soldiers. Later the town was burned and the commander of US forces on the island ordered the killing of everyone over the age of ten. A month later the bells were looted by members of the 11th Infantry who took them to Wyoming. The town priest had opposed the attack on the garrison but was ignored.

'American promises is a term widely used in the Philippines to denote promises made without being kept. Says Couttie: This is a bad time for 'American promises. It is in the countrys interest to be seen to act lawfully and honourably and return the bells."

Note to editor: Hang The Dogs, The True Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre is published by New Day Publishers, $23.95.
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