Mindanao groups welcome Lula visit, oppose Trump’s expected arrival

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Various groups in Mindanao welcomed the visit of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the first ever by a Brazilian head of state, to the Philippines, but frowned upon the expected arrival of another leader from the Western Hemisphere.

Lula was on a two-day state visit in the country starting on Friday, two weeks after securing a fourth presidential term that saw a strong pushback against right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro.

READ: Brazil’s Lula eyes deeper Asean ties thru PH visit

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Drieza Lininding, chair of Marawi City-based Moro Consensus Group (MCG), said they are extending a warm welcome to the Brazilian president.

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Lininding described Lula as a courageous leader who stands firmly for international law, human dignity and the oppressed peoples.

But Lininding frowns upon the upcoming visit of another leader from the Americas, United States President Donald Trump, who is set to attend the related high-level gatherings of the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit.

Trump is expected to grace the US-Asean Special Summit in Manila on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Lininding brushed aside Trump for his policies that enable “Zionist aggression” against Palestinians and shielding those responsible from accountability.

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“As a people who know the pain of historical injustice and displacement, we refuse to let Asean become a platform that sanitizes occupation and war (against a people),” Lininding told the Inquirer.

Human rights lawyer and former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate also put Trump to task for his role in stirring the current global economic crisis due to his leadership of the recent “imperialist wars” in the Middle East, particularly against Iran.

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On Monday, Nov. 16, in the run-up to Trump’s arrival, students of the Mindanao State University (MSU) system are set to abandon their classrooms to protest the controversial Pax Silica initiative.

The protest action is timed to coincide with the Asean summit’s opening and the commemoration of National Students’ Day. The mobilization is expected to sweep across the university’s campuses in the cities of Marawi and Iligan.

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“We are holding this walkout because we refuse to remain silent on issues that concern our national sovereignty, economic welfare, and the social well-being of our people,” Maranao activist Asmana Umpat told the Inquirer on Saturday, November 14. “This is our way of exercising our democratic right to dissent.” /jpv