DFA summons Aussie envoy

Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce was summoned by the government yesterday and met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert to clarify matters pertaining to the deepening diplomatic row between the Philippines and Australia.

"We understand the circumstances that influenced the decision and approach of the government of the Philippines" to the Iraqi hostage crisis involving Saudi-based Filipino truck driver and father of eight Angelo de la Cruz, Pearce said in a statement. "We understand how difficult the situation was for the Philippines."

Pearce said she and Albert discussed and explained their governments’ perspectives and concerns over the matter.

She sought to downplay the harsh words uttered by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer against the Philippine decision to pull its peacekeeping contingent out of Iraq to save De la Cruz,

"We will continue our cooperation, especially on the priority of counterterrorism," Pearce said. "We appreciate the Philippine government’s commitment to combat terrorism."

Pearce also expressed confidence that relations between Canberra and Manila will not be affected by Downer’s scathing comments over the weekend. "Australia and the Philippines are friends and this issue shouldn’t affect our good relationship. Let’s move on," she said.

Pearce’s statement was more diplomatic than those made by Downer and, later, by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who said he fully backed Downer’s statements.

Downer refused to apologize to Spain and the Philippines for saying their withdrawal of troops from Iraq encouraged militants, saying they needed "to face up to the truth" that terrorists were exploiting them.

He blamed the two countries after a group saying it was the European wing of al-Qaeda threatened Australia and Italy with attacks if they did not follow Spain and the Philippines by withdrawing their troops.

The Philippine government brought its small contingent home last week, straining its close alliance with Washington but winning widespread support at home for securing the release of De la Cruz.

President Arroyo has asked allies to understand the decision because she had to protect the interests of eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), many of them forced abroad to escape grinding poverty back home.

No Backing Down

Instead of backing down, Howard risked inflaming diplomatic tensions with the Philippines and Spain as he joined his foreign minister in attacking them for "giving in" to militants in Iraq.

Downer this week said the Philippines acted "like a marshmallow" by deciding to withdraw its troops from Iraq early to save De la Cruz.

He blamed the Philippines and Spain, which also pulled its troops out of Iraq early, for giving in to militants, saying these actions resulted in the Iraqi insurgents’ taking more hostages.

Protesters burned Australian flags and images of Howard and Downer in Manila Tuesday.

Spain summoned Susan Tanner, Australia’s ambassador in Madrid, on Monday to protest Australia’s stance, which it described as "unacceptable" and to reject Downer’s charge that it has given in to terrorists by fulfilling an election pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq after the Madrid train bombings in March.

Philippines ambassador to Australia, Christine Ortega, accused Downer of unnecessary criticism to support Australian policies in Iraq.

"We feel very hurt because we thought we were allies," Ortega told The Age newspaper. She also told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that "we are very, very disappointed with this harsh criticism. It’s not very diplomatic language, but Mr. Downer is not a diplomat, he is a politician."

She also said Australia benefited from anti-terrorism cooperation with the Philippines, though she didn’t elaborate.

The Australian government has said the 880 Australian troops in and around Iraq will remain as long as they are needed, while the opposition Labor Party has vowed to withdraw troops by Christmas if it wins government.

"We will never turn back the tide of terrorism if we bargain and parlay with them, and that has been the position of the Australian government all along and other countries should adopt the same position," Howard said.

While Howard said he had sympathy for the Philippines, he added that history has shown that terrorists treated people who gave in to them with contempt and pursued them more ferociously.

The Labor opposition also attacked the government over its public criticism, saying Australia must tread carefully when criticizing Southeast Asian neighbors such as the Philippines.

"Australia needs a close partnership with the Philippine government, and all other countries in Southeast Asia if we are going to deal with this threat," Labor’s defense spokesman Kim Beazley told reporters.

Review Foreign Policy

In a related development, Senate foreign relations committee chairman Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. has called for a review of Philippine foreign policy to prevent a repeat of the hostage crisis in Iraq.

"The government needs to overcome what some sectors of society observe as a ‘policy of fear’ and instead shift to a pro-OFW foreign policy," Villar said in a statement.

He welcomed the President’s declaration seeking a foreign policy that would protect the interests of the country’s OFWs worldwide.

"The worst fears of some Filipinos is sending a peacekeeping force to Iraq materialized with the abduction of De la Cruz," he said.

Meanwhile the Filipino Lawyers for Good Governance (FILGOOD) has rebuked Australia and the United States for attacking the Philippines’ decision to pull its peacekeepers out of Iraq.

"The US wrongfully invaded Iraq against the United Nations (UN) resolution opposing it and in violation of generally accepted international law on the sovereignty of a nation," FILGOOD national chairman lawyer Ric Abcede said, chiding the US "not to lecture us on honor and commitments."

The US, Abcede said in the FILGOOD statement, has repaid Philippine loyalty with "crumbs from Uncle Sam despite talk about us being specially favored allies," adding that "the US and Australia regard us as a ‘soft target’ that they can dictate upon, humiliate and shove around without fear of repercussions."

He said the $50 million in US aid to the Philippines is a "mere pittance" compared to the incentive packages bestowed on other countries who joined the "coalition of the willing."

"Even in World War II - probably because of guilt over (the nuclear bombing of the cities of) Hiroshima and Nagasaki — Japan, sworn enemy or America which earlier attacked Pearl Harbor, got more economic aid than the Philippines, (America’s) staunch ally who valiantly fought (side by side) with American troops against the Japanese occupying forces" during the War in the Pacific, Abcede said.

"The (US) cannot even grant fair pensions (to) Filipino veterans, which our government has been asking for (over) the past 40 years," he added.

He also score Australia for "the unreasonable closure of its embassy in Manila in 2002 simply because of isolated cases of bombings in the region while maintaining its embassy in Indonesia despite the horrible Bali bombing" that killed over 80 Australians.

"Australia regularly issues travel advisories to its citizens to prevent them from coming to our country, which embarrasses us in the eyes of the world and adversely affects our tourism industry, while sparing other, more terrorist-prone, countries," he said.

He recommended that the Philippine government "review our trade strategies with Australia, where we import more than we export and where we invest more than they do here."

"The Angelo de la Cruz incident should be a wake-up call for our government to review our foreign policies with various countries like the US, Australia, our Asian neighbors and even with Islamic countries, focused on our national interests," Abcede said. — With AFP