MANILA’S ESPERON – FASCIST PEACEMAKER

Erle Frayne Argonza

The ‘neo-cons’ and Pentagon guys have quite some nice news to savor with the appointment of retired army general Hermogenes Esperon Jr. as official peacemaker. Esperon has shown fascistic ‘cold war’ behavior during his watch, which serves the purpose of the global oligarchy and US military-industrial elites well.

Being a member of the last batches of ‘cold war’ mold military academy students, Esperon rose to power in the military for his records of loyalty to past regimes beleaguered by relentless putschist attacks from military rebels. He particularly served his former boss, Angelo Reyes (past military and defense boss, now Energy boss), very well.

Reyes was the crux of attack by young officers who took on the cudgels of militaristic  adventurism this decade. The rebel officers perhaps know their intelligence information by heartl: that the Philippine military is simply but a cog in larger games played by the global oligarchy to create troubles everywhere (synarchism agenda) aimed at total control of population and resources of the planet.

Reyes has direct links with the Pentagon, and took directives from his ‘political officers’ there, notably Ramsfeld when the latter still called the shots. His command’s actions included sales of military arms to Moslem rebels and related groups. The military rebels’ coup attempts somehow put a stop to the ‘neocons’ covert operations in the southern Philippines, but sooner or later this could pick pace up again.  And this is the importance of seeing ‘neocon’ stooges installed to sensitive exec posts in Manila.

So among young and middle officers, the knowledge that anti-insurgency is not really meant to cease insurgency but to perpetuate it, is a fairly accepted one. They are practically retired to it. Insurgency brings colossal cash to the purses of the oligarchs who produce arms, as well as to the military and political officials who profit from the transactions. This is clear.

It is not surprising that rebel officers and civil rights advocates are today squirming against the appointment of Esperon. This man indeed had a very bad human rights record during his watch. Hundreds of civil society activists, notably from the Left but also from media (journalists), died in the hands of military death squads most especially under the command of Esperon’s stooge General Palparan who’s most notorious for hundreds of activists slain in his areas of jurisdiction.

Now, fast forward, Esperon just took on the precious tiara of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. Imagine that! Somebody with fascistic mien that he conceals in most adroit manner, intoxicated with power and working directly now inside the palace, well within stone’s throw from the chief exec.

Hopefully, sanity still remains in presidential decisions delivered these days. If Esperon retains his post long enough, it won’t be long when another military coup will be launched. The question is no longer “will the rebels do it again” but rather “when will they launch it?”

[Writ 22 May 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila] 

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Tags: Esperon, military, neo-conservatives, peace talks, Pentagon, Philippines

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