Critics blast Manila's APEC preparation<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuter): President Fidel Ramos has described the APEC
\nsummit as a chance for the Philippines to put on its best face,
\nbut critics said yesterday summit preparations have evoked the
\nugliest years of Marcos-era authoritarianism.<\/p>\n
\"According to APEC officials, APEC is intended to generate
\njobs and to help vulnerable sectors of society,\" Omi Royandoyan,
\nsecretary-general of a \"parallel summit\" of social activists,
\nsaid in an interview.<\/p>\n
\"But in reality what is happening is the opposite,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Organizers of the Nov. 22-23 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) foreign ministers' meeting and the Nov. 25 summit have
\nused concerns over security to justify a number of unpopular
\nmeasures.<\/p>\n
Squatters' homes have been destroyed in Manila, farmers have
\nbeen evicted from land they have tilled for years near an
\nairfield to be used by APEC leaders, and Nobel Peace Prize co-
\nwinner Jose Ramos-Horta has been barred from entering the
\ncountry, triggering embarrassing headlines worldwide.<\/p>\n
Gen. Lisandro Abadia, head of the APEC National Organizing
\nCommission and like Ramos a former armed forces chief, is adamant
\nthat security must come first for the visiting leaders, who
\ninclude U.S. President Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
Abadia said on the local television that the Philippines would
\naccept a \"passing grade\" of 95 percent for most APEC
\narrangements, such as accommodation and transportation for the
\nestimated 6,000 foreign visitors.<\/p>\n
But, he added: \"(For) security, you must be 100 percent.\"<\/p>\n
Despite peace accords with mainstream rebels, the Philippines
\nstill has active Moslem and leftist extremist groups with a
\nbloody track record. Security officials, however, say no specific
\nthreat has been identified.<\/p>\n
But critics say the very people who most need the prosperity
\nwhich APEC's free-trade commitment is supposed to bring are the
\nones being made to suffer as the summit nears.<\/p>\n
Royandoyan said the measures are actually a case of the
\ngovernment using its limited resources to try to conceal the
\ncountry's poverty.<\/p>\n
\"That's similar to the Marcos years,\" Royandoyan said,
\nreferring to the 20-year authoritarian rule of late president
\nFerdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda.<\/p>\n
Imelda Marcos spent lavishly on high-profile projects, such as
\nthe convention center where the APEC ministerial meeting will be
\nheld, while the government neglected basic infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n
The Marcoses were overthrown in a popular uprising 10 years
\nago.<\/p>\n
Under Ramos, the Philippines has staged what economists see as
\na remarkable economic revival which the government wants to
\ndisplay during the APEC meetings to attract further foreign
\ninvestments.<\/p>\n
Ramos himself has said tackling poverty remains a major
\nconcern. But despite his government's progress, more than a third
\nof the population of nearly 70 million people live in poverty.<\/p>",
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