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| Philippines protests against Australia's criticism |
| | www.chinaview.cn 2004-07-28 21:28:57 |
MANILA, July 28
(Xinhuanet) -- The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Wednesday lodged a
diplomat protest against Australia for criticizing its decision to pull out the
troops from Iraq for the release of a Filipino hostage
there.
Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said in a statement
that the Philippine government conveyed the Australian counterpart the strong
objections over the criticisms aired by some Australian
officials over
Philippine humanitarian contingent's return from Iraq a few days ahead of
schedule.
The statement was released after Albert called
Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce to the department.
"I told
Ambassador Pearce that there is absolutely no basis to put in doubt the resolve
of the Philippines to fight terror, for the Philippines has stared terrorism in
the face and its brave men and women in uniform fight terrorism with valor,
courage and self-sacrifice," she said.
Albert also conveyed
the fact that the Philippine government "strongly object to the broad
characterizations made by these officials in these statements, particularly
those that question the resolve of the Philippines to fight
terrorism."
Australian Prime Minister John Howard Wednesday
echoed his foreign minister Alexander Downer's remarks, attacking the Philippine
government for "giving in" to Iraqi militants.
"We will
never turn back the tide of terrorism if we bargain and parley with them, and
that has been the position of the Australian government all along and other
countries should adopt the same position," he said.
Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer accused that the Philippines had acted "like a
marshmallow" by deciding to withdraw its troops from Iraq early to save the life
of a hostage.
He said the Philippines and Spain, which also
pulled its troops out of Iraq early, had "given in to militants," leading to
their taking more hostages.
On the other hand, Albert
conveyed in "very strong terms" that her government "find very objectionable the
liability attributed to the Philippines for subsequent acts of hostage-taking in
Iraq.
"There can be no relation between the actions taken by
the Philippine government and the other incidents of hostage-taking in Iraq,"
she said.
The secretary also expressed deep regret over the
tendency of some Australian officials to continue to define policies of other
countries.
"We have to get on with task at hand, which is to
fight terrorism. In the interest of maintaining good relations and avoiding any
further misunderstandings, the Philippines hopes that any further concerns by
Australian officials on this issue can be addressed through diplomatic
channels," she said.
In a separate statement, Pearce said
that although her government understands the circumstances that influenced the
decision of the Philippine government, Canberra remains resolute in the fight
against terrorism and will continue to reject terrorist
demands.
"We understand how difficult the situation was for
the Philippines...its work and its people in Iraq. We are determined to stand
resolute in efforts to counter terrorism including the demands of terrorists,"
the envoy said.
However, she assured that the Philippines
and Australia will continue to cooperate on
counter-terrorism.
"We appreciate the Philippines'
commitment to combat terrorism. Australia and the Philippines are friends and
this issue should not affect our good relationship," she
said.
"Let's move on," she added. Enditem |
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