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10 women vs VFA hurt in 'violent' dispersal in Manila


MANILA, Philippines - Ten members of the militant Gabriela women’s group were injured in a violent dispersal of a throng of 75 women that attempted to go near the US Embassy in Manila before noon Friday. Anti-riot cops from the Manila Police District (MPD) violently broke up the group, wounding 10 women, said Cristina Palabay, Gabriela’s secretary general. The women staged the protest march over the continued stay of convicted rapist Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith at the US Embassy, calling on the Philippines government to take the custody of the US soldier. Carrying a “symbolic" arrest warrant for Smith, the militants attempted to go near the US Embassy premises at around 11:30 a.m., even as MPD officials insisted that the area is a no rally zone. Apart from the custody issue, the group also denounced the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines. Earlier, Radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported that members of the Alliance of Progressive Labor had planned to march to the US Embassy but riot police blocked them on T.M. Kalaw Street. The women, who said their march was also meant to mark International Women's Month, decided to lie on the ground to dramatize their protest. The act snarled traffic along T.M. Kalaw Street. According to the protesters, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney should be removed for making a deal with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that allowed Smith to be detained at the US Embassy in Manila. The militants also demanded that the US Embassy turn over Smith to Philippine custody. In December 2006, a Makati City court convicted Smith for raping a Filipino woman in 2005, and had him detained at the Makati City Jail. The Supreme Court thumbed down the Romulo-Kenney agreement and ordered the forging of a new agreement that would place Smith under Philippine custody. - GMANews.TV
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