On Tuesday 24th March, anti-riot police clashed with a group of Filipino students who were protesting over the presence of US military troops in their country.  You have to question, what on Earth are American troops doing on this distant island in the Indian ocean... no wonder the students were demanding their withdrawal!

The document in question is the Visiting Forces Agreement, which concerns the conduct of American soldiers during annual exercises undertaken between the Filipino and US troops on the island.  Although the pact was ratified by the Phillipine Senate in 1999, the US are still yet to approve!  Protestors claim that the agreement does not grant equal rights to Filipino and American citizens, but instead treats the locals as "second-class citizens of the United States".  Does all this sound familiar?  Another case of the American military abusing their power?

But, as always, this demonstration of anti-American sentiment was not without history.  In 2006, US soldier Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was detained after being convicted of raping a Filipino woman, not only outraging the people of the Philippines but also severely straining relations between Washington and Manilla.

Earlier this month, at least 30 women of the left-wing group Gabriela unfurled banners outside the US embassy, expressing their disgust at the alleged rape of Filipino woman by a US soldier in Japan just under a month ago.  The demonstration was short-lived as police dispersed protestors almost immediately, but the women were nonetheless vocal in their demands:

"We are outraged by the silence of the US and Philippine governments on the case.  Another Filipino woman has been victimized by a US military man, and we have the right to know what actions these governments are doing," said Joms Salvador, a spokesperson for the group.

This particular case was only a week after another alleged rape by a US soldier on a 14 year old Japanese girl, in the same town of Okinawa.  Of course, you're unlikely to find reports of these crimes on the evening news.  Salvador shares these concerns, and feared that a "conspiracy of silence" from the two governments would lead to a grave injustice being ignored completely.

But since then, Philippine lawmakers approved a resolution for the government to lead efforts to ensure prosecution of the accused soldiers, and legislators in the House of Representatives also vowed "to work on appropriate legislative measures to protect the dignity of women and guarantee the swift administration of justice for all victims of rape and other forms of sexual abuse."

However, it really does make you wonder what American troops are doing around the rest of the world...

Words: Jody McIntyre, 18.