(Eagle News) — The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Tuesday, Dec. 12, welcomed the United States’ return of the Balangiga bells to the Philippines, but at the same time called on the country to formally recognize “the atrocities of colonial rule and reparations for the people who bore the burden of colonial occupation.”
“Bayan congratulates the people of Balangiga, Samar for the return of the Balangiga Bells. The bells are a reminder of the heroism of Filipinos who resisted US occupation,” Bayan said in a statement.
It added, however, that the bells were “a grim reminder of the war crimes committed by the US occupation under Col Jacob Smith.”
“The history of our relationship with the US includes unequal treaties and impositions that remain to this day. These can hardly be described as ‘enduring friendship,” Bayan said.
“For there to be real justice, there must be a formal US recognition of the atrocities of colonial rule and reparations for the people who bore the burden of colonial occupation,” Bayan added.
After 117 years, the Balangiga bells, which were taken as war booty by American soldiers in 1901 during the Philippine-American war, arrived in the Villamor Airbase in Pasay on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The bells are slated to be transported to Balangiga, Eastern Samar on Saturday, Dec. 15.