HAGATNA, GUAM: The Catholic faithful in Guam led prayers for peace Sunday in the shadow of North Korean missile threat, with the western Pacific island’s archbishop appealing for “prudence” amid an escalating war of words between the US and Pyongyang.
The largely Catholic territory should pray for a “just resolution of differences, and prudence in both speech and action,” said Archbishop Michael Byrnes, echoing a flurry of international calls for US President Donald Trump to show greater rhetorical restraint.
A “prayers for peace” lunchtime rally in the capital Hagatna drew around 100 people. But despite Guam having become the center of a threatened showdown between the US and nuclear-armed North Korea, many said they were unfazed.
“I am really not scared because if it’s our time to die it is our time to die,” added Sita Manjaras, 62, a retired teacher from Tamuning.
Father Mike Crisostomo said their response to the threat was to have faith and pray.
“This goes to show to the other worlds, to the other nations and the countries, that Guam maybe small, our faith and our trust is big,” he said.
Dora Salazar, 82, who made the 14 kilometer (nine mile) journey from the village of Mangilao for the peace rally, said she was praying for the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un.
“We pray that God will touch his heart,” she said.
In response to Trump’s threat of “fire and fury,” North Korea has pledged to have plans ready in a matter of days to launch an “enveloping fire” of missiles toward Guam.
At the island’s main church, the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, Father Paul Gofigan told the congregation to be prepared in case North Korea does launch its missiles.
“What would you do if you have only 14 minutes left? The thing to do is pray and reflect,” he said
“Prioritise your life. This is a wake-up call, no matter what happens.”
Trump has been engaged all week in verbal sparring with the North over its weapons and missile programs, declaring Friday that the US military is “locked and loaded.”
He has told Guam Governor Eddie Calvo that US military was prepared to “ensure the safety and security of the people of Guam.”
While 85 percent of Guam’s 162,000 residents are Catholic, with temperatures hovering around 31 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) many locals and tourists preferred to head to the beach rather than church.
“No one feels threatened. Should we? Definitely not,” said Australian tourist Kirstie Bridgement.
“Guam is the most protected island. We feel safer than ever.”
The island houses two large US military bases and is home to more than 6,000 US military personnel.
American tourist Bryan Sanchez said it was difficult to understand the threat “especially with the way culture is like with memes, anything is going to be turned into a joke.
“People just aren’t, I guess, as aggressive or too worried about that kind of stuff in our day and age.”
Meanwhile, two community groups opposed to the presence of the US military in Guam, Independent Guahan and Prutehi Litekyan, have organized a “People for Peace” rally in Hagatna on Monday.
“What’s happening in Guam is a global issue, because if our island is attacked, it could be the catalyst for a global catastrophe,” Kenneth Gofigan Kuper of the Independent Guahan movement said.
The rally organizers said in a statement that “Guam has been forced in the middle of other nations’ conflicts, particularly as an unincorporated territory of the United States.
“As a result, many of Guam’s people know the painful and horrific effects of war as World II survivors and as veterans.
“Thus, the members of Independent Guahan and Prutehi Litekyan, both organizations dedicated to the decolonization and demilitarization of Guam, feel it is imperative for the community to stand together in a call for peace.”
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Guam residents pray for peace amid North Korea missile threat
Guam residents pray for peace amid North Korea missile threat
Philippines convicts journalist on terror charge called ‘absurd’
- Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws
TACLOBAN, Philippines: A young Philippine journalist who spent nearly six years in a crowded provincial prison was found guilty of terror financing on Thursday in a case rights groups and a UN expert labelled a “travesty of justice.”
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws, which defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo said have become the government’s “weapon of choice” for silencing dissent.
Cumpio and former roommate Marielle Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read and they were sentenced to up to 18 years in prison by judge Georgina Uy Perez of the Tacloban regional court.
The duo, who were both acquitted on a lesser weapons charge, will be eligible for parole in about 12 and a half years.
In a copy of the decision seen by AFP, the court said it was convinced by the testimony of former rebels who said the pair had provided the New People’s Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, arms and fabric for clothing.
The Samar-Leyte region that is home to Tacloban is one of the last remaining operating areas of the Maoist insurgency.
Both Cumpio and her advocates have insisted she was a victim of “red-tagging,” in which the government links its critics to the communist forces to silence them.
Speaking outside the courthouse, lawyer Norberto Robel said his team would file an appeal.
“Despite this (ruling), there is still a legal remedy and pending application for bail,” he said.
The case has been closely monitored by human rights groups including Amal Clooney’s Clooney Foundation for Justice, which in October questioned the lengthy detainment, citing “repeated postponements and slow progress.”
UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan had previously said the charges against Cumpio appeared to be “in retaliation for her work as a journalist.”
Cumpio and Domequil were arrested in February 2020 on weapons charges, accused of possessing a handgun and a grenade.
More than a year later, the terror financing charge, which carried a potential 40-year jail sentence, was added.
‘Absurd verdict’
On Thursday, Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the court’s decision.
“This absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk,” she said, adding it was the first time a journalist had been charged with financing terrorism in the Philippines.
“The ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting.”
Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders, said the verdict demonstrated a “blatant disregard for press freedom.”
“The Philippines should serve as an international example of protecting media freedom — not a perpetrator that red-tags, prosecutes and imprisons journalists simply for doing their work,” she said.
Prosecutors declined to speak with AFP outside the courthouse.
In September, more than 250 journalists and media groups called on President Marcos to release Cumpio, calling the charges “trumped up.”
Following an evening mass on Wednesday, Cumpio’s mother, Lala, told AFP that she visited her daughter in prison once each month, bringing her groceries, medication and chicken from Jollibee.
Bringing in the gravy and soft drinks that accompanied the fast food meals was prohibited by guards, she added.
“Of course, I’m worried,” Lala said of the looming decision. “My youngest keeps asking when his big sister will come home.”
She broke down in tears alongside her two sons outside the courthouse as the verdict was announced.
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws, which defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo said have become the government’s “weapon of choice” for silencing dissent.
Cumpio and former roommate Marielle Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read and they were sentenced to up to 18 years in prison by judge Georgina Uy Perez of the Tacloban regional court.
The duo, who were both acquitted on a lesser weapons charge, will be eligible for parole in about 12 and a half years.
In a copy of the decision seen by AFP, the court said it was convinced by the testimony of former rebels who said the pair had provided the New People’s Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, arms and fabric for clothing.
The Samar-Leyte region that is home to Tacloban is one of the last remaining operating areas of the Maoist insurgency.
Both Cumpio and her advocates have insisted she was a victim of “red-tagging,” in which the government links its critics to the communist forces to silence them.
Speaking outside the courthouse, lawyer Norberto Robel said his team would file an appeal.
“Despite this (ruling), there is still a legal remedy and pending application for bail,” he said.
The case has been closely monitored by human rights groups including Amal Clooney’s Clooney Foundation for Justice, which in October questioned the lengthy detainment, citing “repeated postponements and slow progress.”
UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan had previously said the charges against Cumpio appeared to be “in retaliation for her work as a journalist.”
Cumpio and Domequil were arrested in February 2020 on weapons charges, accused of possessing a handgun and a grenade.
More than a year later, the terror financing charge, which carried a potential 40-year jail sentence, was added.
‘Absurd verdict’
On Thursday, Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the court’s decision.
“This absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk,” she said, adding it was the first time a journalist had been charged with financing terrorism in the Philippines.
“The ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting.”
Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders, said the verdict demonstrated a “blatant disregard for press freedom.”
“The Philippines should serve as an international example of protecting media freedom — not a perpetrator that red-tags, prosecutes and imprisons journalists simply for doing their work,” she said.
Prosecutors declined to speak with AFP outside the courthouse.
In September, more than 250 journalists and media groups called on President Marcos to release Cumpio, calling the charges “trumped up.”
Following an evening mass on Wednesday, Cumpio’s mother, Lala, told AFP that she visited her daughter in prison once each month, bringing her groceries, medication and chicken from Jollibee.
Bringing in the gravy and soft drinks that accompanied the fast food meals was prohibited by guards, she added.
“Of course, I’m worried,” Lala said of the looming decision. “My youngest keeps asking when his big sister will come home.”
She broke down in tears alongside her two sons outside the courthouse as the verdict was announced.
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