News and Views from the People's Struggle
San Jose, CA - On Feb. 24, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency, banning public protests, allowing for government takeover of the media and arrests without warrants. This declaration came on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the revolt that ousted former dictator Ferdinand Marcos and was aimed at stopping mass protests trying to commemorate the date.
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines about the wave of repression launched by U.S.-backed President Arroyo.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Pilipino human rights organization KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. A wave of violence, organized by the U.S-backed government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), has been aimed at that country's progressive movement.
Trade union leader Rolando ‘Ka Rolly’ Mariano, 53 years old, was fatally shot by three unidentified men atop a single motorcycle. Mariano was aboard a minivan on his way to work Oct. 7 in San Fernando village in Victoria, Tarlac.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Sept. 23 statement from the main trade union federation in the Philippines, the KMU (May 1st Workers’ Center), concerning the assassination of one of its leaders, Diosdado Fortuna. The government of U.S.-backed Pilipino President Arroyo is responsible for a wave of human rights violations.
A campaign for the release of political prisoner Donato ‘Donat’ Continente has been announced by BAYAN, an alliance of progressive Pilipino organizations. Background information on this critical case appeared in the summer 2002 issue of Fight Back!
On April 7, 2005, riot police in the Philippines attacked and broke up a demonstration by human rights activists marching near an international parliamentarians' conference. The protesters were gathering at the Malate Church in Manila en route to the Philippine International Convention Center. The police injured various people, including Catholic priests from the organization Promotion for Church People’s Response (PCPR).
New York, NY - More than 50 people rallied at the Philippine consulate, Sept. 21, to protest U.S. military intervention in the Philippines. One of the demands raised was for an end to U.S.-orchestrated moves against exiled progressive Filipinos, such as Jose Maria Sison, who have found refuge in the Netherlands. The U.S. State Department has falsely charged that Sison, a key leader in the fight to create a just society in the Philippines, is a 'terrorist.' As a result, the internationally known scholar, poet and founding Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has had his personal bank account seized and lost his housing. The possibility exists that he may be extradited to the United States. A worldwide movement is being built in his defense.
The following is an exclusive interview with the Chief Negotiator for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, Luis Jalandoni. He has represented the NDF in peace negotiations with the government of the Philippines. The NDF is an alliance of revolutionary organizations drawing from different sectors of Filipino society, including trade unions, peasants, women, students, and religious organizations. The NDF includes the insurgent New Peoples Army.
The Philippines is a country of extremes. There are very rich people and wealthy U.S. corporations in the Philippines. But most people, millions of them, are very poor. The Philippines is also a country that has been at war for over thirty years-a war between the haves and the have-nots.