New York, NY – Crowds gathered the evening of April 10 as progressive organizations denounced recent United States warmongering in the Asia-Pacific and demanded an end to U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Today marked the beginning of the largest-ever joint military exercises (“Balikatan”) between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines; war games that are a part of war preparations against China.

The Filipino organizations hosting the Monday explained that in February of this year, the government announced that it was adding four additional military bases to the list of facilities accessible and usable by the U.S. military. In return, the U.S. announced a $3.3 million grant to the Philippine National Police, which will fund the ongoing human rights abuses committed by the current Marcos-Duterte government.

As the organizers declared, “War games will not bring more stability to the region, nor will it help the Filipino people in defending our sovereignty, the invitation of U.S. imperialism into the country is a direct affront to sovereignty. And as history has proven, greater U.S. military presence will surely lead to more violence against women and children. As the economic crisis continues to impact working class and poor communities across the U.S. – including Filipinos – BAYAN USA demands that U.S. taxpayer dollars be directed towards serving the people’s needs rather than funding war and counterinsurgency abroad.”

Briny Smith, of the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS), which is an alliance of organizations around the world united in the fight against imperialism stated, “Under Biden as under Trump, the U.S. pursues a foreign policy of ever-increasing aggression and repression of people’s struggles across the world. Busy saber rattling at China with no regard for the consequences, the U.S. pleads Israel’s ‘inherent right to self-defense,’ as Israeli forces brutally attack Palestinians praying in al-Aqsa during Ramadan. And closer to home, the U.S. maintains its on grip on Puerto Rico through FBI repression and economic stranglehold, denying Puerto Ricans their right to independence and self-determination, just like it denies that right to the people of Palestine, the Philippines, and oppressed nations across the world.”

Some of the other speakers focused on topics including the U.S. military’s horrible environmental footprint, the abuses of Filipino women by U.S. soldiers, and the false labelling of democratic activists as “terrorists.” BAYAN USA concluded with another call to action: “We call on the people to support the Philippine Human Rights Act, a bill to cut U.S. security assistance to the Philippine military and police for their role in human rights violations. Most importantly, we call on all Filipinos and supporters to build the mass movement to junk all unequal U.S.-PH military agreements, stop military aid and war games, and end U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.”

Hosting organizations included BAYAN USA Northeast, Anakbayan Manhattan, Anakbayan North Jersey, Anakbayan Philadelphia, Anakbayan Queens NY, Gabriela New York, Gabriela New Jersey, Migrante New York, and Migrante New Jersey.

#NewYorkNY #Philippines #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #Asia

Seattle, WA – On October 21 through 23, 270 activists, representing more than 50 different organizations from across the country, gathered in Seattle for the second Assembly of the U.S. chapter of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS).

Attendees heard panels and gave workshops to educate on and assess different aspects of the anti-imperialist struggle around the U.S. The Assembly united under the slogan “Fight for our rights, lives, and planet! Unite against the dying, desperate U.S. Empire!” Organizers committed themselves to fighting back against state and political repression, and to continue the people’s struggle for liberation.

Taking place in Seattle, the Assembly was situated at the foot of the Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing corporate headquarters. Organizers highlighted the role these tech companies and manufacturers have played in exploiting workers across the world and arming imperialist conquests. On the first day of the assembly, attendees marched from the Museum of History and Industry to the Amazon Spheres to take this message to the streets. They chanted “Power to the Amazon workers!” “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

“These technologies are what will be used to decide what Palestinian is able to go to school in the morning, what father is able to go to work, and who is able to go to the hospital,” shouted Aisha Mansour, an activist with Falastiniyat, as organizers marched past Google headquarters. Speaking at the start of the march, ILPS U.S. organizer Nina Macapinlic stated, “The empire is dying! A new world is waiting! But we will only get what we are organized to take!”

Workshop facilitators and panelists came from a wide range of anti-imperialist organizations across the U.S., and covered topics that included worker organizing, police repression, Puerto Rican resistance and U.S. surveillance in Palestine and the Philippines. They shared lessons, victories and defeats from the people’s struggle in the U.S. and around the world. “Community control of the police is a short-term reform that can tackle imperialism. If we’re able to control the foot soldiers of the imperialists, we’re one step closer to bringing the whole thing down,” shared Michela Martinazzi from the New York Community Action Project, speaking to a classroom full of organizers.

The Assembly also passed several resolutions for action that the U.S. chapter will undertake in the coming months. These included a resolution to join the call to free Simon Trinidad, a Colombian revolutionary and prisoner of the U.S. empire. The text of the resolution reads “It is imperative that we demand that the U.S. government free Simon Trinidad so he may return to his homeland and participate as a lead negotiator to move Columbia toward a peace with justice.” Other resolutions included an ILPS endorsement of the 2024 March on the RNC, a resolution to free Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, and a resolution to oppose the use of the terror label to brand activists.

The Assembly also included cultural performances that brought great emotion to the audience and ended with organizers coming together in celebratory dance as the venue was packed up. The entire weekend was a resounding success. “What was both agitating and heartwarming was the sense of revolutionary optimism that came from the level of organization and discipline of the participants toward a future free of imperialist domination,” said Carly Brooks of Resist US-Led War.

“The Assembly was a fantastic opportunity to build off of the momentum that labor and mass organizing has begun to build following the interruption of the pandemic,” said Zach Andrews of Seattle University’s Students for Justice in Palestine. “It further solidified the collective resilience of movements for just peace throughout the world and the interconnectedness of these struggles.”

#SeattleWA #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle

On March 20, the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) will be launching its six-week long global campaign to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of March 18 to May 28, 1871. The “Paris Commune at 150” campaign (PC150) will be a global mass commemoration to refresh, revitalize and sustain interest in the Paris Commune: its historical context and impact in the past 150 years, its lessons and continuing validity for the current era.

In March of 1871, the working class of Paris rose up and took over the city. For months, workers controlled production and distribution of goods; by universal suffrage, they elected a Commune, with workers having the right of recall. As Karl Marx wrote in The Civil War in France, “The police, which until then had been the instrument of the Government, was at once stripped of its political attributes, and turned into the responsible, and at all times revocable, agent of the Commune.” The commune cancelled rent as they were under siege by the militarist Bismarck.

Sadly, the French ruling class regrouped, gathered an army of mercenaries, marched into Paris and massacred the communards. But Marx declared the workers were an inspiration around the world for “storming heaven.”

To launch the effort, there will be a webinar Saturday, March 20 (9 a.m. Eastern Time, 8 a.m. CDT, 6 a.m. PDT) with Professor Jose Maria Sison, Chair Emeritus of the ILPS presenting a major address. Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression will respond to Sison’s remarks. Chapman, also a member of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, just released his book, Marxist Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism. In his book, Chapman discusses that the Paris Commune took place during the same period as Black Reconstruction in the U.S. South, the most democratic period for Black people in this country’s history.

To register for the webinar: bit.ly/ParisCommune150WebinarLaunch

#UnitedStates #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #Socialism #FrankChapman #ParisCommune

New York City, NY – On the evening of April 22, the North East chapter of the International League of People’s Struggle held a webinar titled “Rent Strike: What it is and how to do it.”

While for many, May 1 marks International Workers Day, it will also mark the beginning of the second month where a majority of Americans will have been out of work and unable to pay rent. In New York over 40 days have passed since all non-essential businesses have been closed, which have put thousands of New Yorkers out of work. On April 1, over a one-third of renters weren’t able to pay their rent, and those numbers are bound to be much higher on May 1.

The webinar was comprised of several speakers who did not just advocate for rent strikes for the sake of striking, but explained how to organize one successfully.

The presentation began with Justin La Mort, a supervising attorney for Mobilizing for Justice. He went into great detail regarding tenant laws in New York state, what rights tenants have, and what tools one needs to begin striking – legally.

La Mort was followed up by Michael Tan, a co-coordinator of ILPS-NE, who gave a presentation of Neoliberalism in the U.S. and how neoliberal policies directly affect the current crisis.

The end of the webinar included two case studies from organizers who successfully waged rent strikes: Alicia Boyd, a political organizer and founder of Movement to Protect the People, and Drae, a tenant leader in the Grand Putnam Tenants Association.

Towards the end, the webinar was infiltrated by over 15 landlords and housing brokers who attempted to disrupt and derail the presentation. Fortunately, the organizers were able to kick them out and the presenters were able to finish answering questions that aided the people of New York.

You can find the full presentation and webinar here: https://www.facebook.com/ILPSUnitedStates/videos/525614264982230/

#NewYorkNY #Healthcare #HousingStruggles #NationalLawyersGuild #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #RentStrike

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples’ Struggle – US chapter.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle – US chapter (ILPS US) expresses our deep and genuine solidarity with the people of Venezuela and their government under duly-elected President Nicolas Maduro. We absolutely reject the war mongering of the Donald Trump administration, including the fabricated charges of drug trafficking against President Maduro, the deployment of the U.S. Navy to Venezuela under the flimsy guise of fighting drug trafficking, and the continuing economic sanctions in an attempt to destroy the Venezuelan economy and destabilize the government.

To blindly follow Trump’s statements without question is an outright denial of facts and history. One only has to look at Trump’s own personal history of blatant lies (most recently with his handling of the entire COVID 19 pandemic) to uncover his tactics of creating his own truth for the sake of consolidating more power for his family and crony dynasty. It is the same type of lies the US has used in its long history of military intervention and imperialist violation of the sovereignty of other nations — deposing democratically elected leaders across Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe.

We recognize Maduro and the Venezuelan people’s desires for fraternal relationships, cooperation, exchange and respect as true signs of international solidarity. We applaud Venezuela’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic which supports workers and their families by guaranteeing workers’ wages and banning lay-offs.

The ILPS US CC commits ourselves to exposing and opposing imperialism, its neoliberal policies and its neo-fascist leaders, and we demand the US government focus instead on providing for the dire needs of the vast majority of the working class families and impoverished people within the US. We call for the lifting of US sanctions against Venezuela along with those against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, China, Iran, Cuba, Palestine and elsewhere, which only serve to strangle and deprive the people of much needed medical supplies and other basic necessities for their survival. The world is in crisis, which needs international solidarity and a concerted effort to not only fight COVID 19 but also to bring an end to the deeper pandemic of imperialism and build towards the genuine solution to the crisis—a socialist future!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #US #Americas #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #Socialism #NicolásMaduro #DonaldTrump

Since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, there has never been an attack against the Chilean people like the one that President Sebastián Piñera has unleashed against the massive protests of the working class and peoples in that country. More than 18 dead, hundreds of disappeared, over 1500 political prisoners across Chile: these are the results of the repression by the armed forces and carabineros who took control of the country last October 18, when the government declared a state of emergency in the capital.

In spite of this, the massive mobilizations have not stopped; on the contrary, on October 23, 24, 2019 a General Strike was called, which paralyzed the main cities of the country as hundreds of thousands of Chileans flooded the streets, including original peoples such as the Mapuche people of the Andean region.

It has been thus because the demands of the masses of Chilean people are absolutely just. The protests were triggered by the increase in the price of public transportation, met by massive protests of the Chilean youth. Very soon the workers, people in the popular neighborhoods, the teachers and others joined in because the neoliberal measures of Sebastián Piñera’s government in collusion with the imperialist organizations (IMF, WB, OECD) are impoverishing the majority of the Chilean people.

The brutality of the repressive forces of the Chilean state has served to radicalize the actions of the people so that the mobilizations in Chile have become real popular rebellions, with looting and fires of large transnational corporations and government offices, the raising of barricades, roadblocks, work stoppages and strikes. The government has indicated that it could backtrack on some measures, but people refuse to back down because the politics of the Chilean regime and imperialism have had such a devastating effect on the lives of the population.

As the International League of People’s Struggle in Latin America, we stand in solidarity with the struggle of the working class and the peoples of Chile, we demand that Sebastian Piñera’s assault against the people be stopped immediately, that the state of emergency be lifted and that the Armed Forces return to their barracks. We demand the release of all political prisoners, punishment of those responsible for the murderer of more than 18 comrades in combat, as well as the return of the disappeared, alive.

We are certain that the struggle of the Chilean people will see victory sooner rather than later. We call for people throughout the world to develop a militant movement of internationalist solidarity because we are sure that the struggle waged by the working class and the people of Chile is a battle of the entire international proletariat, and that includes the struggles of the Haitian, Lebanese, Catalan, Ecuadorian, Kurdish people.

Faced with the deepening of the general crisis of the imperialist capitalist system, these popular uprisings are showing the path that the whole international proletariat must take to bring us closer to a new wave of proletarian revolutions, as the only real way out of the world imperialist system.

#Chile #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #2019ChileanProtests

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) in solidarity with Khaled Barakat, that was adopted at its 6th International Conference in Hong Kong, June 27.

Khaled Barakat, Palestinian writer and coordinator of the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, was invited to be one of the keynote speakers for the 6th International Assembly in Hong Kong from 23 to 27 June. However, one day before the beginning of the conference, Barakat was suddenly slapped with a repressive political ban by German authorities, banning him from speaking in public either “directly or indirectly,” in person or over video. Therefore, Barakat was unable to deliver his keynote address, under threat of a year in prison in Germany.

The German government is acting as an accomplice to U.S. imperialism and Israeli Zionism. It is trying to crush the German people’s attempts to protest about the plight of the Palestinians. Not only is it a right to protest against this injustice, it is our duty.

Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, spoke over video to the ILPS conference, discussing the repression that prevented them from hearing from Barakat and its context in the ongoing siege and attacks on Palestine by the imperialist powers.

Khaled Barakat was banned by the Berlin authorities from delivering a speech last 22 June on the so-called “deal of the century” spearheaded by Donald Trump and the Arab and Palestinian response. He was also banned from engaging in all political activities and events in Germany until 31 July.

Barakat was presented with an 8-page document and told that he was not allowed to give speeches in person or over video, participate in political meetings or events or even attend social gatherings of over 10 people; he was told that violations were punishable by up to a year in prison. Under German law, non-citizens can be barred from political activity if it could harm the “security or stability” of Germany. The accusations, which purport to show that his political activity is “dangerous,” do not do so; instead, there is mainly a list of speeches and events as well as a 2014 interview with Rote Fahne News, the publication of the MLPD (Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany.) Despite claiming that Barakat’s speech could increase tensions or “political conflict” between Jews and Palestinians and Arabs in Germany, the document points to absolutely no negative repercussions whatsoever of all of his previous speeches in the country.

The document also accuses Barakat of being a member of the Palestinian leftist party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Despite noting that the PFLP is, in fact, not banned in Germany, it notes that it is listed on the EU terrorist list and thus presents a danger, even though none of the listed allegations indicate any danger at all. It could not be more clear that this is the latest attempt on Palestinian expression and advocacy and the further restriction of freedom of speech, expression and association in Germany.

Barakat and Kates were also told that their residency in Germany would not be renewed and would “come to an end,” although they were not presented with that decision.

This incident comes amid an ongoing campaign by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, the so-called “anti-BDS ministry,” to attack Palestinian and solidarity organizations, especially leftists. Barakat has been singled out by this ministry on multiple occasions, as has Samidoun and its work. It also comes following a series of attacks on Palestinian rights and freedom of speech in Germany, including:

• the political ban and stripping of the Schengen visitor visa targeting Rasmea Odeh, former Palestinian political prisoner and community leader.

• the anti-BDS resolution passed by the German Bundestag (parliament) denouncing BDS as “anti-Semitic.”

• the criminal prosecution of activists for interrupting an Israeli official speaker involved in the war on Gaza at Humboldt University.

• the cancellation of performance invitations to American rapper Talib Kweli and Scottish rappers Young Fathers for their support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

• the forced resignation of the director of the Jewish Museum in Berlin for tweeting a link to a statement against the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution written by Jewish scholars.

This repression comes hand in hand with political attacks on the Arab and Muslim communities in Germany spearheaded by the far-right rhetoric of the AfD and other parties, but with the active complicity of the official “left,” which continues to support the suppression of Palestinian community organizing and Palestine solidarity in defense of a colonial, apartheid, racist system. It also comes amid ongoing criminalization of popular movements in Europe, including trials of trade union leaders and refugee solidarity organizers in various countries.

#HongKong #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #MiddleEast #Europe #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #KhaledBarakat

On Sunday, October 7, at 3 p.m., various anti-war and international solidarity organizations will be gathering to mark of the 17th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan.

The event, titled “From Afghanistan to Yemen, End the Wars: NY Tour,” will be a rally in Herald Square, including chants and speeches relating to Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Korea and other places around the world being threatened by the U.S.

October 7 is an important date because it is when the U.S invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 in 2001. The U.S. remains there to this day. Since then, the U.S. has been at war with or threatened attacks on Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Korea and many others.

The three slogans of the rally are “End the Wars,” “U.S. Troops and Bases Out” and “Money for Jobs, Education, and Healthcare.”

The action is being co-hosted by Committee to Stop FBI Repression, International Action Center, and International League of Peoples’ Struggle, with many more endorsing and attending. For more information, go to the Facebook event here ( https://www.facebook.com/events/539642079814794/?ti=icl).

#NewYorkNY #NewYorkCityNY #International #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #Asia #PeoplesStruggles #AfghanistanWar #InternationalActionCenter #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #CommitteeToStopFBIRepressionNYC

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS), condemn in the strongest terms the assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on August 4, 2018 in Caracas, using drones loaded with explosives. We join all the anti-imperialist and democratic forces all over the world and all the progressive-oriented governments in Latin America in condemning this despicable terrorist act.

We extend our sympathy and solidarity to President Maduro, to the people and government of Venezuela and support their strong determination to uphold national sovereignty, preserve the gains that have been achieved in carrying out patriotic and progressive social and economic programs and defend the country and the people against economic sabotage, violent provocations and threats of aggression and regime change by US imperialism and its stooges.

President Maduro has earned the ire of the US and the local reactionaries for upholding the legacy of Hugo Chavez in implementing social and economic reforms that benefit the broad masses of the people particularly the toiling masses of workers and peasants.

US imperialism cannot forgive Chavez and Maduro for nationalizing the oil industry that it greedily covets. Likewise the local oligarchy cannot forgive Chavez and Maduro for using the oil profits to build schools, hospitals, low-cost housing and other progressive programs for the broad masses of the people.

The US and the local reactionaries tried many times in the past to overthrow Hugo Chavez but failed because of the support of the people. They have continued with their vicious attempts to cause the overthrow of Maduro through trade sanctions, economic sabotage, violent street actions and coup-plotting. Having failed in these, they have now switched to assassination.

Initial investigation by the Venezuelan government points to the US and the Colombian government as having a direct hand in the assassination attempt. Colombian Pres. Juan Manuel Santos in a recent interview with the Agence France Press was reported to have said that “Maduro's days are numbered” and “that regime has to fall.” In May 2017, Trump declared in a joint press conference with Pres. Juan Manuel Santos that he was going “to fix” Venezuela with the help of countries like Colombia.

The US and the local reactionaries will not stop until they achieve their objective. The Venezuelan government and people must remain vigilant and militant and be prepared for even more vicious attacks from these evil forces that have become desperate for their previous failures in creating destabilization, chaos and white terror.

Again we condemn the recent attempt by the US and the local reactionaries in Venezuela to overthrow the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and reverse the patriotic and progressive Bolivarian orientation of that government. We extend our solidarity to the Venezuelan government and people and support their right to national self-determination and to chart their own independent course of development.

Long live President Maduro and the government of Venezuela!

Down with US imperialism and their local running dogs!

Long live the people of Venezuela!

Long live international solidarity!

#UnitedStates #Venezuela #ILPS #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #NicolásMaduro #Americas

We, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) condemn in the strongest terms the cold-blooded massacre of unarmed Palestinian protesters by Israeli soldiers on March 14 in Gaza in the run up to the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) on March 15, the day the state of Israel was established in 1948 forcing around 750,000 Palestinians from their homes.

This latest massacre of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers killed 60 and wounded 2,000 others. One of the casualties was an eight-month-old baby girl, Laila Anwar al-Ghandor. Israeli snipers were shooting with live bullets at the protesters including at children, women, journalists and paramedics.

While the carnage was going on, Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was celebrating with Benjamin Netanyahu the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. Only the representatives of 28 US client states attended the inauguration. When Trump announced on December 6, 2017 the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, 128 countries voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning such decision.

Jerusalem is considered as Occupied Territory with West Jerusalem being seized by Israel in 1948 and East Jerusalem in the 1967 “Six-Day War”. Israel’s declaration of sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem in 1980 has never been recognized internationally. All countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. Under international law, it is a criminal offence to “make permanent changes” on “territory acquired by force”.

The Palestinians have been demonstrating over the past six weeks in Gaza in what they call the “Great Return March” to highlight their demand to be allowed to return to their historic homes, including those in Jerusalem. Some 70% of Gaza’s population are descendants of refugees who were driven out of their homes when Israel was created in 1948 and later in the 1967 War.

We call on all freedom-loving people of the world to condemn this latest atrocity committed against the Palestinian people and support the just struggle of the Palestinian people against the barbaric Israeli occupation and for national and social liberation.

We fully support the right of return for Palestinian refugees which right has been reaffirmed by the United Nations (UN) from 1948 onwards through various UN General Assembly resolutions.

We condemn the most recent massacre and brutal dispersal of peaceful Palestinian protesters by the Israeli armed forces. We condemn the continuing support of the US and other western governments for the Zionist Israeli government with its continuing illegal occupation and reign of terror against the Palestinian people.

#Palestine #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #MiddleEast

Fight Back New Service is circulating the following May 1 statement by Jose Maria Sison, Chairperson, International League of Peoples´ Struggle.

Warmest greetings of solidarity! The International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) stands with our member-organization, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and the broad masses of workers and people celebrating the International Day of Labor and joining the mass protests this May 1.

This day closely precedes the 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx on May 5. The ILPS recognizes that there is no more fitting tribute to Marx, the great thinker and founder of the theory and practice of proletarian revolution, than to adopt a theme from his great work, the Communist Manifesto: “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.”

The strong internationalist theme is demanded by the major problems that confront and inflict grave suffering on the workers of the world, including those of the Philippines. These include unemployment and underemployment, job insecurity, low wages, repression of unions, and the lack of social services such as housing and public transportation.

They arise from the profit-taking nature of capitalism at the expense of the working class, especially under the current imperialist neoliberal policies. Indeed. workers of the world must unite to fight their class exploiters and oppressors.

In the Philippines, the blatant use of fascist policy and tactics against workers is a direct response to the successful, widespread working class movement fighting to uphold workers’ rights. We support your main calls for the junking of contractualization, for a national minimum wage, for better public services, and for a just and lasting peace in the context of the ongoing war between the reactionary government and the revolutionary forces of the people.

Indeed, with these clear goals, KMU has succeeded in building a historic alliance with other labor organizations in the country, as workers unite in the face of the Duterte regime’s neoliberal attacks on labor rights and welfare. KMU must maintain its independence and initiative while leading the fight against the tyrannical regime.

KMU has always been at the forefront of the campaigns of the labor sector in the Philippines, because of its capacity for sharp, thorough, and incisive analysis of workers’ issues in the national and international setting. KMU fulfills a crucial role in leading the struggles of Filipino workers, who have labored under the yoke of the semifeudal and semicolonial system.

Today, that struggle is intensifying against the anti-people, anti-worker regime of Duterte and his ruling clique of landlords, big compradors, and bureaucrat capitalists, including the still politically-active families of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the plunderer Gloria M. Arroyo.

This Labor Day, Filipino workers’ condemnation of the Duterte regime’s neoliberal economic policies aligns with the worldwide workers’ movement against imperialism. It has been a decade since the 2008 global financial crisis, yet workers still suffer from its lasting impact, and the crisis of overproduction and excessive publicdebt continues to worsen and deepen.

Capitalists have developed an arsenal of ways and means to keep maximizing profits at the expense of the laboring people. Around the world, exploitation persists, as evident in the pervasiveness of cheap labor, austerity measures, higher taxes for the poor; and tax cuts for the corporations and the rich, the privatization of public assets and services and inhumane working conditions.

Meanwhile, as workers and other oppressed people suffer from the unresolved economic downturn, giant corporations and governments of imperialists and imperialist allies survive through self-serving mechanisms such as state-funded bailouts, credits, and public funding; blatant graft and corruption; and one-sided public-private partnerships.

The nonstop accumulation of capital in the hands of the ruling class is flagrant in the Philippines and the whole world. In the National Capital Region, the current daily minimum wage is less than half of the estimated family living wage.

The gap is widened as the Duterte regime railroads laws designed to benefit the ruling classes while adding to the burdens of the poor, such as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which increases taxes on basic goods and services and bring about rising prices for the toiliing masses, while lowering the import costs of luxury goods.

Duterte and his cronies maintain and aggravate the harsh social and economic conditions of the people primarily through state terrorism and active black propaganda campaign against social activists and other critics of his administration.

These strategies of the oppressive rulers are nothing new. As seen in the recent unwarranted attacks on Palestine and Syria, the US and its imperialist allies continue to wage outright wars of aggression in order to feed the greed of the military-industrial complex, while raising the public debt and destroying the lives in great numbers and the physical and social infrastructure of their “enemy” countries.

But even in a world beset by a sharp rise in state terrorist tactics, Duterte is unusually notorious. His multiple wars against his own people, from a drug war targeting the poor to a war against revolutionaries, have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths in only two years. His death toll is unprecedented even in comparison to Marcos. In the labor sector, 29 have been killed since Duterte came into power in 2016.

To suppress the legal political activities and clearly legitimate dissent against his ultr-reactionary policies and actions, Duterte has increased military expenditures and used the military, police and paramilitary for selfish criminal purposes. He repeatedly goads, rewards and supports the military, police and paramilitary to carry out mass killings and other atrocities.

The Duterte administration has also made frenzied efforts to generate and spread fake news, intended to mislead the masses and deflect public anger against his government. This is particularly obvious in Duterte’s pretense at being opposed to contractualization, as he signs executive orders riddled with loopholes instead of working with the labor sector to end contractualization once and for all. He has recently exposed himself totally as being for contractualization.

This year, the need for workers to organize and oppose imperialism on a local and global scale is stronger than ever. Some 170 years ago, Marx reminded proletarian revolutionaries: “You have a world to win.” Workers in the Philippines and around the world should unite in fighting oppression and exploitation.

We join the revolutionary struggle of all oppressed peoples to build a society characterized, not by inequality and mass suffering, but by freedom from imperialism and local reaction, by democracy, economic development, cultural progress and social justice for the people towards the goal of socialism.

Long live Kilusang Mayo Uno!

Long live the working class and the Filipino people!

Fight imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism!

Long live the great legacy of Marx!

Advance the world proletarian-socialist revolution!

#UnitedStates #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #JoseMariaSison #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #Socialism

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of People’s Struggle.

We, members of the Commission 3 of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, vehemently condemn the illegal arrest, torture and continuing detention of Ahed Tamimi and Nariman Tamimi, as we call for their immediate release and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners.

Since December 19, 2017, 16-year old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi has been detained in Israel on trumped up charges, after a video taken by her mother, Nariman, went viral, showing how Ahed expressed resistance to soldiers entering their house. Ahed is facing twelve charges, while her mother was charged and detained for posting the video. Ahed has been denied bail as an Israeli military court judge said that she is dangerous and the weight of her offenses “does not allow an alternative to custody.” She and her mother are facing lengthy prison time, possibly up to 14 years. According to their legal counsel, the two have endured extensive and aggressive sessions of interrogations and that the interrogators threatened her family’s safety.

Ahed, Nariman and the Tamimi family have been targeted by the Israeli occupation forces for their anti-colonial resistance in the village of 600 Palestinians in Nabi Saleh, a site of long-term organizing and struggle against the confiscation of their land by the illegal Zionist settlement of Halamish. Clearly, the arrests of Ahed and Nariman are attempts of the Zionist Israeli government to quell Palestinian organizing and resistance.

Ahed is among the 360 children jailed in Israeli prisons. Many other Palestinian children are detained in Israeli prisons, experiencing torture, solitary confinement, denial of access to their families or lawyers and other human rights violations. On January 16, 13-year old Razan Abu Sal, a Palestinian youth refugee, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to four months in prison and a fine of $800. Razan, like many of the imprisoned Palestinian children, was accused of throwing stones at soldiers.

These children prisoners are among the 6,200 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. With the official support from the United States government of the status of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, these violations have worsened. US Pres. Donald Trump’s latest decision has emboldened the Zionist Israeli occupation forces under the Netanyahu regime to intensify their military operations and crimes against the Palestinian people.

We call for the immediate release of Ahed and Nariman Tamimi and all Palestinian political prisoners. We call on all member organizations of the ILPS, people’s organizations and human rights activists to continue their support the Palestinian people in their just struggle against the Zionist occupation of Palestine.

#Palestine #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #AhedTamimi #NarimanTamimi #MiddleEast

New York, NY—On Jan. 18, several dozen organizers gathered in the below-freezing evening to demand an end to all U.S.-led wars and imperialism.

The event was organized by the different groups in the International League of Peoples’ Struggles as part of the #DaysOfRage. This whole week was marked by different actions by different New York groups as a way a build up to J20, which is this Saturday.

This Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the Trump administration taking office. In this one year, we’ve seen a rise of protests against Trump’s policies of racism, islamophobia, queerphobia, sexism and bigotry. #DaysOfRage is a protest that denounces the Trump administration and capitalism.

The protesters gathered in Union Square handed out flyers listing out events and facts that occurred during the Trump era – such as deploying the Mother of All Bombs in Afghanistan and the approved $700 billion defense budget.

While handing out these flyers, protesters chanted, “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S war machine!”

There were speakers from several different groups from the ILPS that related war and imperialism back to the struggles they represented.

Mainly, organizers were pushing those passing by to attend the rally this coming Saturday.

The rally ended with a last round of chants, “U.S. imperialist! Number one terrorist!”

The J20 rally is going to be this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. in Grand Central Station.

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #ILPS #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #Antifascism #NYC #J20

Toronto, Canada – 290 anti-imperialist activists from 120 organizations and 21 countries attended the Solidarity and Fightback Conference sponsored by the International League for People’s Struggle – International Women’s Alliance Solidarity in Toronto August 4 – 7. The conference theme was “Building Resistance to US-led War, Militarism and Neofascism.”

A sizable number of participants were young, energetic Filipinos from the anti-imperialist organizations Gabriela and Akbayan.

The conference was opened by a video messages of greetings and support from Jose Sison, chairman of the International League for People’s Struggle (ILPS) and Leila Khaled, Palestinian liberation icon and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Panels featuring leaders of struggles against U.S. imperialism from the Philippines, Middle East, Congo, Mexico, Pakistan and across the world described the struggles in their countries and their movements’ resistance to it.

Margaret Kimberly of Black Agenda Report spoke at length about the Black liberation struggle. She talked about the importance of the campaigns for community control of police in Chicago and Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Nerissa Allegretti, of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, said, “I had the opportunity to join the workshop on Militarism and Counterinsurgency and listened to speakers Sarah Martin, Bill Doares, Rania Masri, Potri Ranka Manis and Padi Rex. It gave me a sharp picture of how counterinsurgency has consistently been a tool of maintaining imperialism in many forms; FBI raids and targeting of anti-war activists, using religion to divide the people, criminalization of liberation movements, and rape and kidnapping.”

A march to the U.S. consulate was held on August 6, the anniversary of the day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Marchers chanted in Spanish, French, Tagalog and English. The march then went to and joined the public commemoration of that horrific war crime.

The last day of the conference, Wilmer Barrientos, the ambassador of Venezuela to Canada spoke. He debunked the widespread misinformation on the current political unrest in his country that is being propagated by Western media.

He went on to say, “What about Iraq, Syria and Libya? They [the U.S.] said, ‘Let’s liberate them.’ But do they live better than before? Many live on less than $1 a day. They want to impose this same intervention on Venezuela because we are a sovereign country that decides where our natural resources go.”

The conference ended with a call to action including all out for Rasmea Odeh in Chicago Saturday, August 12 for her going away party and in Detroit on Thursday, August 17 for her sentencing.

The next international ILPS conference will be in Mexico next summer.

#TorontoCanada #Toronto #ILPS #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle

New York, NY – Several hundred gathered at Union Square on May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day. The event was one of several organized for the day and was put together by groups that are a part of the International League of People’s Struggles – North East.

The event was called “Shut it down: Strike to defend migrants, refugees and all workers” and started at noon at the south end of the park. The program consisted of speeches and cultural performers.

Speakers and performers stood in front of a large banner that declared “Strike!” in several different languages, as unions and worker centers, such as the Laundry Workers Center and B&H Photo workers, called for a one-day general strike.

Joe Catron, an organizer with Samidoun the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, read a statement of solidarity on behalf of the 1000 plus Palestinian prisoners currently on hunger strike.

Michela Martinazzi, an organizer with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, spoke on political repression, stating, “We scored a victory in keeping Rasmea Odeh out of jail. It’s the people who must protect their own. From those arrested at Occupy, to J20 and Jacksonville, when the state attacks our own, we have to stand up to them. Together we fight and united we win!”

There were also speakers from different countries that highlighted how those countries were experiencing and fighting back against the brunt of U.S. imperialism and intervention, such as Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Korea.

At 2:30 p.m. the speeches stopped for one hour as different groups set up in different parts of the park for teach-ins on respective issues in our movement. The main program began again at 3:30 p.m.

Susan Sarandon, an actress and an outspoken progressive voice in Hollywood, made an unexpected appearance and gave a speech. She stated, “I’m a born and bred New Yorker and the reason I came here is because of the spirit and fuck you attitude,” she continued as the crowd cheered, “There have been infringements on people’s lives beyond the past eight years and just now people are noticing. It’s now more important than ever that we stand together and we demand that New York is a sanctuary city.”

Cultural performances included Palestinian Dabke Dancers, singers, spoken word and short skits. Each performance highlighted a particular culture or showcased parts of the movement.

Throughout the day, Alt-Right and Trump supporters attempted to tear down the event, but they were thwarted by security, comprised of event organizers. The NYPD arrested organizers and those trying to defend themselves.

The march began at approximately 5:30 p.m. even though there were a couple of speakers left on the program. The decision was made when security noticed that armed fascist forces had infiltrated the park and surrounded the area. As the march began, the NYPD arrested people on the front banner who took the streets.

Regardless of the heavy police and right-wing repression, the rest of the organizers took the lead and continued marching. Approximately 5000 people marched for three hours downtown chanting, singing and standing up for justice!

#NewYorkNewYork #Labor #MayDay #ILPS #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #NewYorkCity #MayDay2017 #UnionSquare

Chicago, IL – “Right to Exist, Right to Resist” was the theme of the national political conference called by the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) – U.S. Chapter, held in Chicago, Oct. 22. ILPS is an anti-imperialist and democratic formation, which promotes anti-imperialist and democratic struggles of the peoples of the world. “We mobilized over 160 people from around the U.S. and Canada to discuss how to build the struggle against U.S. wars abroad and war on the workers and oppressed people at home,” said Bernadette Ellorin, national chairperson of BAYAN USA, an alliance of progressive Filipino organizations.

Featured at the conference were speeches by local leaders engaged in major battles. The conference took place on the second anniversary of the murder of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old Black high school student murdered by a racist Chicago cop. Over the past year, there has been wave after wave of struggle against the Chicago Police Department, the mayor and all levels of city government for their role in the cover-up of the murder of McDonald.

Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression spoke about the struggle in Chicago for community control of the police. “In the final analysis movements such as our must be measured by our ability to challenge the powers that be and bring about the systemic changes needed to empower the people.”

Sarah Chambers, a member of the executive board of the Chicago Teachers Union, gave a fiery speech about the recent contract fight for 23,000 teachers. They have tentatively agreed to accept a contract with the city, but Chambers called for her sisters and brothers to prepare themselves for years of battle with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s austerity program. She said, “Militant unions are no longer a question, it is our only way to survive.”

Hatem Abudayyeh of the Rasmea Defense Committee addressed the crowd on behalf of the iconic Palestinian community activist, Rasmea Odeh, who is on trial by the U.S. government for her commitment to her homeland and her people. Abudayyeh urged the crowd to travel to Detroit on Nov. 29, in solidarity with Rasmea as she and her lawyers appear in court. Abudayyeh explained, “This is the most important political trial in the country – resisting the attempt by the Department of Justice to criminalize all those who struggle for Palestine.”

#ChicagoIL #ILPS #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle

A Blatant Act of US Aggression Against Syria and Syrian People

ILPS Statement on the US Air-Strikes in Deir Ezzor

Issued by the Office of the Chairperson

The killing of 62 soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army and the wounding of 100 others from four air strikes carried out by two US F-16 fighter jets and two A-10 support aircraft is a blatant act of aggression and deserves the condemnation of all peace-loving peoples of the world.

It cannot be explained away as an “accident” by the US. This imperialist power boasts of possessing smart bombs that can hit targets with the highest degree of precision. It has refused to coordinate its operations with Russia.

It pursues the neoconservative policy in Washington to destroy any country that refuses to submit to the dictates of US imperialism and assert national sovereignty. It has consistently sought to destroy countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran that for opposing Zionist Israel and the US-Israel combine.

The attack on the Syrian Arab Army positions around Deir Ezzor paved the way for an offensive by Islamic State or Daesh terrorists. These have long been trained, funded and armed by intelligence agencies of the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The offensive of the US against the Syrian Arab Army was stopped only when Russian fighter jets carried out air strikes against the Daesh terrorists. Since then, Russia has exposed the treacherous act of the US.

The Syrian government called the US air strikes “serious and blatant aggression” and a “conclusive evidence” that the US and its allies are in league with Daesh in a war to overthrow Assad.

Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to demand from the US a detailed explanation for the attacks. Given the sordid record of this UN body, there is nothing much that can be expected in terms of concrete action being taken against the US for its roque behavior.

The attack on Syrian Arab Army forces comes at a time when US plans in Syria appears to be unraveling. A few days ago, US soldiers were driven away from Northern Aleppo by so-called moderate rebels belonging to the Free Syrian Army.

The Free Syrian Army units involved called the US troops “infidels and crusaders” out to invade Syria. One analyst has wondered whether the attack against the Syrian Arab Army was meant to assure the “moderate rebels” that the US was really their ally against Assad.

Recently, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice was quoted as saying that Syrian rebels might never be strong enough to topple Assad. Does this mean that the US is now ready to wage an overt war against Assad? Is the incident in Deir Ezzor testing the waters?

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle and all peace-loving peoples of the world must condemn the long running US imperialist aggression against Syria and the Syrian people. The aggressive war instigated by the US has already resulted in hundreds of thousands killed, cities destroyed and millions of refugees displaced and driven out of their country.

#Syria #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #MiddleEast

The International League of Peoples’ Struggles-US chapter condemns the cowardly arrest of 65 year-old Palestinian leader, Rasmea Yousef Odeh. Odeh, Associate Director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), was arrested at her home by agents from the Department of Homeland Security on October 22, 2013. Odeh was charged with an alleged immigration violation on a decades-old application.

This latest attack against Odeh, a deeply respected elder and community leader in both the Palestinian and Arab-American communities in Illinois, is part and parcel to the brutal US-Zionist occupation and assault against the Palestinian people (both in Palestine and in the diaspora). Being a Palestinian immigrant Odeh has called many places home but no matter where she lived she always dedicated her life to serving the people.

Over the last decade her advocacy had a special emphasis on the empowerment of immigrant Arab women in Chicago. Having survived years of persecution and torture as a political prisoner in the hands of the US-Zionist state in occupied Palestine, Odeh shines as a beacon of strength and hope for millions of Palestinians and freedom-loving people around the world who dare to dream and struggle for self-determination.

The persecution of Rasmea Odeh and other Palestinian activists here shows the hypocrisy of the US administration's sweet words about peace in the Middle East and recognizing Palestinian self-determination. On the ground in Palestine, the Zionist-Israeli terror forces murder people daily with the weapons they get from the United States. The so-called US budget crisis has interfered with neither the FBI's attack on free speech and civil liberties of Palestinians and Arab Americans here nor the endless flow of US weapons to the Israeli apartheid state.

This arrest is part of the on-going political witch hunt targeting all peoples standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and other oppressed peoples around the world fighting for self-determination. Just like the US government’s coordinated FBI-raids targeting 23 international solidarity activists in 2010, her arrest and persecution is nothing less than a violation of civil, political and human rights. It is also a maneuver intended to silence activism and pre-empt people from seeking justice.

In both situations, the US-government criminalizes both our inalienable and collective human right to self-determination and international covenants that guarantee civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The right to self-determination is a fundamental right, enshrined in both the United Nation Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The ILPS-US recognizes that is not merely a right, but a necessity, that peoples assert their collective rights to wage struggles for self-determination and national liberation in order to defeat free themselves from oppression by imperialist-backed and-financed tyranny.

The ILPS-US recognizes that one of our most powerful actions against political repression in the United States is solidarity. Solidarity that is seen and heard in the streets. We stand in solidarity with just struggles for peace and freedom around the world, and we stand in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh.

ILPS-US calls on all its member organizations and allies to defend Rasmea Odeh. The ILPS-US stands in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh and demands that the charges be dropped immediately!

The ILPS-US supports the call to action of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression for mass mobilizations on November 1.

Hands Off Rasmea Odeh and all Palestinian activists!

Drop the Charges Against Rasmea Odeh Now!

End All US Aid to the Racist State if Israel!

Stop the Repression against all activists!

#UnitedStates #InJusticeSystem #PalestineSolidarity #PoliticalPrisoners #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, solemnly honor and render our highest respects to the immortal General Vo Nguyen Giap upon his passing away on 4 October. He was a close comrade in arms of the great Ho Chi Minh and outstanding hero, leader and commander of the Vietnamese people's revolutionary struggles for national liberation against Japanese, French and US imperialism.

He was born to a peasant family in 1911 but he was able to go to school. In 1922 he joined the anti-colonial student movement. After graduating with high honors from the university,he became a teacher and journalist noted for his patriotic and progressive views. In 1933 he became a member of the Communist Party of Indochina and soon a member of the leading core under the direction of Ho Chi Minh.

He founded and led the Vietnam People's Army under the leadership of the Communist Party. He adopted and developed the strategic line of people's war against the foreign aggressors and occupiers of his country. He built the people's army as the politico-military weapon of the Vietnamese people in order to achieve brilliant victories against the enemy.

In late 1941, he formed the first guerrilla groups in the mountains of Vietnam. He made an alliance with the armed formation of a national minority in northeastern Vietnam. By mid-1945 he had some 10,000 fighters under his command and carried out an offensive against the Japanese invaders. Thus, the way was made for the Viet Minh to undertake the August Revolution on a nationwide scale, compelling Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate on 25 August and proceeding to the proclamation of Vietnam's independence on 2 September 1945.

He directed the people's war that brought utter defeat to the French colonial army at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. He mustered 100,000 fighters and another 100,000 workers (many of them women) to encircle and gain vantage points against the enemy. The heroic people's army and the people struggling for national and social liberation under the leadership of the Communist Party inflicted heavy losses on the enemy forces and compelled them to surrender.

The brilliance of Vo Nguyen Giap as a strategist of protracted people's war came to the fore by reflecting and availing of the revolutionary determination and courage of the Vietnamese people against the US war of aggression from the 1960s to 1972. He and his people were not cowed by the US which had become the strongest imperialist power in the course of World War II. They fought even harder and more effectively even as US imperialism barbarically used weapons of mass destruction.

The US killed one million Vietnamese combatants and four million civilians, who constituted a large percentage of the Vietnamese population then. This is reminiscent of the US butchery in the killing of 1.5 million Filipinos from 1899 to 1913, and more than 3 million Koreans from 1951 to 1953. To this day, the Vietnamese people continue to suffer from the chemical warfare waged by the US, which poured millions of liters of Agent Orange on Vietnam.

As the US war of aggression went on, the people of the world, including the American people, were outraged by the barbarism of US military forces and were inspired by the heroic resistance of the Vietnamese people. The anti-imperialist and democratic movement expanded and intensified on a global scale. The US started to sue for peace in 1969 and withdrew from Vietnam under the Paris Peace Accord of 1972, after the death of 58,226 US troops and many more wounded.

US imperialism accepted defeat as it was faced with the prospect of losing more troops and financial resources at a faster rate and as the American people and the people of the world condemned the war of aggression on an ever widening scale. The people of an underdevelopedcountry and victims of aggression achieved a resounding victory over US imperialism.

Since then, the defeat of US imperialism in Vietnam has served to show the limits of US economic and military power and has inspired the oppressed peoples and nations of the world to persevere and intensify their struggle for national and social liberation. All peoples of the world emulate the heroic example and indomitable spirit of the immortal General Vo Nguyen Giap in fighting for national independence, democracy, socialism, international solidarity and peace.

#Vietnam #ILPS #USImperialism #GeneralVoNguyenGiap #VoNguyenGiap #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison

ILPS Chairperson

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS), join the Korean people in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Victory Day in the Great Fatherland Liberation War against the US-led imperialist aggression. The signing of the Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953 marked the defeat of the US scheme to conquer the whole of Korea. This agreement ceased hostilities and established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Since then, the termination of the agreement has long been overdue. We support the position of the Korean people and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that the agreement must be replaced by a peace treaty requiring the withdrawal of US military forces and nuclear weapons and paving the way for the peaceful reunification of Korea.

We are deeply pleased with the success of the worldwide signature campaign and the march from Pyongyang to the DMZ for the reunification of Korea. We are elated that the memorial stones of the Chairperson of the International League of Peoples Struggle and the Philippines- Korea Solidarity Committee for Peace and Reunification in the Korean Peninsula are permanently placed in the wall of the Memorial Tower of the 3 Charters of the National Reunification in a solemn ceremony on Victory Day.

The Armistice Agreement was designed as a transition measure to “insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved.“But the US has perpetuated the state of war and its occupation of south Korea and has violated said agreement by introducing new weapons, especially nuclear weapons. It has used military exercises and other provocative shows of force in collaboration with the south Korean puppet regime to create a volatile situation.

The US started the nuclearization of the Korean peninsula when in 1957 it unilaterally abrogated paragraph 13 (d) of the Armistice Agreement (which prohibited the introduction of atomic weapons among other weapons of mass destruction) and in 1958 proceeded to deploy in South Korea nuclear-armed Honest John missiles and 280 mm atomic cannons and in 1959 the nuclear armed Matador cruise missiles capable of reaching China and the Soviet Union then.

In military exercises with the south Korean puppet regime, the US has deployed ships and planes armed with nuclear weapons. Acting in the interest of the Korean people, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has therefore developed its nuclear and rocket capabilities for self-defense and peaceful use and has responded strongly to the war provocations and nuclear threats by the US.

A peace treaty is urgently needed to end the continuing state of war in the Korean Peninsula and to stop decisively the war provocations being made by the US in concert with Japan and the south Korean puppet regime. The war provocations and nuclear threats are being made in line with the so-called strategic shift of the US to East Asia and due to the drive of the US military-industrial complex to step up war production and superprofit-taking.

The peoples and countries of East Asia and the whole world condemn the continuing malicious practice of nuclear blackmail by the US against the Korean people and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Also, they deride the fact that the US does not provide nuclear umbrella to any country but in fact threatens all countries with nuclear rain. Nevertheless, the US nuclear blackmail has long been countered and rendered impotent by possession of nuclear weapons by other countries as a matter of self-defense.

It is just for the Korean people and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to uphold national independence and the socialist cause and to strengthen their national defense and develop nuclear deterrence, while they seek a peace treaty to lay the ground for the immediate denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and for the peaceful reunification of Korea. An end must come to the perpetuation of the US aggressive military presence and occupation of south Korea.

#NorthKorea #Korea #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea #antiimperialism #Asia