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    <title>ndfp &amp;mdash; Fight Back! News</title>
    <link>https://fightbacknews.org/tag:ndfp</link>
    <description>News and Views from the People&#39;s Struggle</description>
    <pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 20:12:06 +0000</pubDate>
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      <url>https://i.snap.as/RZCOEKyz.png</url>
      <title>ndfp &amp;mdash; Fight Back! News</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/tag:ndfp</link>
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      <title>NDFP International Office blasts Marcos Jr.&#39;s campaign for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/ndfp-international-office-blasts-marcos-jr-s-campaign-for-a-non-permanent-seat?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[In a June 3 statement, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said that the Marcos administration&#39;s campaign is an &#34;insult to the thousands of victims of state violence, killings, and aerial bombings in the Philippines.&#34; &#xA;&#xA;!--more--&#xA;&#xA;&#34;While Marcos Jr. seeks a position in the world’s highest intergovernmental body tasked with maintaining international peace and security, entire communities across the Philippine countryside continue to endure the consequences of his counterrevolutionary war,&#34; added the NDFP. &#xA;&#xA;The NDFP cited how since assuming office in 2022, at least 135 cases of extrajudicial killings, 48,247 documented victims of forced evacuations, 57,156 victims of relentless aerial bombing campaigns and 70,028 victims of indiscriminate firing have been documented under Marcos Jr.&#39;s term.&#xA;&#xA;The NDFP also hit Marcos Jr. for the continuing impasse of the GRP-NDFP peace talks. According to the group, &#34;instead of advancing structural solutions to longstanding social, economic, and political grievances, the Marcos Jr. administration has continued to insist on a military-centered approach, persistently disregarding the need to address the root causes of the armed conflict.&#34;&#xA;&#xA;In addition, the NDFP also lambasted the Marcos administration for its &#34;wholesale surrender of Philippine sovereignty&#34; through the expansion of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites and allowing 4000 acres of land to be used by the U.S. under the Pax Silica initiative. &#xA;&#xA;According to the NDFP, Marcos Jr. has no place in the UN Security Council for these reasons alone. &#xA;&#xA;&#34;The UN Security Council is widely recognized as a compromised body, where the veto power of a handful of imperialist states routinely paralyzes any form of meaningful action to protect peace. However, even within this deeply discredited framework, Marcos Jr.’s bid for a non-permanent seat sends a profoundly wrong political signal. It suggests that regimes actively complicit in militarization of communities and repression can be elevated as ‘credible’ arbiters of international peace and security,&#34; the NDFP concluded.&#xA;&#xA;#International #Philippines #NDFP #Marcos &#xA;&#xA;div id=&#34;sharingbuttons.io&#34;/div]]&gt;</description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In a June 3 statement, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said that the Marcos administration&#39;s campaign is an “insult to the thousands of victims of state violence, killings, and aerial bombings in the Philippines.”</p>



<p>“While Marcos Jr. seeks a position in the world’s highest intergovernmental body tasked with maintaining international peace and security, entire communities across the Philippine countryside continue to endure the consequences of his counterrevolutionary war,” added the NDFP. </p>

<p>The NDFP cited how since assuming office in 2022, at least 135 cases of extrajudicial killings, 48,247 documented victims of forced evacuations, 57,156 victims of relentless aerial bombing campaigns and 70,028 victims of indiscriminate firing have been documented under Marcos Jr.&#39;s term.</p>

<p>The NDFP also hit Marcos Jr. for the continuing impasse of the GRP-NDFP peace talks. According to the group, “instead of advancing structural solutions to longstanding social, economic, and political grievances, the Marcos Jr. administration has continued to insist on a military-centered approach, persistently disregarding the need to address the root causes of the armed conflict.”</p>

<p>In addition, the NDFP also lambasted the Marcos administration for its “wholesale surrender of Philippine sovereignty” through the expansion of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites and allowing 4000 acres of land to be used by the U.S. under the Pax Silica initiative. </p>

<p>According to the NDFP, Marcos Jr. has no place in the UN Security Council for these reasons alone. </p>

<p>“The UN Security Council is widely recognized as a compromised body, where the veto power of a handful of imperialist states routinely paralyzes any form of meaningful action to protect peace. However, even within this deeply discredited framework, Marcos Jr.’s bid for a non-permanent seat sends a profoundly wrong political signal. It suggests that regimes actively complicit in militarization of communities and repression can be elevated as ‘credible’ arbiters of international peace and security,” the NDFP concluded.</p>

<p><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:International" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">International</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Philippines" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Philippines</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:NDFP" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">NDFP</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Marcos" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Marcos</span></a></p>

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      <guid>https://fightbacknews.org/ndfp-international-office-blasts-marcos-jr-s-campaign-for-a-non-permanent-seat</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:43:20 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>Philippines: U.S. military support emboldens Marcos Jr. to commit war crimes</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/philippines-u-s-military-support-emboldens-marcos-jr-to-commit-war-crimes?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[On April 26, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) condemned the Marcos Jr. regime for &#34;committing war crimes against the Filipino people&#34; referring to the recent massacre of 19 individuals in Toboso, Negros Occidental. It also said that continued U.S. military support in the form of Foreign Military Financing and the Balikatan exercises are emboldening the Marcos Jr. regime to commit more war crimes.&#xA;&#xA;!--more--&#xA;&#xA;&#34;In pursuit of its oft-lapsed deadline to end the armed revolution, the US-Marcos regime has escalated bombings, forced evacuations, torture, and extrajudicial killings targeting peasants, workers, indigenous peoples, youth activists and entire rural communities,&#34; said the NDFP in a statement. &#xA;&#xA;According to the NDFP, many civilians were killed in the Toboso massacre. The group also condemned the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its &#34;utter disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights.&#34;&#xA;&#xA;&#34;The killing of civilians and the conduct of military operations with complete disregard for the principles of distinction, proportionality, and humane treatment reveal the criminal character of the reactionary state’s counterinsurgency campaign,&#34; the statement added.&#xA;&#xA;The NDFP further reiterated that &#34;even in the midst of war, there are rules that must be respected&#34; pointing to how the AFP committed violations of the Geneva Conventions in the said massacre in Negros.&#xA;&#xA;The NDFP also blasted the AFP for &#34;dehumanizing the victims and denying them dignity in death.&#34; According to the NDFP, &#34;by reducing the slain to labels and repeating claims that the armed revolutionary movement has been defeated, the regime seeks to justify its war crimes and conceal the political roots of the armed conflict.&#34;&#xA;&#xA;&#34;No matter how the AFP lies to slander the slain martyrs of Toboso, the masses know the truth. They know that those who offered their lives in the struggle to liberate the people from oppression and exploitation are among the best sons and daughters of the motherland,&#34; the NDFP added.&#xA;&#xA;#International #Philippines #AntiWarmovement #NDFP #AFP&#xA;&#xA;div id=&#34;sharingbuttons.io&#34;/div]]&gt;</description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On April 26, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) condemned the Marcos Jr. regime for “committing war crimes against the Filipino people” referring to the recent massacre of 19 individuals in Toboso, Negros Occidental. It also said that continued U.S. military support in the form of Foreign Military Financing and the Balikatan exercises are emboldening the Marcos Jr. regime to commit more war crimes.</p>



<p>“In pursuit of its oft-lapsed deadline to end the armed revolution, the US-Marcos regime has escalated bombings, forced evacuations, torture, and extrajudicial killings targeting peasants, workers, indigenous peoples, youth activists and entire rural communities,” said the NDFP in a statement.</p>

<p>According to the NDFP, many civilians were killed in the Toboso massacre. The group also condemned the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its “utter disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights.”</p>

<p>“The killing of civilians and the conduct of military operations with complete disregard for the principles of distinction, proportionality, and humane treatment reveal the criminal character of the reactionary state’s counterinsurgency campaign,” the statement added.</p>

<p>The NDFP further reiterated that “even in the midst of war, there are rules that must be respected” pointing to how the AFP committed violations of the Geneva Conventions in the said massacre in Negros.</p>

<p>The NDFP also blasted the AFP for “dehumanizing the victims and denying them dignity in death.” According to the NDFP, “by reducing the slain to labels and repeating claims that the armed revolutionary movement has been defeated, the regime seeks to justify its war crimes and conceal the political roots of the armed conflict.”</p>

<p>“No matter how the AFP lies to slander the slain martyrs of Toboso, the masses know the truth. They know that those who offered their lives in the struggle to liberate the people from oppression and exploitation are among the best sons and daughters of the motherland,” the NDFP added.</p>

<p><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:International" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">International</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Philippines" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Philippines</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:AntiWarmovement" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">AntiWarmovement</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:NDFP" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">NDFP</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:AFP" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">AFP</span></a></p>

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      <guid>https://fightbacknews.org/philippines-u-s-military-support-emboldens-marcos-jr-to-commit-war-crimes</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:11:13 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>Student leader Alyssa Alano and people’s journalist RJ Ledesma among the 19 killed in Negros by the Philippine military</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/student-leader-alyssa-alano-and-peoples-journalist-rj-ledesma-among-the-19?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[&#xA;&#xA;Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from BAYAN USA.&#xA;&#xA;Filipinos overseas are heartbroken after witnessing the news of the 303rd Infantry Brigade led-attack on April 19 of 19 individuals and forcibly displaced more than 653 residents from 168 households in peasant communities in Toboso, Negros Occidental. Among the 19 killed, the families, friends and fellow organizers have confirmed Alyssa Alano and RJ Ledesma were amongst them.&#xA;&#xA;!--more--&#xA;&#xA;Alyssa Alano League of Filipino Students Chairperson 2024-2025; University of the Philippines Diliman University Student Council 2025-2026&#xA;&#xA;Alyssa&#39;s strong will and unwavering commitment to the oppressed is what many of her friends and fellow organizers have continued to share in their grieving. From the urban poor communities in the University of the Philippines to the peasant communities in Negros she was eager to serve our kababayan.&#xA;&#xA;RJ Ledesma League of Filipino Students Bacolod Chairperson 2020; Kabataan Partylist’s 7th Nominee 2022; Altermidya Regional Coordinator, Negros Island&#xA;&#xA;RJ&#39;s is a people&#39;s journalist. He exposed the realities of landlessness, and the effects of renewable energy projects – including solar farm expansion and windmill projects – on vulnerable farmer communities. He amplified the voices of marginalized communities through his writing to expose the green-washing projects that led to the genuine harm on the masses.&#xA;&#xA;As BAYAN USA, we condemn Pres. Marcos’ NAP-UPD that led to this attack on Negros and the NTF-ELCAC for the narrative they are orchestrating through state-sponsored troll farms that seek to excuse their murder by posthumous terrorist tagging and vilification. These state-funded counterinsurgency programs that terrorize people who speak up and fight against state and corporate plunder are what led to their murder and why we - as overseas Filipinos – must continue to bring to light these fascist programs and demand an end to them.&#xA;&#xA;On Earth Day, we recognize that the true defenders of people and planet are peoples journalists, land defenders, and human rights activists like Alyssa and RJ. We see through the lies and black propaganda of the bloodthirsty military and greedy bureaucrat capitalists who are the real terrorists. As overseas Filipinos, we must demand for justice and continue the fight that Alyssa and RJ dedicated their lives to.&#xA;&#xA;DEFEND NEGROS!&#xA;&#xA;UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW!&#xA;&#xA;TUTULAN ANG MILITARISASYON SA KANAYUNAN!&#xA;&#xA;#JusticeForAlyssaAlano#JusticeForRJLedesma&#xA;&#xA;#International #Philippines #NDFP #Bayan&#xA;&#xA;div id=&#34;sharingbuttons.io&#34;/div]]&gt;</description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="https://i.snap.as/hj67WMkZ.webp" alt=""/></p>

<p><em>Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from BAYAN USA.</em></p>

<p>Filipinos overseas are heartbroken after witnessing the news of the 303rd Infantry Brigade led-attack on April 19 of 19 individuals and forcibly displaced more than 653 residents from 168 households in peasant communities in Toboso, Negros Occidental. Among the 19 killed, the families, friends and fellow organizers have confirmed Alyssa Alano and RJ Ledesma were amongst them.</p>



<p>Alyssa Alano League of Filipino Students Chairperson 2024-2025; University of the Philippines Diliman University Student Council 2025-2026</p>

<p>Alyssa&#39;s strong will and unwavering commitment to the oppressed is what many of her friends and fellow organizers have continued to share in their grieving. From the urban poor communities in the University of the Philippines to the peasant communities in Negros she was eager to serve our kababayan.</p>

<p>RJ Ledesma League of Filipino Students Bacolod Chairperson 2020; Kabataan Partylist’s 7th Nominee 2022; Altermidya Regional Coordinator, Negros Island</p>

<p>RJ&#39;s is a people&#39;s journalist. He exposed the realities of landlessness, and the effects of renewable energy projects – including solar farm expansion and windmill projects – on vulnerable farmer communities. He amplified the voices of marginalized communities through his writing to expose the green-washing projects that led to the genuine harm on the masses.</p>

<p>As BAYAN USA, we condemn Pres. Marcos’ NAP-UPD that led to this attack on Negros and the NTF-ELCAC for the narrative they are orchestrating through state-sponsored troll farms that seek to excuse their murder by posthumous terrorist tagging and vilification. These state-funded counterinsurgency programs that terrorize people who speak up and fight against state and corporate plunder are what led to their murder and why we – as overseas Filipinos – must continue to bring to light these fascist programs and demand an end to them.</p>

<p>On Earth Day, we recognize that the true defenders of people and planet are peoples journalists, land defenders, and human rights activists like Alyssa and RJ. We see through the lies and black propaganda of the bloodthirsty military and greedy bureaucrat capitalists who are the real terrorists. As overseas Filipinos, we must demand for justice and continue the fight that Alyssa and RJ dedicated their lives to.</p>

<p>DEFEND NEGROS!</p>

<p>UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW!</p>

<p>TUTULAN ANG MILITARISASYON SA KANAYUNAN!</p>

<p><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:JusticeForAlyssaAlano" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">JusticeForAlyssaAlano</span></a><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:JusticeForRJLedesma" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">JusticeForRJLedesma</span></a></p>

<p><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:International" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">International</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Philippines" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Philippines</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:NDFP" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">NDFP</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Bayan" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Bayan</span></a></p>

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      <guid>https://fightbacknews.org/student-leader-alyssa-alano-and-peoples-journalist-rj-ledesma-among-the-19</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:16:37 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>Philippines: The AFP spews lies to deter overseas Filipinos from joining people’s struggle</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/philippines-the-afp-spews-lies-to-deter-overseas-filipinos-from-joining?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Compatriots – National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). &#xA;&#xA;Compatriots-NDFP, the revolutionary organization of Filipinos overseas, condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for spewing lies in an attempt to slander the revolutionary movement, cover-up the realities of Philippine society and deter overseas Filipinos from joining the people’s struggle.&#xA;&#xA;!--more--&#xA;&#xA;A few days ago, social media accounts related to the AFP posted a “Wanted” poster with the name and picture of Cristina Pasion - a Filipino-American who grew up in the United States - making the baseless allegation that she is a recruiter of the New People’s Army. In a change of tact, the 2nd Infantry Division of the AFP released a statement on April 9 calling on the New People’s Army to “release” Cristina purportedly on “humanitarian” grounds. Their “concern” that she is “emotionally distressed” is a brazen lie. It is just the latest example of psychological warfare meant to deceive the people.&#xA;&#xA;According to the NPA, it has no one to “release.”&#xA;&#xA;Pasion decided to go back home to our motherland and integrate among the most exploited and oppressed masses in Mindoro. Her consciousness was awakened through her own experiences growing up separated from her own country, through integration with Filipino workers in the U.S. who were forced to leave their families just to be super-exploited overseas, and through taking up the issues and campaigns of the toiling masses being violently repressed under the tyrant Duterte and now Marcos regimes.&#xA;&#xA;She, along with an ever growing number of Filipinos abroad, are choosing to witness the realities of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal Philippine society first hand in order to change it. They are in effect defying the government’s policy of forced migration that pushes people out of the country, telling us that the solution to our problems lies in toiling overseas rather than in struggling to address the roots of poverty back home.&#xA;&#xA;The military has no right to call on Filipinos abroad to turn our backs on our fellow compatriot masses in the countryside. They have no right to speak about “upholding humanitarian principles” and “safeguarding the welfare of individuals” when it is state institutions like the AFP, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and others who are responsible for torture, starvation, mass displacement, illegal bombings, and mass murder. The AFP is nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In fact, it is the very violence perpetrated by the state that pushes more and more people to join the revolutionary mass movement.&#xA;&#xA;#International #Philippines #NDFP&#xA;&#xA;div id=&#34;sharingbuttons.io&#34;/div]]&gt;</description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Compatriots – National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).</em></p>

<p>Compatriots-NDFP, the revolutionary organization of Filipinos overseas, condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for spewing lies in an attempt to slander the revolutionary movement, cover-up the realities of Philippine society and deter overseas Filipinos from joining the people’s struggle.</p>



<p>A few days ago, social media accounts related to the AFP posted a “Wanted” poster with the name and picture of Cristina Pasion – a Filipino-American who grew up in the United States – making the baseless allegation that she is a recruiter of the New People’s Army. In a change of tact, the 2nd Infantry Division of the AFP released a statement on April 9 calling on the New People’s Army to “release” Cristina purportedly on “humanitarian” grounds. Their “concern” that she is “emotionally distressed” is a brazen lie. It is just the latest example of psychological warfare meant to deceive the people.</p>

<p>According to the NPA, it has no one to “release.”</p>

<p>Pasion decided to go back home to our motherland and integrate among the most exploited and oppressed masses in Mindoro. Her consciousness was awakened through her own experiences growing up separated from her own country, through integration with Filipino workers in the U.S. who were forced to leave their families just to be super-exploited overseas, and through taking up the issues and campaigns of the toiling masses being violently repressed under the tyrant Duterte and now Marcos regimes.</p>

<p>She, along with an ever growing number of Filipinos abroad, are choosing to witness the realities of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal Philippine society first hand in order to change it. They are in effect defying the government’s policy of forced migration that pushes people out of the country, telling us that the solution to our problems lies in toiling overseas rather than in struggling to address the roots of poverty back home.</p>

<p>The military has no right to call on Filipinos abroad to turn our backs on our fellow compatriot masses in the countryside. They have no right to speak about “upholding humanitarian principles” and “safeguarding the welfare of individuals” when it is state institutions like the AFP, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and others who are responsible for torture, starvation, mass displacement, illegal bombings, and mass murder. The AFP is nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In fact, it is the very violence perpetrated by the state that pushes more and more people to join the revolutionary mass movement.</p>

<p><a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:International" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">International</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:Philippines" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Philippines</span></a> <a href="https://fightbacknews.org/tag:NDFP" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">NDFP</span></a></p>

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      <guid>https://fightbacknews.org/philippines-the-afp-spews-lies-to-deter-overseas-filipinos-from-joining</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:22:28 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>On the issue of fascism and the United States</title>
      <link>https://fightbacknews.org/on-the-issue-of-fascism-and-the-united-states?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[&#xA;&#xA;The following paper by Mick Kelly, the Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), was presented at the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) International Theoretical Conference on Fascism in the 21st Century in the Imperialist Heartlands. Sydney Loving of the Central Committee of FRSO also participated in the conference, which took place November 28-29, in Utrecht, the Netherlands.&#xA;&#xA;!--more--&#xA;&#xA;Comrades and friends,&#xA;&#xA;Let me start by thanking the National Democratic Front of the Philippines for organizing this most important event. In providing a venue for revolutionaries to address the big theoretical issues facing our respective movements, the NDFP is making a real contribution to our collective efforts to shatter the chains of monopoly capitalism.&#xA;&#xA;The question of fascism is an important one, and it can impact one’s strategy, tactics, and a host of organizational measures; in fact, the fascism question can be one of life and death. There is also a wealth of important texts that address the issue, and of special importance are those of works of R. Palme Dutt and Georgi Dimitrov – both of which received wide circulation by the Communist International.&#xA;&#xA;Comrades might be interested to know that the issue of fascism is a mass question among large numbers of progressive people in the U.S., given the wave of attacks unleashed by the reactionary Trump administration, Over the past 9 months, millions of people, in big cities and small towns, have taken to the streets. The extremely sharp struggles against mass deportations – including the uprising in Los Angeles and high level of struggle in Chicago and Portland, Oregon – make up one of the main issues shaping domestic politics.&#xA;&#xA;We see the overall conditions as extremely favorable for building communist organization. As FRSO has been able to play an important role in these fights, we continue to be in a period of extraordinary growth.&#xA;&#xA;What fascism is&#xA;&#xA;For some, “Fascism” as an invective – a sort of swear word, the worst thing that you can call someone or some action of government – as opposed to a political category with a scientific definition. This is a long-standing tendency on the part of the petty bourgeois left, and certainly there is no one here who does that. Others, like the Trotskyites \[1\], see fascism as the product of a mass movement of the petty bourgeoisie. That is not correct either.&#xA;&#xA;We are in agreement with the definition adopted by 13th plenum of the Executive Committee of the Communist International which states fascism is, “the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic and most imperialist elements of finance capital.”&#xA;&#xA;At the 7th Congress of the Communist International, Dimitrov pointed out, “The accession to power of fascism is not a ordinary succession of one bourgeois government by another, but a substitution of one state form of class domination of the bourgeoisie – bourgeois democracy – for another form, open terrorist dictatorship.” \[2\]&#xA;&#xA;This is an important point. While it is true there is not a qualitative difference between fascism and bourgeois democracy, in the sense that they are both ways that the monopoly capitalist wield state political power, there is a qualitative difference in so far as one is very different than the other when it comes to democratic rights of working and oppressed people.&#xA;&#xA;Fascism and capitalist democracy are different forms of political rule. The fact that there is real difference between the two means that revolutionaries will employ different tasks, objectives, and organizational measures depending on the form of bourgeois rule. Communist organizing in a period of open terror is for all practical purposes illegal.&#xA;&#xA;Fascist governments wage aggressive wars characterized by extremes of national chauvinism. In fact, bourgeois democratic governments have always done the same and often resort to the use of open terror to maintain control of their colonies or neo-colonies. In fact, the use of open terror in the neo-colonial or colonial settings is a feature that is common to fascist and bourgeois democratic governments.&#xA;&#xA;In his important work The State and Revolution, Lenin points out, “A democratic republic is the best possible political shell for capitalism, and, therefore, once capital has gained possession of this very best shell (through the Palchinskys, Chernovs, Tseretelis and Co.), it establishes its power so securely, so firmly, that no change of persons, institutions or parties in the bourgeois-democratic republic can shake it.”&#xA;&#xA;Why would the ruling class give up this “best possible political shell”? Stalin responds that it is because they have to:&#xA;&#xA;  In this connection the victory of fascism in Germany must be regarded not only as a symptom of the weakness of the working class and a result of the by the betrayals of the working class by Social-Democracy, which paved the way for fascism; it must also be regarded as a sign of weakness of the bourgeois, a sign that the bourgeois is no longer able to rule by the old methods of parliamentary and bourgeois democracy, and, as a consequence, is compelled in its home policy to resort to terrorist methods of rule — as a sign it is no longer to find a way out of the present situation on the basis of a peaceful foreign policy, and, as a consequence, is compelled to resort to a policy of war. \[3\]&#xA;&#xA;Finally let me quote from R. Palme Dutt, “Fascism is not inevitable. Fascism is not a necessary stage of capitalist development through which all countries must pass. The social revolution can forestall Fascism, as it has done in Russia. But if the social revolution is delayed, then the menace of fascism becomes urgent.” \[4\]&#xA;&#xA;So, there are several themes that should be circled back to. First, fascism employs open terrorism. Sure, there can be courts and parliaments, but open terrorism is what the fascist state is organized around and for. Secondly, fascism is a tool of the financial oligarchy – particularly its most reactionary and chauvinist sectors. And finally, there is the issue of extreme national chauvinism and fascism’s war-like nature.&#xA;&#xA;To what degree is there a fascist danger in the U.S.?&#xA;&#xA;In the entire epoch of monopoly capitalism, fascism is a latent tendency and therefore a possibility, given that the necessary conditions are present. In a context where the decline of U.S. imperialism is accelerating, where polarization is sharpening in the political superstructure, it is necessary to have a materialist evaluation of the objective conditions. That includes a realistic assessment of an immediate fascist danger.&#xA;&#xA;When identifying what fascism is, in our view the most essential feature is the use of open terror by the ruling class, meaning the legal possibilities to organize for socialism are slim to nonexistent. That is not currently the situation in the United States, and communists in the U.S. need to utilize every avenue and opportunity to build the people’s struggle while developing revolutionary organization.&#xA;&#xA;It is a fact that there are fascist groups and there are people in government who are pro-fascist. These elements are present in the military too. Their attacks should be met head on. The events of January 6, 2021, when Trump attempted to block the peaceful transfer of power and his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, speaks volumes about the lengths reactionaries will go to – as well as some of the limitations that necessity places on them.&#xA;&#xA;The U.S. has always repressive place. Even as it went to war on German fascism and was an important part of the world anti-fascist coalition, 120,000 Japanese Americans were put in concentration camps.&#xA;&#xA;Whatever assessment one has about a fascist danger, repression and resistance to repression need to be taken seriously. This means opposing reactionary laws and measures that restrict our democratic rights. It also means pushing back hard against legal attacks we face. Over the past 15 years our organization has faced a fair amount of repression, \[5\] and we have developed some capacity to deal with it. The most recent example was the defense of an immigrant rights activist and comrade who was charged with conspiracy to further civil disorder in the aftermath of the anti-ICE rebellion in Los Angles. We build a broad, national defense campaign and charges were dropped.&#xA;&#xA;All quantity includes quality – and there is a whole political landscape between capitalist democracy and open terror (fascism) that could be very different from what we have experienced over the past 50 years.&#xA;&#xA;Fascism is a tool of the most reactional monopoly capitalists to prevent revolution. In the U.S. today, we are not in a revolutionary situation. An effective strategy against fascism would necessitate building the broadest possible united front to stop it, like for example the Popular Front employed by U.S. communists from the mid-1930s on. If there is an immediate danger of capitalist democracy being replaced by open terror, we can and will adjust our strategy and organizational functioning accordingly.&#xA;&#xA;Comrades: communists have a rich history of resisting repression and defeating fascism. It was Soviet soldiers who planted the flag bearing a hammer and sickle on the ruins of the “thousand-year Reich.” Our comrades of the Philippines have repeatedly demonstrated it is possible to grow and thrive in the context of U.S.-sponsored terror. The road might be a hard one, but our future is bright.&#xA;&#xA;Let me close with a quote from the outstanding revolutionary and Marxist-Leninist Mao Zedong:&#xA;&#xA;  I have said that all the reputedly powerful reactionaries are merely paper tigers. The reason is that they are divorced from the people. Look! Was not Hitler a paper tiger? Was Hitler not overthrown? I also said that the tsar of Russia, the emperor of China and Japanese imperialism were all paper tigers. As we know, they were all overthrown. U.S. imperialism has not yet been overthrown, and it has the atom bomb. I believe it also will be overthrown. It, too, is a paper tiger.&#xA;&#xA;Long live proletarian internationalism!&#xA;Long live the unity of the world’s peoples!&#xA;Victory is certain, together we will win!&#xA;&#xA;Notes&#xA;&#xA;\[1\] Trosky states in Fascism: What it is and how to fight it, “The fascist movement in Italy was a spontaneous movement of large masses, with new leaders from the rank and file. It is a plebian movement in origin, directed and financed by big capitalist powers. It issued forth from the petty bourgeoisie, the slum proletariat, and even to a certain extent from the proletarian masses; Mussolini, a former socialist, is a “self-made” man arising from this movement.”&#xA;&#xA;\[2\] Dimitrov, The Fasc