Philippines: Report from base area of the people’s war

Philippines: CPP calls for removal of US military presence

Women in Mindanao protest US imperialism

The following statement calls for an end to the recent resurgence of US military involvement in the Philippines. Thanks to Democracy and Class Struggle for making this available.

Repeal of US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty will help in peaceful resolution of South China Sea conflicts — Communist Party of the Philippines

Communist Party of the Philippines

3 May, 2012

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) urged the Filipino people to push for the repeal of the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 and the pullout of all American military troops in the Philippines in order to ease military and diplomatic tensions over the Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Islands and pave the way for the peaceful resolution of the conflict and build mutually beneficial relations with both China and the US.

The CPP issued this statement a day after security and defense officials of the Aquino and US governments met in Washington DC. The US government promised to allow the Aquino government to purchase another Hamilton-class cutter from the American military scrap yard after officials of the Aquino regime mendaciously appealed for US support in order “for the Philippines to be minimally relied upon as a US regional partner.”

Philippines: Secret Cables Reveal Exercises Used as Cover for US Military

The following comes Philipinnes Revolution.net

Secret Cables Reveal Exercises Used as Cover for US Military

Communist Party of the Philippines

September 16, 2011

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today called attention to secret cables from the US Embassy in Manila published by the website Wikileaks.org revealing the use of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the annual Balikatan joint military exercises as “legal cover” for the involvement of US military forces in combat operations in the Philippines.

The CPP statement coincided with the 30th anniversary of the historic Philippine Senate decision of September 16, 1991 to abrogate the Military Bases Agreement of 1946. The abrogation paved the way for the dismantling of Subic Naval Base, Clark Air Base and several other American military installations in the Philippines.

“Thirty years after the abrogation of the MBA, US military forces continue to trample on Philippine sovereignty by maintaining permanent presence, engaging in local combat operations, advising the AFP in strategic planning and using the Philippines as a platform for its ‘power projection’ activities in the Pacific region,” said the CPP.

In a cable dated January 19, 2005 titled “AFP/DND Talks Produce Progress on Counterterrorism Scenarios,” former US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone reported to the US State Department that Philippine military and security officials held a working meeting with representatives of the US Pacific Command and succeeded in “developing a range of enhanced US-GRP counterterrorism scenarios”.

In the said meeting, officials and legal counsels of the Department of National Defense (DND) assured the US military that “(we are trying to) push the envelope to combat-related activities” but asserted that such activities “should fall under ‘the rubric of exercise’ because of the difficulty the word ‘operation’ posed for the Filipino side.” DND officials gave assurances that the VFA and Philippine Supreme Court decisions covered such operations.

“This and other secret cables clearly reveal that so-called joint exercises regularly conducted by the US and Philippine militaries merely serve to camouflage the direct involvement of US military forces in combat operations in the Philippines,” said the CPP. According to the CPP, US military forces are involved in combat operations not only in Southwestern Mindanao where the 700-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF)-Philippines is based, but also against the New People’s Army in various parts of the country.

Philippines: Communist Rebels Resist Return of US Bases

Protesters face off in front of US Embassy in the Philippines

Thanks to Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle for sharing this.

COMMUNIST rebels on Friday asked Filipinos to oppose any plan to reestablish United States military presence in Subic, Zambales, whether in the form of a base or related facilities.

The US military is reportedly searching for alternative places in the Asia-Pacific region to establish bases, in the face of growing opposition to their military bases in Okinawa, Japan where the US 7th Pacific Fleet is headquartered.

Last Tuesday, US Senators Daniel Inouye and Thad Cochran met with President Benigno Aquino III after visiting the Subic Bay Freeport to be briefed about the situation in the former US military base.

Joma Sison: A Marxian Critique of the Neoliberal Economic Agenda

Thanks to Red Ant Liberation Army blog for sharing this. Posting here does not imply endorsement of the views presented, but we share for the interest of our readers.

 

Watch the rest of the video series here.

Philippine Peace Talks Open in Norway

Thanks to Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle for pointing this out. As the article explains peace talks have been on the table in the Philippines for over 25 years. However, these talks in particular come after the arrest of Allan Jazmines, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Long-awaited Philippine peace talks open in Norway

A ceasefire between government troops and the CPP is in effect for the week-long closed-door talks Peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels have resumed in Norway, more than six years after the last round broke down.

The negotiations near Oslo are aimed at ending the 42-year insurgency, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Philippines: Maoists Praised for Aiding Flood Victims

Thanks to Red Ant Liberation Army blog for sharing.

Philippine NPA Fighters

Maoist guerrillas praised for aiding calamity victims

MANILA, Philippines- The fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Saturday welcomed the decision of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for directing members of the New People’s Army (NPA) to assist victims of mass flooding in Eastern Visayas and other calamity disaster areas in Caraga and Bicol regions due to non-stop rain since the Christmas holidays last year.

40 years of Philippine Society and Revolution

Cover of Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero

The article originally appeared on Philippine Revolution site.

Interview with Comrade Jose Maria Sison (Amado Guerrero)

by Ang Bayan

It has been 40 years since the Central Publishing House of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) first published Philippine Society and Revolution (PSR). In the past 40 years, PSR has served as the CPP’s principal reference and guide in laying down the basic principles of the two-stage revolution in the Philippines based on the analysis of concrete conditions of the semicolonial and semifeudal system. To commemorate the anniversary of PSR and reaffirm the principles it laid down, Ang Bayan decided to interview Comrade Jose Ma. Sison who, as CPP founding chair Amado Guerrero was the principal author of the PSR.

Philippine Maoists Order Their Army to Intensify Attacks

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer

NPA Woman

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has ordered its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to step up offensives in Mindanao.

Jorge Madlos, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front (NDF), said in a statement that the NPA was told to attack “legitimate military targets” as a form of “resisting renewed [military] offensive activities.”

Madlos said the call for increased offensive action was meant “to meet head-on” increased military operations under the extended counter-insurgency campaign, Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).

“[The CPP] is moving to thwart government’s goal of crushing the Maoist revolutionary movement in three years as laid out by the new administration of President Benigno Aquino III,” he said.

Madlos said a similar order was also relayed to NPA units in other parts of the country.

“It is very clear that the brisk military activities in Mindanao are a direct result of the extension of the OBL campaign,” he said.

The OBL campaign was originally set to end June 2010 but Aquino sought to extend its implementation until the end of this year, Madlos said.