Philippines: Cordillera People’s Democratic Front Calls on Soldiers to Rebel

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AFP Junior officers and Rank and File soldiers, defy your fake Commander-In-Chief

Simon “Ka Filiw” Naogsan, Spokesperson, Cordillera People’s Democratic Front

February 6, 2010

We condole with the families of the 29 soldiers slain and 35 wounded in six clashes with the New People’s Army from January 27 to February 4, just as we would mourn had any of our Red fighters fallen. There will be more casualties if the ongoing massive military operations will not end. Ordinary soldiers are thrust into doomed operations while their generals are enriching themselves thru corruption and as protectors of the illegal drug trade.

Most, if not all, of the AFP casualties probably came from poor peasant and working class families just like the NPA fighters. The main difference is that the rank and file troops unleashed by the 5th ID serve the exploiting classes of big landlords, corrupt bureaucrats and their imperialist masters, while the NPA fights for the emancipation of the poor from the shackles of poverty, oppression and exploitation, and for the defense of land, life, livelihood and resources.

The Cordillera People’s Democratic Front thus calls on the rank and file soldiers as well as junior officers of the 5th ID to defy the orders of their superiors in this doomed military operation. The current military maneuvers have no purpose other than to prepare the region for the arrival of the US troops for the Balikatan joint exercise starting this month and provide security for the subsequent entry of large mining companies.

2,000 Take to the Streets of Kolkata against Green Hunt

Murderer Chidambaram, Go Back!

This article appeared in Sanhati on February 9, 2010.

Citizens protest against war orchestration of Chidambaram and chief ministers in Kolkata

Partho Sarathi Ray, Sanhati

The citizens of West Bengal again came out on the streets, braving state repression, to loudly declare that they will not allow P Chidambaram and the chief ministers to plot their genocidal plans in the heart of the city.

Around 2000 people participated in a lively and militant march from College Square to the Metro Channel. Many organizations such as MKP, IFTU, APDR, Bandi Mukti Committee, SEZ-Birodhi Prachar Mancha, Lalgarh Mancha, Samrajyabadbirodhi Mancha, various students’ organizations and numerous individuals participated.

Also participating was a large contingent of the people from Nonadanga, who have been evicted there from the slums, and who identify their eviction with the eviction of adivasis from their land and resources.

Mahasweta Devi was present in College Square from where the march began. In the beginning, the police set up a barricade with lathi and shield-wielding policemen in front of the gates of College Square and said that they would not allow the march to proceed. After rounds of altercations and negotiations, there was direct physical confrontation between the police and the protesters and when protesters forcibly broke the barricades and went forward, they had to allow the march to proceed.

8 Year Old Nepalese Girl Sacrificed to Bring Good Fortune to Business

This article appeared  in Brunei News on February 11, 2010.

Child sacrificed in Nepal

An eight-year-old girl has been killed in a human sacrifice in Nepal. Police from the district of Rupandehi in the south of Nepal, have described the sacrifice as having been performed by four people who allegedly slit the child’s throat before stabbing her. The four have been arrested.

The police made the arrests after finding the girl’s blood, along with money and sacrificial offerings, alongside a brick kiln alter. Local police officials said two of the arrested people had already confessed to the murder, saying it was intended as an offering to the gods to bring good fortune to business.

Nepal outlawed human sacrifices in the 1700’s but experts say it is still practised by some Hindu communities in poor rural areas, where education is lacking and religion plays a big part in daily ritual.