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An Open Letter to Jose Maria Sison on the
36th Anniversary
of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
Dear Mr. Sison:
Ang Bayan, the
Communist Party of the Philippines' official publication published last
December 7, 2004, an article and a diagram laying out the configuration of
individuals and organizations within the broad progressive community in
the country.
What is sad to note
is that this mapping out comes with a most terrible attack hurled against
these groups and individuals, generically dismissing them as
Counter-revolutionaries, Trotskyites and Social Democrats. The party
which you founded 36 years ago views them as ideological and political
enemies - class enemies, as can be "gleaned from their international
links".
Some personalities
involved with some of these groups are already dead, like Popoy Lagman,
Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. Lagman, reportedly - and the latter two
admittedly - in the hands of your armed wing, the New People's Army.
Another person on the list, Ricardo Reyes, is already in your order of
battle.
Outside of Ric Reyes
who currently chairs AKBAYAN, we, Walden Bello, Chair Emeritus of AKBAYAN
and Loretta Ann P. Rosales, first AKBAYAN representative, are also among
the individuals listed. Does this mean you intend to kill us one by one?
What is both puzzling
and a trifle annoying is the fact that, while we were all once national
democrats, our movement was part of a much broader based anti-dictatorship
united front that sought the end of one-man rule through the ouster of the
late dictator, Mr. Marcos. Social democrats and Trotskyites marched side
by side with national democrats, church groups and ordinary citizens who
loved their country and wanted an end to dictatorship. In the
international arena, our combined ranks actively led in strengthening the
social movements against the ill effects of globalization on struggling
economies of the Third World.
Today, AKBAYAN's
representative chairs the Committee on Human Rights in the House of
Representatives while AKBAYAN is providing leadership among social
movements working for a more equitable and humane international social
order. For this initiative, AKBAYAN's Chair Emeritus was awarded the
Right Livelihood Award also known as the Alternative Noble Prize. Against
which standards does the national democratic movement judge such efforts
as counterrevolutionary?
We write you on the
day you celebrate the 36th anniversary of the re-establishment
of the Communist Party of the Philippines. We are quite certain you will
once again stand pat on your claim that you are waging an armed and just
war in defense of the Filipino people's national and democratic
interests. From 1968 to the present, the use of armed struggle has been
your over-arching solution in winning over the countryside to ultimately
surround the cities and seize political power.
Considering that we
are no longer part of your protracted war, does this make us class enemies
and fair game as enemy targets? It bothers us that your 36-year old
obsession over armed warfare asserts that all other forms of struggle are
inherently inferior and a threat to the primacy of the over-arching goal
of a violent upheaval. Even more deadly, it is justified to eliminate
such a threat since your concept of revolutionary justice not only excuses
but necessitates it.
Thus, those who dare
to assert their independence from CPP hegemony are unduly demonized, such
as AKBAYAN members, and partners in areas such as Bondoc Peninsula in
Quezon where activists from people's organizations such as PEACE
Foundation, Kilusang Magbubukid sa Bondoc Peninsula, and Task
Force Bondoc
Peninsula - all unarmed and aboveground formations - are now military
targets.
Has this use of armed
violence, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives translated - after
36 years - into economically and politically empowered communities under
the CPP leadership? Or do we merely see a situation where a convergence
of militarist mindset and behavior can be easily found among the armed
units of the CPP and the paramilitary units of the AFP.
To illustrate, there
have been instances of other civilians being liquidated by the NPA, such
as Nong Boy Ocmen in Agusan del Norte, and another local leader in Nueva
Ecija, which goes against the very statements made by the CPP that it does
not cause harm to non-combatants as provided for in the Comprehensive
Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
it inked with the Philippine government. Does this imply that the CPP
cannot be trusted to know what its left hand, with a gun is doing, while
its right hand is signing a peace agreement?
The recruitment of
child soldiers is a practice that is found among the Citizens Armed Forces
Geographical Units of the AFP (CAFGU) and the New People's Army (NPA).
Both armed groups violate the UN
Covenant on the
Rights of the Child as reported by the UNICEF and other child-focused
NGOs. Where the CPP makes an excuse that these children do not serve on
the frontlines but merely serve as runners, etc. belies the fact that
children do not belong in a war.
Similarly, draconian
behavior from the New People's Army resulting in gross violations of human
rights and the destruction of property has been reported by Amnesty
International in2004, in much the same way human rights abuses are
committed by the police and the military. The Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) itself has criticized the "permit to campaign"
extortion activities of the NPA during elections. Rather than waste time
throwing vile at us, the CPP should reflect on why such criticisms are
coming its way from all sides.
The Philippine Left
is a much, much bigger community than the CPP wants it to be. We want to
impart upon Mr. Sison that if the party he founded is truly interested in
upholding universal human rights, it has to reassess its role in the
progressive movement - as an agent of discourse and peaceful co-existence,
not as a fascist harbinger of violence, hatred and murder.
Walden Bello
Loretta Ann P. Rosales
AKBAYAN
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