130 October 2006

I N T E R NI N T E R NI N T E R NI N T E R NI N T E R N AAAAAT I O NT I O NT I O NT I O NT I O N A LA LA LA LA LLIBERALIBERALIBERALIBERALIBERATIONTIONTIONTIONTIONPublication of the International Information Office of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines

Relaunch Issue 30 October 2006

At the latest count, there havealready been more than 760assassinations of leaders of

the legal democratic movement in thePhilippines. These political assassi-nations have continued despitestrong condemnations from variousgroups both in the Philippines andabroad. The killings are the expected“accomplishment” of OperationalPlan Bantay Laya (OPLAN FreedomWatch) of the Gloria Arroyo regimeand its fascist Armed Forces of thePhilippines.

Counterrevolutionarycenterpiece schemeOplan Bantay Laya or OBL is theArroyo regime’s counterrevolutionarycenterpiece scheme to defeat thearmed revolutionary movement in thePhilippines led by the CommunistParty of the Philippines (CPP) andthe New People’s Army (NPA). It isalso designed to cow the regime’spolitical rivals into silence andsubmission.The various “oplans”, starting fromthe Marcos dictatorship up to theArroyo fascist regime, were designedto coordinate the US-directed

The US and Arroyo Regime’sDirty War Uncovered

By Jose Emilio Jacinto III

A broad range of Philippineprogressive organizations andindividuals, demanding that

justice be served against intensifyingpolitical repression and impoverish-ment in the country, announced inearly October their appeal for aninternational tribunal to hear theFilipino people’s case against the US-supported government of GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo.A group of initiators headed byHustisya! (Victims of the ArroyoRegime United for Justice), BAYAN(New Patriotic Alliance),KARAPATAN (Alliance for theAdvancement of People’s Rights).the Ecumenical Bishops Forum andthe United Church of Christ in thePhilippines, filed their appeal beforethe Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal toconvene a second session on the

Philippines, and to indict the US-Arroyo regime for human rightsviolations, economic plunder andtransgression of the Filipino people’ssovereignty. The group of initiatorsexpressed confidence that theTribunal proceedings shall exposethe crimes of the Arroyo governmentas well as the key role of the USgovernment, under George W. Bush,in intensifying the exploitation andoppression of the Filipino people.More than 760 individuals have fallenvictim to extra-judicial killings sincethe US-Arroyo regime took power in2001. In the same period, more than180 others have been disappeared.They were abducted by suspectedreactionary security forces. Thou-sands of families have become

Filipino People File Casevs US-Arroyo Regime

in International Tribunal

I N S I D EI N S I D EI N S I D EI N S I D EI N S I D E

T I P P I N GP O I N T

US War of Aggressionis Facing Defeat in Iraq

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there and implement programs in theareas of land reform, education,health, culture, people’s livelihood,etc. In the major cities, the revolu-tionary forces advance the legaldemocratic struggle, fight forreforms that benefit the people andconstantly build organizational andpolitical strength until the over-alldevelopment of the revolutionpaves the way for the merging of thearmed struggle in the countrysideand the uprising in the cities in ageneral offensive to achievenationwide victory.In its international work, the NDFPforms alliances with progressiveforces around the world to build abroad international united front tooppose imperialism, especially itswars of aggression and plunder ofthe world’s resources. It also gives

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines(NDFP) is an alliance of revolutionary organizationswith roots in the various sectors and regions of thePhilippines. Its goal is to build a society that enjoys

national sovereignty, authentic democracy, socialjustice, progress and peace. It seeks to unite with all

forces willing to achieve these goals.

LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

BOARD OF EDITORSRoselle Valerio

Ed LaderaIsah Antonio

Jose Emilio Jacinto IIIN. Timmerman-Francisco

Bagani Dong-ilay

LIBERATION International is a publicationof the NDFP International Information Office

NDFP International Information OfficePostbus 19195 | 3501 DD Utrecht | The NetherlandsEmail: ndf@casema.nl | http://home.casema.nl/ndf

The National Democratic Frontof the Philippines (NDFP) ispleased to announce the return

of Liberation International. With therenewed publication of LiberationInternational, we intend to provideour readers a continuing account ofthe ongoing struggle being waged bythe Filipino people for national andsocial liberation against imperialistdomination and feudal backward-ness. We also aim to publish theanalyses and views of the NDFP andits allied organizations on currentburning issues in the internationalfront.The NDFP is a united front of 17revolutionary organizations of thedifferent democratic classes andsectors in Philippine society that aimto overthrow the decaying local

ruling system in order to build acountry that is truly independent,democratic, progressive andprosperous.The ongoing struggle for nationaland social liberation in the Philip-pines employs the strategy ofprotracted people’s war utilizing botharmed struggle and legal parliamen-tary struggle. The armed strugglewaged mainly in the countryside isthe principal form of struggle becauseit is decisive for the people in seizingstate power from the reactionaryruling classes. The legal struggle,though secondary, is essential to theover-all advance of the revolution.Following this strategy, the revolu-tionary forces wrest political powerfirst in the countryside, set up theorgans of democratic state power

LIBERATION INTERNATIONALis back!

IN THIS ISSUE:LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

30 October 2006

The US and Arroyo Regime’sDirty War Uncovered .............................................................. 1Filipino People File Case vs US-Arroyo Regimein International Tribunal ........................................................ 1LIBERATION International is back! ..................................... 2Philippine Anti-Terrorism Billand Bush War of Terror .......................................................... 5CPP Warns Against Use of Philippinesas Staging Ground for US War Against DPRK ................... 6TIPPING POINT: US War of Aggressionis Facing Defeat in Iraq .......................................................... 7Sidebar: The Iraqi Resistance ................................................ 721 September International Day of Protestvs Rights Violations in the Philippines ................................ 9India’s RDF calls for 14 October General Strike .................. 9FARC Leader Ricardo Palmera’s TrialSparks Solidarity Protests .................................................... 10Workers’ Party of Belgium TriplesNumber of Councilors in Municipal Elections ................... 11Czech Communist YouthFight Against Government Ban ........................................... 11She is a Military Cadre ......................................................... 12

330 October 2006

moral and concrete support based onits capabilities to anti-imperialist anddemocratic movements in othercountries.Imperialist propaganda tries to paintthe people’s movements for nationaland social liberation in the oppressedcountries as terrorism. Theimperialists have taken advantage ofthe September 2001 terrorist attackson the US to whip up worldwide anti-terrorist hysteria in order to vilifyrevolutionaries as terrorists.In fact, the biggest terrorists todaysit in Washington, DC, directing warsof aggression and plunder inAfghanistan, Iraq and othersovereign nations, killing hundredsof thousands of civilians andbringing massive destruction tohospitals, schools, factories andother civilian infrastructure. Theyhave no qualms about sending outyoung Americans to be killed or tobecome psychotic killers andtorturers in dirty wars that benefitonly US big business.

By featuring real life stories from thePhilippine revolution, stories about apeople struggling to build a betterand more humane society, we intendto debunk the lies being peddled bythe imperialists, their puppets in theclient states and their paidmouthpieces in the big corporatemedia who try to demonize thepeople’s liberation struggles in thePhilippines and other third worldcountries as terrorism.We aim to show to our readers howthe Philippine revolution isdestroying a decaying social systemwhich is responsible for theexploitation, oppression and politicalrepression that condemns more than80% of the Filipino people to a life ofpoverty and misery. We shall also tryto show how this revolution isconstructing a new democratic andprogressive Philippines that will latertake its rightful place in thecommunity of free nations and makeits own contribution to the struggleof building a better world forhumankind.

the allied organizations of the NationalDemocratic Front of the Philippines:

Communist Party of the Philippines; NewPeople’s Army; ARMAS, Artists and

Writers for the People; CNL, Christiansfor National Liberation; CPDF, Cordillera

People’s Democratic Front; KAGUMA,Association of Patriotic Teachers;

KASAMA, Federation of LaborOrganizations; KM, Patriotic Youth; LAB,

League of Scientists for the People;LUMABAN, Council of Lawyers for thePeople Revolutionary Organization of

Lumads; MAKIBAKA, Patriotic Movementof New Women; MSP, Patriotic Health

Association; MKP, Patriotic GovernmentEmployees; Moro Resistance and

Liberation Organization; PKM, NationalAssociation of Peasants; RCTU,

Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions.

counterrevolutionary war and its so-called war on terror.According to the OBL, the leaders ofpeople’s organizations and the pro-gressive alliances are “legal fronts”of the CPP and NPA. They serve asthe “political infrastructure” of thearmed revolutionary movement.Thus, they are, in the lingo of theOBL, to be “neutralized” or in actualterms, physically eliminated. Thisexplains the impunity of the killings,and the Goebbels-like manner withwhich the Arroyo regime washes itshands of the killings and unleashesthe detestable lie that the revolutio-nary movement itself is responsiblefor the killings. The liquidations arecarried out by special operationsgroups or death squads.To wash its hands of the dirty killingsand diffuse the local and internationalcondemnations, the Arroyo regimecreated a police task force and a civi-lian commission that have onlysucceeded, so far, in acquitting thereactionary Philippine National Policeand the Armed Forces of thePhilippines.That the liquidations are committedby the Arroyo regime can be clearly

seen from documents of the AFPitself, among them a presentationentitled “Knowing the Enemy”,which identified militant people’sorganizations and progressive politi-cal parties as “fronts” of the CPP.This same presentation is containedin the book “Trinity of War” releasedby the Northern Luzon Command ofthe AFP and has served as the guidefor field unit commanders of the AFP.In 2004, the AFP also released twointernal documents: “Target researchon Sectoral Organizations” and“Institutionalizing the Conduct ofTarget Research as a Major Compo-nent in the Intelligence Project Prepa-ration in Particular, and IntelligenceCycle Process, in General”, whichtargeted legal mass organizations andprogressive party list organizationsfor surveillance.On the civilian front, known fascistJesuit priest Romeo Intengan, wrotean essay in September 2005 entitled“The AFP: Defender of the Nation”which identified progressive party listgroups that won in the May 2004elections as “controlled or heavily-influenced by the CPP-NPA-NDF”.

US-Arroyo Dirty War ... from page 1

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HOMEFRONT

This obscure essay was officiallyendorsed by Intengan’s fellowwitchhunter, national security adviserNorberto Gonzales.

Shadow of “OperationPhoenix”The use of death squads by the AFP,from Marcos’ time up to the presentArroyo fascist regime, and the quota-system assassination of patriotic anddemocratic leaders have apparentlybeen copied from the strategy andtactics of US Special Forces called“new operational arts”, and havelong been operationalized under“Operation Phoenix”.“Operation Phoenix” was a fascistcampaign of genocide launched bythe US against the people of Vietnamand the Vietnamese NationalLiberation Front from 1967-1974 thatled to the Nazi-like liquidation ofmore or less 40,000 unarmedVietnamese.Like “Operation Phoenix”, OplanBantay Laya’s campaign of fascistkillings mocks the GenevaConventions on the conduct of war.The Arroyo regime and the US’ war ofterror against the Filipino people hasopenly targeted unarmed civilians.The US itself has not been brought toany international court of justice forthe genocide and other barbarities it

committed during the Vietnam War. Infact, the concept used in “OperationPhoenix” has been propagated by theUS-Central Intelligence Agency andthe Pentagon in other parts of Asia,Latin America, Europe and Africa. Itshould not come as a surprise ifpolitical observers and keen followersof the US aggression in Iraq wouldcry that the workings of “OperationPhoenix” is being reborn there.

Masterminds and USpuppetsWhile OBL is geared to defeat thearmed revolutionary movement, it isapparent that OBL also serves toensure the political survival, at allcosts, of Gloria Arroyo — theillegitimate, corrupt, puppet andfascist president, and her pro-imperialist regime.This means broadening of thedefinition, under the OBL, of the so-called enemies of the state, to includethe political opposition, theprogressive churches and middleclasses. Thus, the recentassassination of a high-rankingbishop of the Philippine IndependentChurch and the harassment of severalhigh-profile political oppositionists.Though the operations of OBL aredecentralized, such as theassassinations carried out by the

US-Arroyo Dirty War... from page 3.

Like “OperationPhoenix”, Oplan Bantay

Laya’s campaign offascist killings mocks

the GenevaConventions on theconduct of war. The

Arroyo regime and theUS’ war of terror

against the Filipinopeople has openlytargeted unarmed

civilians.

motorcycle-riding death squads, itscommand is centralized. At the helmof the command is Gloria Arroyoherself and the Cabinet OversightCommittee on Internal Security(COCIS) whose members includeexecutive secretary and former AFPgeneral Eduardo Ermita, (a Vietnam-veteran himself, involved in theimplementation of “OperationPhoenix”), national security adviserNorberto Gonzales (chair of theshadowy Philippine SocialDemocratic Party), justice secretaryRaul Gonzalez, defense secretaryAvelino Cruz and AFP chief of staffGen. Hermogenes Esperon.Just how bloodthirsty and fanaticthis committee is has been publiclyexposed a long time ago whennational security adviser NorbertoGonzales in one of the meetings ofthe COCIS officially proposed theassassination of NDFP chief politicalconsultant Prof. Jose Ma. Sison wholives in exile in the Netherlands.As the Philippines continues to bethe US’ Second Front in its so-calledwar on terror, and the US-backedArroyo regime’s puppetry to the USdeepens even more, expect the fascistplague to further spread throughoutthe country. But as the history of thepeople’s resistance also shows us,more repression breeds moreresistance. The outpouring of angerand condemnation for OBL’s fascistkillings and other war crimes issteadily expanding the ranks of therevolutionary movement in thePhilippines and the internationalsolidarity for the Filipino people.

Bush and Arroyo are both war criminals

530 October 2006

The master has cracked thewhip. No surprise thereforethat the Arroyo regime is

forcing the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill in the PhilippineSenate.US President George W. Bush gavethe order early October 2006 throughAdmiral William J. Fallon. AdmiralFallon, the US Commander in Chiefof the Pacific (CINCPAC) toldformer Philippine President Fidel V.Ramos that the US wants the Philip-pines to pass its anti-terror bill assoon as possible.Patterned after the repressive USAPatriot Act of 2001, the PhilippineAnti-Terrorism Bill allows warrant-less arrests, prolonged detentionwithout charges, the arbitrary free-zing and sequestration of financialassets and the violation of one’s rightto privacy through unhampered useof electronic surveillance.With its vague and sweeping defini-tion of terrorism, the proposed Billthreatens to flout the freedom ofspeech and assembly of the people inmass protests, strikes and otherconcerted actions of the workingpeople and rallies of the legal oppo-sition. It can be used to brand asterrorist the acts of the revolutionaryforces which otherwise conform tothe Geneva Conventions and inter-national humanitarian law in general.The proposed Bill empowers the reac-tionary police, military and other lawenforcement officers, through desig-nated Regional Trial Courts, to gainsecret access to bank accounts andother private records and thereafterto freeze bank accounts and otherassets and effect their eventualconfiscation.Anyone “charged or suspected” ofthe “crime of terrorism” or “cons-piracy to commit terrorism” or ofbeing “an accomplice or accessory”

can be subjected to numerous formsof punitive action in violation of his/her fundamental rights. Falsewitnesses are provided immunity.The proposed Bill allows the pro-scription and banning of liberationmovements, such as the CommunistParty of the Philippines, the NewPeople’s Army, the National Democra-tic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)and the Moro Islamic LiberationFront (MILF), just by branding themas “judicially declared terrorist orga-nizations.” Their members are alsomade subject to punitive measures.It practically establishes a policestate. The proposed Anti-TerrorismCouncil, chaired by the sitting presi-dent, Gloria Arroyo, is in effect acivilian-military junta, clothed withvast powers to destroy or debilitatethe legal opposition.She can use the anti-terrorism law toram through any of her schemes torevise the 1987 constitution of theRepublic of the Philippines. Theregime wants to revise said constitu-

HOMEFRONT

Philippine Anti-Terrorism Billand Bush War of Terror

tion to allow US military forces tobase their troops and weapons ofmass destruction in the Philippines,further auction off the nationalpatrimony, and accord unlimited“national treatment” to foreignmultinationals. She also intends to doaway with the restraints on thedeclaration of martial law and tocurtail further the guarantees of civiland political rights.The proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill isclearly an instrument of the US-Arroyo regime to intensify the USwar of terror against the Filipinopeople. For her part, Mrs. Arroyoexpects to wield a more repressiveweapon to destroy the legalopposition and the armedrevolutionary movement in order tocling to power.This Anti-Terrorism Bill, just like theUS Patriot Act and the US MilitaryCommissions Act, must bevigorously opposed by the Filipinopeople and all freedom-lovingpeoples.

US Marines arrive at the former US naval base in Subic, Zambales, in northernPhilippines, from their High Speed Vessel, for the “shoulder-to-shoulder” joint

military exercise.

6 LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

HOMEFRONTinternal refugees as a result of brutalmilitary operations conducted by theregime’s military and police forces.Individual victims of political killingsinclude leaders of opposition politicalparties, trade unions and peasantassociations, lawyers and judges,journalists and broadcasters, andreligious leaders. Bishop AlbertoRamento, co-chairperson of theEcumenical Bishops Forum, wasbrutally murdered inside his conventon 3 October. Most recently, EduardoMillares, a 50-year old urban pooractivist from the south of Manila, wasshot dead on 18 October. Millares’organization is protesting theincreased presence of reactionarysecurity forces in their community.The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal willconvene the Second Session on thePhilippines in The Hague, TheNetherlands, on 30 October.According to statements from theInternational Coordinating Secretariatof the Tribunal’s Second Session, theproceedings in The Hague will bepresided over by Dr. Gianni Tognoni,General Secretary of the PermanentPeoples’ Tribunal. Philippine SenatorMaria Consuelo Madrigal andCongressman Teodoro Casiño will bethe guest speakers.The hearings of the Tribunal will beconducted on 21-25 March 2007 inThe Hague before an internationaljury presided by Prof. FrancoisHoutart of Louvain-la-NeuveUniversity. Individual representativesfrom the group of initiators areexpected to personally appeal theircase before the Tribunal.Other members of the initiating groupinclude SELDA (organization ofpolitical prisoners), Desaparecidos(organization of victims, relatives andfriends of the disappeared), PublicInterest Law Center, Peace for Life,Philippine Peace Center, and IBONFoundation. The initiators called onthe international community tosupport the sessions of the Tribunalby sending messages of support,joining protest activities against theUS-Arroyo regime, giving donationsand informing more people about theworsening social situation in thePhilippines. More information aboutthe Tribunal second session on thePhilippines is available athttp://www.philippinetribunal.org.

CPP Warns Against Useof Philippines as Staging Ground

for US War Against DPRK

The Communist Party of thePhilippines (CPP) denouncedthe current large-scale military

exercises being conducted jointly invarious areas in Luzon and Palawanby US and Philippine security forcesas a “continuing transgessionagainst Philippine independence andsovereignty”. At the same time, theCPP warned against the use ofPhilippine territory as a stagingground or support base for USmilitary aggression against theDemocratic People’s Republic ofKorea (DPRK).Up to 5,700 US troops from the 3rdMarine Expeditionary Unit based inOkinawa, Japan and from the EssexExpeditionary Strike Group based inSasebo, Japan, arrived recently inLuzon and Palawan to conduct jointdrills with 1,300 Filipino soldiers upto October 31.CPP spokesperson Gregorio “KaRoger” Rosal noted that more andmore US troops are being deployed injoint exercises being conducted in thePhilippines “purportedly to counterterrorism, but actually as part of theconditioning to increase the scale ofthe continuing US militaryintervention in the Philippines itselfas well as in other countries.”Rosal said that the joint US-Philippine military exercises arebeing used by the US as cover for itsincreasing military intervention in thePhilippines, including directparticipation in the Philippinemilitary’s combat and intelligenceoperations in Mindanao and, moreand more, the development of its ownintelligence network, database build-up and direct familiarity in areas ofconflict in the country, especially inthe strongholds of the New People’sArmy.Rosal also said the joint militaryexercises and the increasing presence

of US troops in the country is alsosetting the stage for any possible useof Philippine territory as launchingpad for wars of aggression againstother countries, especially those inthe Asia-Pacific region opposed toUS superpower hegemony. The USused the Philippines as one of itslaunching pads for its invasion ofIraq in 1989-1990 and again sinceMarch 2003.Rosal urged the Filipino people tovigilantly oppose any step by the USgovernment to use the Philippines asa possible launching pad or supportbase for a possible war against NorthKorea, even as he also said that theUS is only barking frenziedly to hideits real fear of actually going to waragainst the DPRK which has justdemonstrated its self-defensecapability.“All Filipino patriots and the entireFilipino nation should not allow thePhilippines to be used as a pawn andstaging ground for the hegemonicwars of aggression of the US againstcountries and peoples fighting todefend their independence andfreedoms,” Rosal said. [CPPInformation Bureau]

“Joint US-Philippinemilitary exercises arebeing used by the US

as cover for itsincreasing militaryintervention in the

Philippines, includingdirect combat and

intelligence operations”-- Ka Roger

Peoples’ Tribunal... from page 1

730 October 2006

competing for media attention, thelatest of which was the “arrogant-stupid” statement used by a seniorUS diplomat to describe his govern-ment’s handling of the war.“We tried to do our best but I thinkthere is much room for criticismbecause, undoubtedly, there wasarrogance and there was stupidityfrom the United States in Iraq,” saidAlberto Fernandez, who is connectedwith the State Department andconsidered one of Bush’s spindoctors.Then there was Richard Haass, aformer foreign policy official in theBush administration, telling reportersthat the situation has reached a“tipping point” both in Iraq and USpolitics. Speaking on the heels ofresurgence of attacks against Ame-rican forces in Iraq, Haass said that“more of essentially the same isgoing to be a policy that very fewpeople are going to be able tosupport” and that the current admi-nistration’s strategy of bringingstability and democracy to Iraq “hasvirtually no chance of succeeding”.Within the Republican Party inCongress, support for Bush’s Iraqpolicy has likewise begun to melt. “Idon’t believe that we can continue

based on an open-ended, uncondi-tional presence [in Iraq]. I don’t thinkthere’s any question about that, therewill be a change,” said SenatorOlympia Snowe, a Maine Republican,told the Washington Post recently.Another influential senator, JohnWarner, who chairs the Republicanarmed services committee in theSenate and who joined a recent fact-finding mission to Iraq, said that thatcountry was adrift and all optionsshould be considered.Why the Bush camp is in panic isunderstandable. With 2 in 3Americans now believing that Bushis “wrong” in Iraq, Republicans – andeven a number of Democrats whoearlier supported the invasion of Iraq– are therefore cautious of beingidentified with the war lest they getthe goat of the electorate further.Nevertheless, the Republicans’efforts at damage control may be allfor naught as polls show that theDemocrats are going to take backcontrol of both the chambers of theHouse. Nationwide, all Republicancandidates for the lower house,senate and governorship are trailingtheir Democratic opponents by twodigits.

Not too long ago PresidentGeorge W. Bush was quotedby a journalist that he would

not leave Iraq even if the only onesleft supporting him are his wife,Laura, and his dog, Barney. But inthe face of mounting Americancasualties and widespread criticismsback home, the US president wasforced to announce recently it wastime to change course.Bush called it a mere change intactics. But for many a politicalpundit, his move to meet up with hiswar generals and advisers and talk of“adjusting” tactics over the conductof the war in Iraq is proof that his“stay the course” strategy has goneastray and that American withdrawalfrom the oil-rich country is just amatter of time.Worse for Bush, comparing Iraq withVietnam, where the United Statessuffered a humiliating defeat at thehands of the Vietnamese people, haseven become the favorite topic ofpolitical discussions not only in theUS but worldwide. A consensus isgrowing that the world’s mostpowerful army has lost the war inIraq.Pressures for Bush to admit there wassomething wrong with the way theIraq war is handled were enormous.Bad news coming one after the other– not only from Iraq but also fromAfghanistan – has only made it moreand more difficult for the WhiteHouse occupant to justify his Iraqadventure, in particular, and his so-called war on terror, in general.This October, attacks coming fromthe Iraqi resistance became morewidespread and fiercer. A total of 78American soldiers and countless Iraqimilitary and police forces were killedin this new wave of armed assaults.The American public is incensed,their anger and disapproval of Bushreflected in survey after survey.Interestingly, criticisms and calls forchange coming from the Washingtoncorridors of power were also

US War of Aggression is Facing Defeat in IraqTIPPING POINT

contd next page...

By N. Timmerman-Francisco

Iraqi civilians celebrating victory of the Iraqi resistance fightersagainst US forces

8 LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

Indeed, more and more Americans areconvinced that they were lied toabout the weapons of mass destruc-tion which were used as a pretext forthe invasion of Iraq and that SaddamHussein had definitely nothing to dowith the 9-11 attacks. The call tobring home the troops and stopusing them to steal Iraq’s oil is in factbecoming louder.A housewife,Vicky Harman, sums upthe prevailing sentiment of ordinaryAmericans: “People are upset aboutour kids being killed in Iraq in a warthat everyone now knows wasstarted on false pretenses. Every daythere’s more information about thecover-ups, the efforts to misguide thepublic and — worst of all — theirabsolute lack of remorse.”It is this sudden shift of public opi-nion against the war in Iraq that Bushis trying hard to parry. His admissionthat the upsurge of armed attacksagainst American forces in Iraq couldbe compared with the Tet Offensivein Vietnam, did not help any to winback the public support he onceenjoyed and had exploited to lash outagainst critics questioning his Iraqpolicy and his so-called war on terror.As if bolstering this Iraq-Vietnamcomparison, Bush’s calling on theIraq Study Group (ISG) is seen asLyndon Johnson’s asking advice fromthe “three wise men” who advocatedthe change of American handling ofthe war in that country. The ISG,which is headed by Bush familyfriend and former Secretary of StateJames Baker, has also been advoca-ting for change because it does notbelieve that the current policy in Iraqis working.The ISG is entertaining a host ofother alternatives: military withdra-wal, partitioning the country alongethnic lines, or even asking Iran andSyria to step in and help restoreorder. But as things stand now, with-drawing from Iraq – either phased orimmediate – is the alternative which isgaining momentum. The one chal-lenge being ironed out by Baker nowis how not to make this withdrawalappear as yet another US defeat atthe hands of a people they occupiedbut failed to subjugate.

Tipping Point... from page 7

INTERNATIONAL FRONT

And Bush is playing his part well.With his usual display of bravado, hedeclared: “Our goal in Iraq is clearand unchanging: our goal is victory.

Of late military paradesseem to be a regularoccurrence in Iraq. No, it

is not the American forces or theirlackeys in the Iraqi military andpolice who are holding this sortof victory celebrations. On Oct.18 and 21, for instance, a largegroup, with their weaponshoisted airwards, paraded in theheart of five towns in theprovince of Al Anbar, includingthe provincial capital of Ramadi,which is within striking distanceof American soldiers stationed innearby bases.Who are these people? They are theIraqi resistance fighters, part of thetens of thousands who have joinedthe armed struggle to put an end tothe US occupation. Their nemesisin the White House invariably refersto them as Al-Qaeda terrorists,extremists, Saddamists, etc. But forthe majority of the Iraqi people, theyare heroes waging a justrevolutionary struggle against aforeign occupier.Nothing much is written about theIraqi resistance. But a quick searchon the Internet will give one an ideawho these revolutionaries are.Far from being foreigners fighting inIraq, the guerrillas of the resistanceare Iraqi civilians fighting a foreignarmy that occupies their country. Itis composed of a dozen or so majorguerrilla organizations and as manyas 40 distinct groups, according tothe abovementioned site. Theirreligious and political backgroundsencompass Iraqi society: Sunnis,Shi’as, Kurds, Ba’athists,nationalists, and communists.This composition of the resistanceconfirms the observation made by a

number of political scientists, inclu-ding Professor Wamidh Nadhmi, whobelieve “that the major division inIraq is not along ethnic and religiousdivisions nor between the generalpopulation and violent groups, butbetween those who collaborate withthe foreign occupation and thosewho resist it.”Realities on the war front attest tothis comment. An article publishedonline by the The Observer on Oct.22 reported:“More worrying [for the Bushadministration] still is the assessmentthat both Sunni and Shia nationalistresistance movements have reachedthe level of being ‘coordinated/con-solidated’ – able to reply to multi-national offensives with their own‘push capability’.”The resistance fighters are also enjo-ying support from the majority of theIraqi people. A September 2006 poll ofboth Sunnis and Shiites found that:71% of Iraqis wanted the US to leavewithin a year; 65% favoring an imme-diate pullout and 77% voicing suspi-cion that the US wanted to keeppermanent bases in Iraq; and 61%approved of attacks on US Forces.

The Iraqi Resistance

What is changing are the tactics weuse to achieve that goal.” Unfortu-nately for Bush, Barney the dog maybe the only one left listening.

930 October 2006

INTERNATIONAL FRONT

International condemnationcontinues to mount against theUS-backed Arroyo regime’s

blatant human rights violations. Onthe occasion of the 34th anniversaryof the imposition of Martial Law bythe late dictator Ferdinand Marcos on21 September, coordinated protestactions were mounted across theglobe in front of embassies andconsulates of the Manila governmentand in other public places. TheInternational Day of Protest AgainstRepression in the Philippines,organized by the InternationalLeague of Peoples’ Struggle, was alsoan occasion to consolidate thedemocratic and progressive forcesprotesting against the worseningpolitical repression in the Philippines.In the US, protest actions were heldin eight cities participated in byFilipino-Americans and Americanleaders of progressive organizations:in Los Angeles and San Francisco, inCalifornia; Seattle, Washington;Manhattan, New York; Washington,DC; Chelsea, Massachusetts; NorthCarolina; and Honolulu, Hawaii.In Canada, Filipino-Canadians heldprotest rallies in front of thePhilippine consulates in Vancouver,Montreal and Toronto.Dutch, Turkish and Filipino activistspicketed the Philippine Embassy inthe Hague, the Netherlands. Protestactions were also held in front ofPhilippine foreign missions inGeneva, Switzerland; Oslo, Norway;London, in the United Kingdom; andin Rome, Italy.Filipinos picketed the PhilippineConsulate in Sydney, Australia, andlit candles to commemorate thevictims of the US-Arroyo regime’sfascist attacks. A protest action wasalso held in Melbourne, Australia.Three Indonesian organizations tooktheir protest action in front of thePhilippine Embassy in Jakarta,Indonesia. A rally was held in Seoul,South Korea participated in byFilipino, Korean, Bangladeshi and

Nepali activists. Similar protestactions were also held in Taiwan;Lahore City in Pakistan; inHongkong; and in Tokyo andNagasaki in Japan.Partial list of organizations whichparticipated in the 21 SeptemberInternational Day of Protest AgainstRepression in the Philippines:

USA: Bayan-USA, Anakbayan-LosAngeles • Habi Arts • NationalAlliance for Filipino Concerns •POWER • League ofFilipino Students •Babae • Anakbayan-Seattle • Pinay •Philippine-USSolidarity •Anakbayan NJ/NY •New York Committeefor Human Rights inthe Philippines •Katarungan •Philippine ForumCommittee Action •Movement for a Free

21 September International Dayof Protest vs Rights Violations

in the Philippines

Philippines • International ActionCenter • CAAAV: Organizing AsianCommittees • Nodutdol • CommitteeOrganizing Coalition of Philadelphia •Anakbayan-Honolulu.Europe: Filipino Resource Center •Changemaker • Kalayaan • Rice &Rights • Migrante-Europe •Nederlands-FilippijnsSolidariteitsbeweging • ATIK(Turkey) • PUMIGLAS • AKP(Norwegian Left Party).Asia-Pacific Region: FrontMahasiswa Nasional • GerakanRakyat Indonesia • AliansiMahasiswa Papua (Indonesia) •KASAMMA (South Korea) •MINBYUN • All Pakistan TradeUnion • Labor Rights Association •Human Rights Program • SoochowUniversity students in Taiwan.

The Revolutionary DemocraticFront in India called for a 24-hour general strike on 14

October in the states of Orissa,Jharkhand and Bihar, to protest thearrest of three activists last 7September.Orissa police forces arrested BudhniMunda, President of the Nari MuktiSangh, along with two othersactivists, Rajan Rahul Munda andSanjay alias Bijay Tudu, in themorning of 7 September 2006.According to RDF reports, the threewere interrogated and subjected topsychological torture for 36 hoursbefore they were presented to a localmagistrate. They had since beenremanded to police custody.The RDF severely condemned theillegal arrest and continued detention

of the three activists, and called onall sections of the population in thestates of Orissa, Jharkhand and Biharto voluntarily join the 24-hour bandhor General Strike.On 14 October, train service wascancelled in eastern India and buseswere off many roads in rural areas ofJharkhand. Vehicular traffic alsothinned out in the Malkangiri districtof Orissa. Shops were also shut downin parts of neighboring Bihar andOrissa.The RDF revealed that BudhniMunda was in Orissa as part of herorganizing work for the Nari MuktiSangh. The RDF also insisted that“Nari Mukti Sangh is working legallyand uses all legal means of protestactivities”.

India’s RDF calls for14 October General Strike

10 LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

Palmera is beingsubjected to inhuman

prison conditions. He isnot allowed a counsel ofhis choice. Bright lights

are on in his cell 24hours everyday... He is

not allowed visitors fromhis family and relatives...He is not given access to

any newspaper.

INTERNATIONAL FRONT

Everyone who supports peaceand justice should demand theimmediate release of Ricardo

Palmera, a man who has devoted hisentire life to the liberation of theColombian people,” says Tom Burkeof the National Committee to FreeRicardo Palmera.Ricardo Palmera, also known by hisSimon Bolivar-inspired revolutionaryname, “Simon Trinidad”, waskidnapped and brought to trial inWashington in the Federal Court onOctober 12. Supporters of Palmeraheld a protest action in front of thecourt. “We put out a call to pack thecourtroom and protest the unjustimprisonment of Palmera. … Ourpicket line and press conferenceturned a spotlight on the travesty ofjustice taking place today.”The Latin American press, includingColombian, Venezuelan and Cubanmedia, extensively covered theprotest actions and press conference.At the press conference, KostaHarlan of the Colombian ActionNetwork stated, “The United States istrampling on Colombian sovereigntyby placing Palmera on trial in thiskangaroo court. We believe the UShas no right to try Palmera – theColombian people have the sovereignright to determine how they want tostruggle.”Harlan noted further, “The US hasspent over $5 billion of our tax dollarson Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia is aplan for war, misery, and death.Americans should defend Palmeraand other Colombians who havebravely fought against foreigndomination and exploitation of theircountry.”Kati Ketz, a member of Asheville,North Carolina’s Student for aDemocratic Society told theassembled press: “Plan Colombia istaking money that could be used foreducation here in the US and giving itto Colombia so that students inuniversities can be killed for being a

political activist. Justlast Saturday, JulianHurtado wasmurdered byparamilitaries forbeing part of theTruth Commissioninvestigating themurder of anotherstudent gunneddown on the campuslast year. Today,students from fivedifferent campusesare standing here insolidarity with ourbrothers and sistersin Colombia.”The International League of Peoples’Struggle (ILPS), an anti-imperialistand democratic formation of morethan 300 participating organizationsfrom 40 countries, issued a statementof solidarity. Professor Jose MariaSison, Chairperson of the ILPSInternational CoordinatingCommittee, demanded Palmera’simmediate release. He also demandedthat the US respect the nationalsovereignty of the people ofColombia and dismantle PlanColombia.

Prof. Sison underlined the fact thatPalmera was one of the leading FARCpeace negotiators. Palmera was inEcuador to meet with UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan to work out aprisoner exchange with the Uribegovernment when he wastreacherously kidnapped on 2January 2004 in a joint operation ofthe Interpol, the CIA and theColombian and Ecuadorian armedforces. Detained in Colombia until 31December 2004, Palmera wasextradited by the Uribe governmentto the US.Palmera is being subjected toinhuman prison conditions. He is notallowed a counsel of his choice.Bright lights are on in his cell 24hours everyday, so he does not knowif it is day or night. He is not allowedvisitors from his family and relatives,except for 5-minute rare visits fromhis mother. He is not given access toany newspaper.Nevertheless, Palmera is in highmilitant spirit. He was smiling atsupporters with his fist in the airwhen he was led from the courtroomby guards. The struggle to freeRicardo Palmera continues.For more information seewww.freericardopalmera.organd www.fightbacknews.org

FARC Leader Ricardo Palmera’sTrial Sparks Solidarity Protests

Ricardo Palmera

1130 October 2006

INTERNATIONAL FRONT

The Workers’ Party of Belgium(WPB) made significant gainsin the recently concluded

municipal and provincial elections of8 October. It tripled the previousnumber of its municipal councilors,from five to fifteen, by winning seatsin eight municipalities withsignificant concentration of workers.The WPB also made progress in allmajor cities of Belgium.According to the WPB, the results ofthe recent elections mean that acredible Leftist and social alternative

The Communist Youth Union(KSM, Komunisticky SvazMladeze) in the Czech Republic

issued on 16 October an internationalcall to intensify efforts to fightagainst its illegalization, following anannouncement by the InteriorMinistry on 12 October to ban thegroup. A spokeswoman for theministry said the KSM is violating theCzech constitution for advocating thecollective ownership of the means ofproduction.The KSM has been fightingillegalization by the governmentthese last two years and has beendrawing broad support within thecountry and abroad. Thousands ofCzechs have already signed a petitiondeploring the moves of the interiorministry. Hundreds of youth andstudent organizations, trade unionsand political parties have also heldprotest actions in front of embassiesof the Czech Republic in othercountries.The KSM declared that it willchallenge the interior ministry’sdecision in court.

Workers’ Party of Belgium Triples Number ofCouncilors in Municipal Elections

Czech Communist YouthFight Against Government Ban

According to the KSM’sInternational Department, the officialban will not stop their activities,saying that they are “going to carryon the struggle for the rights of themajority students, young workersand unemployed, and for socialism”.It revealed that the illegalization isbeing carried out amidst anintensified anti-communist witchhuntcampaign, including renewed calls for

to the traditional parties in power istaking shape in several cities andmunicipalities in the country. InAntwerp, in particular, the Party hasbeen able to block the furtheradvance of the extreme Rightist andracist Vlaams Belang Party (FlemishInterest).The significant electoral progress,according to WPB, is the result of

their sustainedgrassroots work. TheParty aggressivelyincreased itsmembership among the

workers, trade unionists, youth,democrats and progressives.The Party is also promoting its newmain slogan, “People First, NotProfits”, to show in a popular andaccessible way that the choice forBelgians and the European people iseither for the working class or forcapitalism. [from wpb,http://www.wpb.be]

the criminalization of the CommunistParty of Bohemia and Moravia(KSCM).The KSM sounded out the call to theinternational community to condemnits illegalization by holding protestactions in front of Czech embassiesaround the world. Signatures ofsupport are being collected at thefollowing websites:http://4ksm.kke.grhttp://wfdy-ksm.kne.gr

World Federation of Democratic Youth protests repression of KSM

12 LIBERATIONINTERNATIONAL

The women sat close to oneanother as they awaited thecoming of Ka Nadia. They

were excited to meet her for theyhad heard of the woman commanderof the New People’s Army whosepowerful voice resonates as shegives orders to Red fighters duringbattles and maneuvers.Their excitement is not surprisingsince in a semifeudal society likethe Philippines, the traditional roleof women is in the home, takingcare of the husband, the children,the parents, the family. No matterthat in the decaying social andeconomic system, she bears theresponsibility of both wage-earnerand caregiver to her family.Theoretically she is put on apedestal and has to be defendedbut in reality she is exploited,oppressed and abused.Thus, having a woman as an officerof the army is considered a rarity.Having a woman commander like KaNadia of a liberation army issomething else, because in therevolutionary movement the oldadage that women hold one half ofthe sky is not empty rhetoric. Infact, the revolutionary movementbelieves that it is impossible toattain victory without theparticipation of women in everyaspect of revolutionary work.Ka Nadia, 40, is a member of theregional military training staff inCagayan Valley, northeast ofManila. As a military cadre shepossesses the characteristics ofcourage, confidence andresoluteness, tempered by morethan two decades of struggle andhard sacrifice. Her family wasamong the victims of massevacuations due to intense militaryoperations and rampant abuses ofthe reactionary armed forces in theirvillage, especially during the dyingdays of the Marcos dictatorshipand during the US-Aquino regime.She started as an activist and laterjoined a semilegal team thatorganized mostly poor peasants

and farm workers in the barrios(villages). Later she would take onvarious tasks in the revolutionaryunderground as a staff member for aregional publication, a full-timeguerilla fighter, a political guide of forher guerilla squad, and then as apolitical instructor for a platoon ofthe regional guerrilla unit. As aplatoon leader in the WesternCagayan guerrilla front, she and othercadres and comrades advancedrevolutionary work in the area untilthe two guerrilla fronts in the northand south of Cagayan provincemerged to form the region’s NorthernFront.As an instructor, Ka Nadia plays amajor role in encouraging womenfighters to do their very best intraining and she serves as aninspiration to them. Ka Nadia has aspecial interest in discovering womenfighters who have potential tobecome military cadres. There isdifficulty in finding such potentialsbecause of the various cultural andpsychological restraints that womenface. Once convinced of suchpotential in women red fighters, KaNadia provides them with specialattention, encouragement and sharesher experiences with them.She tells them of the feeling offulfillment when being of service tothe people and together attainingsmall victories in the improvement oftheir lives. But she also tells themthat revolution is no picnic and thatsacrifices have to be made.Ka Nadia’s sacrifices are real. Shewas separated from her family and isnot able to visit her child becausethey are under the close surveillanceof the reactionary military since shewas put on the military’s wanted list.She agonized over the death of eightcomrades who composed their squadin 1995 and she herself has severaltimes faced death during encounters.Then her husband died from aserious illness.But Ka Nadia finds strength in thecause of serving the people, in doingmass work among the poor peasants

and in the support of the comradeswho helped her in every step of theway. The Second GreatRectification Movement (SGRM)which started in 1992 was also aturning point for her and the othercomrades. Ka Nadia holds on to thelessons learned from the errorscommitted due to the militaristorientation that led to defeats andincreased casualties at that time.But her experience in the militaryfield, together with the lessons fromthe rectification movement, honedher to be a better military cadre.Truly, the revolution will not bevictorious without the participationof women in all aspects of work.Women now hold functions andresponsibilities in the revolutionarymovement including in the highestpolicy- and decision-making bodiesof the revolutionary movement.Women are participating in the all-comprehensive undertaking ofwaging revolution, whether in thesocio-economic, health, education,cultural, or military fields, and yes,even in peace negotiations.I remember a bet made with awoman writer in 1986 when theNational Democratic Front of thePhilippines (NDFP) announced itwould be creating a negotiatingpanel in its peace talks with thethen Aquino government. She bet acomputer that the NDFP panelwould be composed of all men. Ismiled for I was confident that awoman would be appointed to thepanel. I have to say that thecomputer served the staff of theAng Bayan well.

Being a Woman andan NPA Commander