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ILPS Message of Solidarity to Bayan
on the Occasion of Its 22nd Anniversary
By Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples' Struggle
May 4, 2007
On behalf of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, I express warmest
greetings of solidarity to the national leadership and all affiliates of BAYAN. We
share with you the joy of celebrating the 22nd anniversary of the founding of
your federation.
We have the highest respect for BAYAN as a powerful multisectoral alliance of
patriotic and progressive forces seeking to unite and mobilize the broad masses
of the people in the struggle for complete national independence and democracy.
You have brilliantly taken up all the major multisectoral and sectoral issues and
have successfully carried forward the national democratic movement that was
started by revolutionary forefathers.
We salute and congratulate you for all your achievements. It is appropriate and
necessary to celebrate these. We recognize the advances that you have made
and the hard work and sacrifices these have entailed. We join you in conveying
the highest honors to the martyrs and to those who are still with us and have
rendered long and exemplary service to BAYAN and to the Filipino people.
We are happy to see that BAYAN and its affiliates have dispatched representatives
to initiate or participate in international campaigns. We appreciate that you have
built BAYAN chapters and promoted support organizations abroad. We admire
the major role that BAYAN has played in bringing to the attention of the people
of the world the violation of human rights and national rights of the Filipino people.
The recent success of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal is due in large measure to
your participation and support.
We are deeply pleased that BAYAN and its affiliates have been a major factor in
the building of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, in building quite a
number of study commissions and the Philippine chapter of the League. We look
forward to the major contributions of BAYAN and the Philippine chapter in stabilizing
and strengthening the ILPS regional commission for East Asia and Oceania and in
preparing for the Third International Assembly of the ILPS.
It is fine that you have gathered to renew your determination to make BAYAN
stronger politically and organizationally and to raise to a new and higher level the
people's struggle in upholding, defending and advancing their national and democratic
rights. You can sum up your experience, overcome your weaknesses and maximize
your strengths and set forth clearly the tasks that you must fulfill.
The great challenges and high risks that daily confront you leave you no choice but
to strengthen your will and capabilities and persevere in the struggle. You must do
your best in fighting the most powerful and most vicious forces that subject the
people to intolerable oppression and exploitation and that wish to destroy BAYAN,
its affiliates and its allies in the struggle for national freedom and democracy.
US imperialism is at the head of all the malignant forces that ruthlessly impose on
the Filipino people the rigors of "neoliberal globalization" and the Bush war of terror.
The Arroyo puppet regime carry these out without let up. The corruption and
cruelty of this regime are expected to increase, starting in July, when it uses the
Anti-Terror Act (euphemism: Human Security Act) to attack the revolutionary
forces and then the broad range of legal opposition forces.
The Arroyo regime is hell-bent on committing electoral fraud and terrorism to
prevent the election of a number of congress members sufficient to impeach
the fake president. If Arroyo succeeds in preventing the election of such a
number of congressmen, she will continue to use state terrorism to suppress
the popular outrage and broad opposition. If she does not succeed, she will
still use state terrorism to intimidate the anti-Arroyo members of Congress,
probably expel the elected representatives of Bayan Muna and other progressive
party list groups and to suppress the popular demand for impeachment.
The broad masses of the Filipino people and all patriotic and progressive forces
must prepare themselves for more resolute and militant struggles against the
US-Arroyo regime. They will prevail against this regime as they did against the
US-Marcos fascist dictatorship. The current regime on its last three years of
legal existence will prove to be far weaker than the Marcos regime.
Long live BAYAN!
Fight for national freedom and democracy!
Down with the US-Arroyo regime!
Long live the Filipino people!
Long live international solidarity!
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