Statement by the Communist Party of the Philippines on Operation Green Hunt and the Revolution in India

“The armed movement in India inspires the people throughout the world to stand up and fight. The CPP is ready to extend any help and support to the Indian revolutionaries in order to further advance their struggle. This is a part of the proletarian internationalist duty of Filipino communists.” –CPP

Ang Bayan, April 21, 2010

Operation Green Hunt and the revolution in India; Genocidal war against the people’s revolutionary movement

The Communist Party of the Philippines, the Filipino people and the revolutionary movement worldwide condemn “Operation Green Hunt”, a counterrevolutionary war launched by the reactionary government of India against the armed revolutionary movement and the national minorities within the country. This conflict is part of the terrorist war led by the US in various parts of the world, mostly in areas where the people are waging courageous resistance.

Operation Green Hunt’s principal targets are mineral-rich areas like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. These places are also known as the “Red Corridor”, because it is here that the broad and advancing revolutionary war led by the Communist Party of India (CPI)-Maoist can be found.

In the past couple of years, numerous projects and operations in mining and other industries were delayed, if not outrightly cancelled due to the staunch people’s resistance in the area supported by the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army and CPI-Maoist. In these locations, iron, coal, gold, diamond, bauxite and uranium deposits can be found. These areas have also been cited as ideal sites for setting up special economic zones. Several mining agreements with local and foreign capitalists have been approved by the reactionary Indian regime for these sites. Many more areas already have companies operating there such as Vedanta, Rio Tinto and Posco, companies that have long been plundering the country’s natural resources.

In the past five years alone, the governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal have secretly made deals with local and foreign companies for billions of dollars worth of contracts to construct steel, iron and aluminum factories, power plants, dams and mines. In order to clear the way for these projects, the people who are largely national minorities, are being driven out and their organizations destroyed.

Operation Green Hunt

To counter the guerrillas’ strength, India’s central reactionary government has begun the massive deployment of military forces to extensive areas in the states of West Bengal and Orissa where it has been conducting widespread aerial bombings and using high-tech military equipment from the US and Israel. The collusion between the reactionary regime in India and US imperialism in Operation Green Hunt is crystal clear.

Under Operation Green Hunt, there have been worsening attacks on the livelihoods and rights of the people in the affected areas. Already as many as 20 million peas- ants have been driven from their farms as a result of hamletting and zoning. Abuses such as torture and rape are rampant. Many communities have been razed to the ground in order to banish residents accused of being CPI-Maoist members or supporters. A large number of the residents have been forced to live in guarded communities cal- led “security camps” where their mobility is restricted. They are also prohibited from going to their farms and fields. Those who violate these rules are automatically shot.

The victims are denied access to all legal means including the courts. The media are also banned from entering and reporting what is transpiring in the area.

Organizations, media people, intellectuals, writers, cultural workers and other progressive forces opposed to Operation Green Hunt and supportive of the people’s resistance are persecuted and threatened.

In response, the CPI-Maoist is helping the people to organize and strengthen themselves. They launch literacy and education campaigns by establishing schools. They provide much-needed medical services. They set up self-defense units and core forces to fight and overcome the attacks and brutality of the state’s military and paramilitary forces being deployed to the- ir communities.

Inspiration to the CPP and whole world

Revolutionaries and the CPP closely follow and laud the guerrilla war and revolutionary movement in India. They hail their victories. Each of their successes is a contribution to the struggle of the international proletariat, and the CPP recognizes their complementary role in the development of armed struggle in the Philippines and other communist and revolutionary movements worldwide.

The armed movement in India inspires the people throughout the world to stand up and fight. The CPP is ready to extend any help and support to the Indian revolutionaries in order to further advance their struggle. This is a part of the proletarian internationalist duty of Filipino communists.

From the CPP’s standpoint, the revolutionaries and communists in India will likely be a major force in the advancement of the international proletarian struggle due to the country’s size and the intensity that their people’s war has already achieved. Chiefly, it is significant because it is under the correct proletarian revolutionary guidance of a genuine communist party.

It has the potential to bring the international communist movement to a new and higher level, as Russia did after World War I until the 1950s and China after World War II until 1970.

The CPP considers the CPI-Maoist a fraternal party. There is a high level of ideological unity between the two parties. These past few years, they have had many opportunities to share ideas and practical experiences. Also, they have attended many conferences where they both carried out important tasks for the promotion of Marxism, Leninism and Maoism.