Intensify mass struggles against repression - CPPhilippines Ang Bayan

The Communist Party of the Philippines salutes the Filipino people as they give their all in defending their human rights in the face of the US-Aquino regime’s relentless Oplan Bayanihan campaign of suppression. The courage shown by the toiling masses, especially the peasantry and minority peoples in confronting the brutality of operating troops of the AFP is truly praiseworthy.
Of particular note is the struggle of the peasants and Lumad people of Mindanao to defend their human rights. Their militancy and determination are the correct response to brutal military operations, in order to defeat the AFP’s attempts to intimidate and silence them to submission and retreat and pave the way for the plunder of the natural resources found in their uplands and plains.
Those who joined the almost month-long protest action dubbed Manilakbayan ng Mindanao 2014 displayed commendable bravery and heroism. From Mindanao to the Visayas, from the Bicol region to Southern Tagalog, and from Mendiola to Liwasang Bonifacio in the national capital, about 300 Lumad leaders and representatives exposed and assailed the wanton trampling of their human rights and the destruction of the fruits of their efforts and struggle.
Manilakbayan, which began on November 13 in Davao City is the culmination of the struggle of the people of Mindanao to defend their rights, natural resources, land and livelihood against months of intensified military operations in the island.
In particular, the lakbayanis bared and condemned the onslaught of Oplan Bayanihan in the vast countryside of Mindanao. They defended their schools, livelihoods, culture and other rights as minorities.
Manilakbayan informed the broad masses about their opposition to the intensifying militarization of their communities and the grave violations of their human rights since the first quarter of the year. Among these are the extrajudicial killings of Lumad leaders, the military encampments in schools and community centers, forced evacuations, bombings, beatings and intimidation.
Human rights violations have grown more severe since the US-Aquino regime deployed more than half of the AFP’s forces to Mindanao. There are now 55 battalions comprising 50,000 soldiers currently in Mindanao, augmented by paramilitary groups formed and armed by the AFP.
In 2014 alone, at least 39 Lumad communities involving 4,735 individuals have been affected by forced evacuations spurred by AFP operations.
Of the 221 documented killings under the Aquino regime, 77 victims or almost 35% are from Mindanao; and of the 23 cases of forced disappearances, nine or 39% took place in Mindanao. Most of the victims are Lumad defending their ancestral lands.
To stop them from speaking out against militarization, 500 mass leaders and members of Lumad organizations have been slapped with trumped-up criminal cases.
Aside from calling for the pullout of military troops from their communities and demanding a stop to military abuses, they likewise exposed how mercenary AFP troops have been protecting the imperialists and comprador bourgeoisie who have been seizing their lands and plundering the island’s natural wealth. They bared the reactionary military’s brutal repression of those who dare defy them.
They called for a stop to destructive mining and the proliferation of foreign agri-corporations in Mindanao. They also condemned the presence of American troops in the country and agreements such as the VFA and EDCA that allow their presence.
Through Manilakbayan, it has become starkly clear that imperialist plunder, the trampling of the nation’s sovereignty, widespread landgrabbing, relentless militarization and wanton fascist repression pervade all areas of the country, from Luzon to Mindanao.
Manilakbayan has clearly shown the heights that democratic people’s struggles could reach due to the tight unity and coordinated actions of the broad masses of the people.
Let us propagate the victories of Manilakbayan throughout the archipelago. In the face of the AFP’s intensifying violence and brutality, mass struggles have been erupting to oppose the AFP’s suppression campaign. Bigger struggles will surely be launched in the face of the US-Aquino regime’s worsening brutality.
Other forms of mass struggles that comprehensively expose and resist the puppet, corrupt, brutal and antipeople US-Aquino regime must be developed and unleashed step by step.