The regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is
schizophrenic in its attitude to the peace negotiations. It says one
thing but does another. It declares its desire to continue peace talks
with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army and yet it
pursues with vigor the blacklisting of the CPP-NPA as terrorist groups.
Contrary to Foreign Affairs Secretary Ople's assertions, a terrorist tag
on the CPP-NPA will not force them to the negotiating table. It is an
axiom of conflict resolution that confidence-building measures lay the
path to peace and by no stretch of the imagination can the blacklisting
of the CPP-NPA be such. In fact, Presidential Spokesperson Tiglao
himself admits the obvious fact that it is contradictory for the
Macapagal-Arroyo regime to proceed negotiations with a terrorist group.
Yet the Macapagal-Arroyo regime is not so much schizophrenic as
sycophantic. It puts the interests of its American master above the
welfare of the Filipino people. The interests of the Filipino people
dictate that the government pursues a negotiated settlement to the armed
rebellion yet the needs of the US "war against terror" pushes it to the
opposite direction of blacklisting the CPP-NPA.
In return for its puppetry to the US expansionist designs packaged as
"war vs. terror," the Macapagal-Arroyo regime feasts on crumbs thrown
its way. It rejoices on a promise--not an assurance--that $30 million in
military aid that has been cut from the US budget will still be
forthcoming. It cheers a pledge that the Philippines will earn a seat at
the UN Security Council that it will use as a platform to parrot the
American foreign policy line |
Meanwhile, we have an unsolicited advice to Joma
Sison now that the European Union has affirmed the blacklisting of the
CPP-NPA and he fears either an extradition or assassination. We dare him
to come home and lead the revolution from the frontlines not the
rearguard.
Now that the struggle
against imperialist aggression has become for Sison not just a political
but a personal battle, we challenge him to directly head the forging of
a united front among revolutionary groups in the country against US
intervention and fascist repression.
Now is the perfect opportunity for Sison to come back with the threat of
immediate extradition from Netherlands on his back and the prospect of a
social explosion in the Philippines on his front. At the very least he
should spare himself the indignity of being extradited unceremoniously,
if not the danger of being sent to the US for trial.
As his own Maoist doctrine teaches, there is no place more secure than
in bosom of a guerilla front and in the midst of the peasant masses. The
funds to be raised from the "Piso para kay Joma" project would be better
spent strengthening the guerilla front that Sison chooses to serve as
his Yenan rather than sent abroad to his shore up his finances at
Utrecht.
If Sison will not come back now-given all the negative circumstances
abroad and the positive factors in the homefront-then he is not coming
back at all, except possibly to return on the eve of victory of his
revolution if it does materialize at all.
Sison's Leninist style of leadership from abroad does not go well with
his Maoist strategy of revolution. Mao had his reasons for leading the
protracted war from the frontlines and Lenin his in guiding the
proletarian revolution from abroad but what does Sison have as excuses
for remaining holed up in Utrecht. ###
|
