AFP-NPA unity vs imperialism

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
3/11/2011



The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-New People’s Army (NPA)-National Democratic Front (NDF) combined should declare a unilateral end to its war against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and instead focus on enlightening the soldiers of our Republic on their true role of “protecting the people.” This longstanding war is but a distraction from the real one that must be waged by all — the war against imperialism.

This war, directed at Western powers eager to regain their dominance either through an expanded Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) role or by other means, will be a boon to all Third World countries that have successfully struggled to break free from the stranglehold of neo-colonialism.

Thus, “peace talks” between the NDF and the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) not only distract but also perpetuate the lie of Western governments’ “peace mediation,” making them appear to have better intentions to obfuscate from the real tyranny of their imperialistic oppression.

This article is a fruit of my discussion with an underground cadre who admitted his dilemma over the AFP-NPA war. When an NPA fighter is killed, his immediate and extended families ache for revenge; likewise, when an AFP soldier dies at the hands of the NPA, his entire clan also seeks to avenge his death. It turns out that both sides of similarly impoverished families only become much poorer after their heads of families are killed.

The recurrent peace talks between the government and the communist rebels simply stretch out this futile and self-defeating struggle that deepens the devastation of this country. Instead of harnessing precious resources and human energy, and instead of strengthening our national resolve to break the shackles of those lecherous international bankers and their local oligarchic partners, what has really been accomplished to date?

The NDF Web site itself exposes the farce of the peace talks as murders of members or supporters of the Left continue to be perpetrated, such as that of Rody Dejos and his son Rody Rick in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur; or that of Bayan Muna activist Rodel Estrallado in Bicol, among many others; vice-versa the ambush of the Eastern Samar Regional Mobile Group, killing its police team leader and wounding three others. And even as peace talks with government resume, NDF consultant Alan Jazmines is arrested. The list just goes on and on.

Meanwhile, some of the best and brightest of our young countrymen are sacrificed to the altar pyre of this war, such as the much publicized Mindanao State University scholar-turned-NPA guerilla Kemberly Jul Luna, aged 21, who died in an AFP-NPA clash in Bukidnon last year. How many more of such valuable lives must be wasted before the NDF’s leaders can rise above their war obsession and farcical peace talks?

In the meantime, lots of time — years, decades, nearly half-a-century — is lost. If only the intelligence and articulation of such valuable talents such as Kemberly were utilized in educating the masses and the AFP rank-and-file to deny the imperialists, neo-colonialists, and oligarchs the coercive arm to impose their exploitative and oppressive socio-economic system, the AFP could have become the weapon of the people. This, even before Latin American countries found their Hugo Chavez, who became Venezuelan president and started the wave of progressive victories in that continent, from Bolivia’s Evo Morales, to Argentina’s Nestor Kirchner, Brazil’s Lula da Silva, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, and Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo.

A unilateral declaration by the CPP-NPA-NDF of the end of its war against the AFP and a call for unity with the Armed Forces to fight the common enemy of imperialism will be a dramatic elevation of its stature in the eyes of the Filipino people. It will also be a shock to the AFP that has the real potential of triggering a paradigm shift among the rank-and-file and idealistic young officers. They will definitely be liberated from their paranoia against the NPA and be free to reflect on their ironic situation of being defenders of a system that does not serve their families’ interests while dedicating their efforts toward building the nationalist corps.

The best and the brightest of the NDF youth, in turn, may start joining the PMA (Philippine Military Academy) and be part of rebuilding the officers’ training institution into a nationalist school instead of a careerist breeding ground. With a united People’s Armed Forces, imperialism would not stand a chance.

Further, with a united People’s Armed Forces, the nation can finally resolve one last insurgency that has continued to bar the country’s road toward peace and prosperity — that of foreign interference in Mindanao. Should that fateful day come, the shameless alliance between the US, Great Britain and Malaysia, and their patsy Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can be ended with finality, along with those demeaning “peace talks” held in a foreign land, under the watchful eyes of those who yearn lasciviously to swallow the riches of this nation’s southern islands and seas.

The NDF should thus learn from its debacle in 2008 when it was seen standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the US and British ambassadors (like godparents), ready to sanctify the unholy pact between Gloria Arroyo’s government and the MILF to establish the BangsaMoro Juridical Entity.

Everyone should know that the MILF, an organization that was given its second birth after sending that wimpish, subservient letter to former US President George “Dubya” Bush, is nothing but an insult to the movement against global imperialism.

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