ILPS: ON THE COUP D’ETAT IN HONDURAS

ON THE COUP D’ETAT IN HONDURAS
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
08 July 2009

Honduras President Manuel Zelaya Rosales (UPI Photo/Monika Graff)

Riot police disperse supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya near the presidential residency in Tegucigalpa (Esteban Felix / Associated Press)

Before the dawn of June 28 in Honduras, some 200 heavily armed soldiers of
the Honduran army stormed the residence of elected President Jose Manuel
Zelaya, took him at gunpoint and drove him to an airplane that flew him to
Costa Rica. A few hours later, the National Congress comprised of the
country’s oligarchs quickly installed erstwhile Speaker of the House Don
Roberto Micheletti Bain as “interim president” who read a bogus letter of
resignation allegedly signed by Zelaya himself.  Later in the day, the
military arrested members of Zelaya’s cabinet, detained the ambassadors of
Venezuela and Cuba, began hunting down leaders of progressive mass
organizations and imposed a nationwide curfew.

This brazen takeover by the top brass of the Honduran Armed Forces and the
country’s traditional oligarchs has outraged the Honduran people who have
now taken to the streets to reject the putschists. Unions, students, women
and other social sectors have launched a general strike, setting up
barricades and defying the curfew imposed by the Micheletti government. The
army, headed by US-trained General Romeo Vasquez, has responded with
increasing violence which has so far resulted in at least two deaths, over a
hundred injured and hundreds more imprisoned.

The international community has roundly condemned the coup d’état and the
escalating violence of the army in Honduras. The General Assembly of the
United Nations has unanimously denounced the military takeover and demands
the restoration of Zelaya to the Honduran Presidency.  But the de facto
Micheletti government, with the support of the Army, the National Congress,
the Supreme Court and local mass media, continues to defy the Honduran
people and international opinion.

The coup d’état in Honduras is a desperate attempt by ultra-rightist forces
within the traditional pro-US Honduran elite to stem the rising tide of
change swelling from below.

REMOVE SISON FROM TERRORIST LIST! RESUME GRP-NDFP PEACE TALKS NOW!

News Release
April 14, 2009

Reference: Peter Arvin Jabido, NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, email: nychrp@gmail.com

REMOVE SISON FROM TERRORIST LIST! RESUME GRP-NDFP PEACE TALKS NOW!

NEW YORK, NY– A human rights advocacy group in New York City is calling for the delisting of Philippine political refugee Jose Maria Sison from the foreign terrorist lists of the US State Department and the European Union (EU). Sison, an author, poet, and founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has been in self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987. He is also the current Chairperson of the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS), a global formation of grassroots people’s organizations around the world opposed to the US government’s economic, political, and military intervention worldwide.

“The continued foreign terrorist listing of Professor Jose Maria Sison, the CPP and the New People’s Army (NPA) must end in order for genuine peace in the Philippine to begin,” states Lolan Sevilla of the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP). “We also cannot tolerate the continued pursuit of the Philippine government to repress Sison’s political and democratic rights.”

ILPS Chairperson Statement on the Anniversary of the Iraq Occupation

 

Jose Maria Sison - ILPS chairperson

OPPOSE THE US INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF IRAQ,
DEMAND TOTAL, IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL
OF US AND OTHER FOREIGN FORCES OF AGGRESSION

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
20 March 2009

After six years of brutal occupation following the widely condemned
US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the US government has found itself
more isolated than ever before. The people of the world are outraged that
at a horrendous cost the US has committed the worst form of terrorism,
the crime of aggression, in order reduce Iraq to a puppet state, take
control over its oil resources and establish permanent US military bases
on Iraqi territory.

More than one million Iraqis have been killed, including hundreds of
thousands civilians, by US bombs, missiles and shells deliberately rained
on non-military targets including neighborhoods, hotels and hospitals.
Five million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes, seeking shelter
in refugee centers within Iraq and in neighboring countries. The Iraqi
infrastructure is in shambles despite billions in reconstruction
contracts cornered by US firms (including Halliburton, which US Vice
President Cheney has favored and continued to receive compensation from.)

At least 4,200 US soldiers have been killed and more than 45,000 wounded
in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion. In Afghanistan, more than 620 US
soldiers have been killed and more than 2,300 wounded since the October
2002 invasion of Afghanistan.

The US has spent more than USD 600 billion on the war in Iraq, and more
than USD 200 billion in Afghanistan. The US Congressional Budget Office
estimates that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars would cost US taxpayers up
to USD 2.4 trillion projected up to 2017, including interest payments for
debts incurred to finance the wars. Other more comprehensive estimates
show that the financial cost will run up to far more than USD 3 trillion.

The timeless JMS: Appreciating Joma’s Contributions

The timeless JMS: Appreciating Joma’s Contributions to the Youth and Student Movement in the 90′s

February 19, 2009

by Renato Reyes, Jr.

Jose Maria Sison, former youth leader and founder of Kabataang Makabayan celebrated his 70th birthday last February 8. As an activist and revolutionary for 50 years, his ideas remain very relevant for the youth of today. On February 19, Joma will be launching two books, forming a part of his selected writings from 1991-2008. I have no doubt it would be a sure hit among activists.

Joma’s ideas on the youth movement, first put forward during the 60′s and 70′s, were crucial in shaping and developing the youth and student movement in the 90′s. More than just historical references, Sison’s ideas on the YS movement had an immediate practical impact on the activist movement of our time.

During the 90′s, Joma’s ideas took on special relevance as the YS movement was reeling from errors and problems after the tumultuous 80′s. As a new activist then, I had the opportunity to take part in the rebuilding, expansion and strengthening of the movement. We consider it important that we had the chance to study Joma’s writings and apply these to our particular circumstances, while taking stock of the historical lessons and experiences gained by the movement.

Basic analysis of Philippine Society

Joma’s books such as the Philippine Society and Revolution and the Struggle (PSR)for National Democracy (SND)were the basic “textbooks” for the 90′s activists. The first provided the fundamental analysis of Philippine history and society, the three basic ills and the national democratic alternative. My first copy of the book, I borrowed from my Math 17 teacher Fidel Nemenzo, who encouraged me to read it and other JMS works. My second copy I got from my Mom who said a friend gave it to her for safekeeping during Martial Law.

The book SND became valuable in defining the role and orientation of the youth movement, and in expounding on a broad range of topics from Rizal, neo-colonialism, fascism, and even the standard issues of the day. Our favorite articles then were “Student power?” and “Youth on the March”.

The “grasslands” on the side of UP’s Palma Hall (AS) would be turned into a study area as activists huddled to discuss their basic “ED’s”. The UP tambayans would have afternoon lectures on the PSR and SND. We would have similar sessions in the communities in Village A and B and even in the picket lines of Shoe Mart in North Edsa and Cubao. ( I remember losing my PSR book at the SM North Edsa picket line in 1994).

Jose Maria Sison @ 70

JMS at 70

by Mong Palintino

Remember Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States? He used to be the most powerful economist in the world. When Greenspan speaks, the capitalist world reacts immediately. The “instantaneous effect” of his speeches would either revive or plunge the stock markets. 

In a different context, Joma Sison is the Alan Greenspan of Philippine politics (apologies to Joma). When Joma speaks, his word is interpreted as the official position of the communist movement. Here is how the ‘Joma Effect’ works: Joma issues a political statement which will be quoted by the local media; then Malacanang will accuse Joma of inciting violence; the military will warn of a sinister communist plot; and finally, anti-left intellectuals will ridicule Joma’s “obsolete politics.” 

Every word used by Joma is cited by the military as proof of his criminal activities. Every move he makes always attracts condemnation. If he is caught laughing on TV, he is at once denounced as a false communist. When he sings and dances during parties, his critics accuse him of betraying his comrades in the Philippines.

Why do the chattering classes hate Joma Sison? The answer is because he is a communist – the most unrepentant communist in the country. He is not allowed to drink, sing, dance, laugh, and gain weight. He is a communist creature, not a human being. He doesn’t deserve to indulge in these simple pleasures.