By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
19 January 2008
The Arroyo regime and its military and police henchmen are making up scare stories about violent schemes of “destabilization” and “military coup” in order to whip up the psychological atmosphere for the violation of the people’s right to speak and assemble and the freedom of the press and in order to justify the use of state violence against the impending legal and peaceful mass protests of the people.
The Arroyo regime’s subservience to foreign interests, corruption and gross human rights violations have so brazenly offended the people that Arroyo and her minions constantly scheme to preempt the expression of the people’s wrath. In fact, the regime has become so frightened by the people’s outrage over its crimes that it has consistently unleashed state terrorism and is desperately preparing to inflict more violence on unarmed people and the press in forthcoming peaceful mass actions.
The Filipino people have all the right to speak and assemble in order to commemorate such significant events as the 2001 people’s uprising, the Mendiola massacre of peasants in 1987 and the First Quarter Storm of 1970, as well as to express their grievances and make their demands. The people’s civil liberties must prevail over the Arroyo regime’s use of state power to intimidate the people and unleash violence against them..
The broad masses of the people and the patriotic and progressive organizations must assert and exercise their basic democratic rights against oppression and exploitation. I am confident that they are not at all intimidated but are challenged to rise up and fight for their rights.
As regards the military and police, they should not at all be bound by loyalty to the illegitimate, criminal and immoral Arroyo regime. They have every right to disobey this regime’s orders to attack the people. They have the patriotic duty and right to side with the people, withdraw support from the oppressive regime and follow a new civilian political leadership as in 1986 and 2001.###
