Message of Solidarity to Anakbayan-Melbourne
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
14 July 2012
On behalf of the International Coordinating Committee of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, I express to you warmest greetings of solidarity on the occasion of the Founding Assembly of Anakbayan-Melbourne.
We congratulate you for forming the organization as the rallying point in Melbourne of the Filipino youth who are committed to the struggle of the entire Filipino youth and the entire Filipino people for national liberation and democracy against US imperialism and the local exploiting classes in the Philippines.
You are in a better position than before to stand up for your rights, undertake activities for your benefit and develop your solidarity with the Australian youth and people. You are setting the example for the Filipino youth in other cities and parts of Australia.
We are deeply pleased that at your founding assembly you declare your determination to fight for freedom, justice and peace. These are the reasons for your organizational existence. These are the principles that must guide you. These are the purposes that your must pursue. These are the objectives you must strive to realize.
You must assert and exercise freedom in order to foster conditions beneficial to all and to promote further development in all respects–economic, social, political and cultural. You must uphold and fight for freedom against the oppressiveness of the bourgeois state, against any class that exploits another class and against the imperialist powers that dominate nations and peoples.
You must fight for justice against those who perpetuate and commit such injustices as curtailing and violating your basic rights and freedom, making you suffer oppression and exploitation and subjecting you to various kinds of inequality and discrimination, including national, ethnic, racial, gender and religious. The injustices can only grow worse if the victims do not resist collectively.
You must fight for a just peace. This is won only when the people struggle and succeed in liberating themselves from imperialist domination and from the exploiting classes like the comprador big bourgeoisie and landlord class in the Philippines. A just peace means fulfilling those basic demands embodied in the program for a people’s democratic revolution.
We hope that at your founding assembly you consider the conditions of the city and country where you are, relate yourselves to the youth in the Philippines and the rest of the youth in Australia and clarify the tasks by which you can arouse, organize and mobilize the Filipino youth. Your assembly should open the way to more work and further success in building Anakbayan-Melbourne.
We anticipate that your newly-founded organization will become an active part of the national chapter of the ILPS in Australia. We wish you the utmost success in your assembly and in the work to be done after the assembly.
Mabuhay ang Anakbayan-Melbourne!
Stand for your rights and welfare in Australia!
Mabuhay ang kabataan at sambayanang Pilipino!
Support the struggle for national liberation and democracy!