By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
22 May 2011

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

As Chairperson, I wish to convey to you the warmest greetings of solidarity of the International Coordinating Committee, the commissions, the territorial organizations and all the member-organizations of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) on the occasion of the founding of ILPS-Hong Kong.

We congratulate the ILPS member-organizations in Hong Kong for their successful preparations. We are confident that the founding of ILPS-Hong Kong will result in the strengthening of ILPS-Hong Kong as an alliance of anti-imperialist and democratic forces.

We anticipate that this chapter will further raise the level of political consciousness of the member-organizations, their organized strength and their ability to mobilize themselves, their allies and the people in general. You shall be in a better position to carry your mission forward and contribute to the advance of the ILPS on a global scale.

The founding of ILPS-Hong Kong is timely and highly significant. It is a major contribution to the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the ILPS. It prepares your delegations for the Fourth International Assembly in Manila. Most importantly, it is a consolidation of your forces for greater struggles ahead in the face of the ever worsening crisis of the world capitalist system.

The global economic and financial crisis is persistent, protracted and ever deepening. It is not being solved but being aggravated by the imperialist powers because they cling to the dogma of neoliberal globalization. They believe perversely that everything would turn out alright so long as the financial oligarchy and the entire monopoly bourgeoisie continue to accumulate capital, press down the wage level and government social spending and get more profit-making opportunities through liberalization, privatization, deregulation and denationalization of the developing economies.

For causing the crisis of overproduction and financial meltdown, the banks and the big corporations have been rewarded with public money in the form of bailouts and stimulus packages. These have improved the balance sheets of the favored banks and companies and stimulated the stock market but have not resulted in economic recovery in terms of the steady expansion of production and employment.

The biggest bubble has been created by the rapidly expanding public deficits and public debt. The reaction of the imperialist powers and their puppet states is to adopt a policy of austerity measures, reducing public employment and social services and further passing on the burden of crisis to the people. The rapidly rising public deficits and public debt are blamed on social spending but not the tax cuts for the corporations and wealthy, overpriced contracts with private companies and rising costs of military production and wars of aggression.

The imperialist powers and the puppet states are becoming more repressive and aggressive as they become more rapacious in plundering the world. The so-called war on terror instigated by the United States continues to whip up state terrorism, military intervention and wars of aggression.

The imperialist powers and the puppet states are more prone than ever before to use state terrorism against the people. But the people are not cowed and keep on rising up in various parts of the word. Their needs for socio-economic well-being and for fundamental freedoms and democratic rights drive them to wage resistance, be this in the form of mass protests or armed revolution.

The imperialist powers are more prone than ever before to engage in military intervention and wars of aggression. They bully and attack countries that show a significant degree of national independence or that have precious natural resources over which the imperialists wish to have a tighter control. Thus, the world has become turbulent with several wars of aggression going on at the same time.

The imperialist powers appear united against the developing countries. But increasingly contradictions are arising among them over economic, financial, trade, political and military issues as well as over the division of spoils in the wars of aggression. The struggle among the imperialist powers for a redivision of the world is becoming more conspicuous than ever,

The founding of the ILPS-Hong Kong is a significant step forward in meeting the challenges that arise from the worsening crisis of the world capitalist system and the growing world of turmoil and disorder. We are cognizant of the fact that member-organizations of ILPS-Hong Kong are composed of overseas contract workers. Further restrictions and repression can arise in Hong Kong even while the socio-economic and political conditions deteriorate in your home countries.

It is important that you consider and study the problems that you now face and seek the solutions to these during your founding assembly. You can further discuss the problems and solutions in the forthcoming international conference of migrants and in the Fourth International Assembly. We look forward to the resolutions and decisions that you take in order to uphold, defend and advance the rights and interests of your constituency.

Long live ILPS-Hong Kong!

Carry forward the anti-imperialist and democratic struggles of the people!

Long live the ILPS!