By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
3 December 2010
On behalf of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, I wish to convey warmest greetings of solidarity to Anakbayan Los Angeles and Anakbayan San Diego on the occasion of their respective fifth and third anniversaries.
I congratulate you for your accumulated and recent accomplishments. I hope that this gathering can help you to renew your resolve to wage struggles to further uphold, defend and promote your rights and welfare and rise to a new and higher level of achievements.
The economic, social and political crisis in the US and entire world capitalist system keeps on worsening. The crisis in public deficits and public debt has arisen in an unprecedented way consequent to the ceaseless tax cuts for the corporations and the wealthy, the gilded contracts with the state and the huge amounts of public money used to bail out the big banks and other corporations and stimulate the financial markets but not production and employment.
The corporate bloodsuckers in the first place have brought about the worst economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression. Subsequently, they have made such crisis even worse in the form of the public debt bubble. Thus, the Fil-Am youth and the rest of the youth and people in the US have suffered the drastic decline of employment, income and essential social services.
The austerity measures being undertaken in the wake of huge budgetary deficits further worsen the plight of the youth and the people. Resistance is rising in the form of strikes and mass protest actions against increased layoffs, reduction of wages and pensions, homelessness and cutbacks on social services, especially education and health.
I thank Anakbayan LA and San Diego for launching the four volumes of my selected writings. These books include my writings from 1991 to 2009. They analyze major events related to the worsening of the crisis of global capitalism under the US-instigated policy of neoliberal globalization and the escalation of state terrorism and the imperialist wars of aggression.
The books are relevant to the situation and struggle of Anakbayan for a fundamentally new and better world. They expose the evils of monopoly capitalism and the financial oligarchy which exploit and oppress the people in the US and the entire world, especially the underdeveloped countries like the Philippines. And they point to the necessity of struggle for national and social liberation.
The peoples of the world today are outraged by the extremely exploitative and oppressive policies and actions of the imperialists and their reactionary puppets. They are waging various forms of struggle, including revolutionary armed struggle. The anti-imperialist mass movements for national independence, democracy and socialism are growing steadily.
They debunk the claim that, after the revisionist betrayal of socialism and with the prevalence of neocolonialism in the underdeveloped countries, socialism is impossible and that capitalism is the end of history. Capitalism is now in deep trouble. The No. 1 imperialist power is now in the vortex of crisis. Inter-imperialist contradictions are becoming conspicuous. The prospects of people’s revolutionary struggles are brighter than ever before.
I am deeply pleased that I am given the privilege of a special Skype Q & A. Together we can take up some important issues about the US, the Philippines and the rest of the world. I hope that the Q & A can ignite further interest in the books. These cover far more issues than those that can be raised under time constraint tonight.
I wish you the best in learning from the exposure trip report backs and in enjoying the live cultural performances. May the Anakbayan gain more strength in the belly of the beast by further arousing, organizing and mobilizing the Fil-Am youth. May you gain greater achievements by raising your revolutionary consciousness and militancy! May you increase your capabilities for supporting the struggle of the Filipino people for national liberation and democracy!
As chairperson of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, I take this opportunity to invite you to send delegations to the Fourth International Assembly of the ILPS in Manila in July next year. Please convey this invitation to other organizations that accept the ILPS charter. By attending the assembly, you shall have ample opportunity to present issues, express concern and find common cause with other people’s organizations on a global scale. Thank you. ###
