Chianciano, Italy – An historic conference with leaders of the Iraqi national resistance was held here last week. It was the first time that representatives of the Iraqi resistance have been able to speak in the West. Organizers had previously attempted to hold the conference in the fall of 2005, only to have the Italian government withhold visas from the Iraqi participants after intense pressure from the United States government. The scope of the conference extended beyond Iraq to include the resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as representatives from the antiwar and liberation movements in countries from around the world.
On May 22, 70,000 teachers went on strike in Oaxaca, Mexico, occupying the center of the city and a large area around it. Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in Mexico and has more indigenous people than any other Mexican state. The strikers took over the center of Oaxaca’s capital city, setting up hundreds of barricades. They demanded a raise for teachers, improved school facilities and meeting students’ needs. They also demanded an increase of the overall minimum wage in Oaxaca.
The U.S. should close down its bases and withdraw the troops from Korea. For more than 50 years, the U.S. has occupied southern Korea. It is time for that occupation to end.
(This article is based on observations and conversations with Korean movement activists during a one-month trip back to the homeland this past November.)
The Bush administration is still threatening Iran, and a wider war in the Middle East. The U.S. government has made much of Iran’s nuclear energy program. Iran says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and now U.S. intelligence agencies agree with that characterization. But this makes little difference to Bush and Cheney. They are still talking about turning up the heat on Iran and looking to impose more sanctions – which are in and of themselves a form of war, and as we saw with Yugoslavia and Iraq, a buildup to open military action.
The Bush administration is bringing the Korean peninsula to the brink of war. U.S. threats against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRK, or North Korea) and Washington’s withdrawal from the 1994 nuclear accords have led to a dramatic escalation of tensions. A growing tide of demonstrations against the presence of U.S. troops has rocked South Korea.
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on the murder of Bishop Alberto Ramento.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Jose Maria Sison. Sison is a leading figure in the movement to free the Philippines from United States domination. The Bush administration has falsely accused Sison of ‘terrorism’ and is trying to criminalize the Filipino people’s fight for national liberation.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement in defense of Jose Maria Sison. Sison is a leading figure in the movement to free the Philippines from United States domination. The Bush administration has falsely accused Sison of ‘terrorism’ and is trying to criminalize the fight of the Filipino people for national liberation.
The Amado Kadena, a local union of National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU) affiliated to the militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), attained a landslide victory in the certification election, March 27, at the food processing company Dole Phils in Polomolok, South Cotabato.
San Jose, CA - On Feb. 24, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency, banning public protests, allowing for government takeover of the media and arrests without warrants. This declaration came on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the revolt that ousted former dictator Ferdinand Marcos and was aimed at stopping mass protests trying to commemorate the date.
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines about the wave of repression launched by U.S.-backed President Arroyo.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Pilipino human rights organization KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. A wave of violence, organized by the U.S-backed government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), has been aimed at that country's progressive movement.
Trade union leader Rolando ‘Ka Rolly’ Mariano, 53 years old, was fatally shot by three unidentified men atop a single motorcycle. Mariano was aboard a minivan on his way to work Oct. 7 in San Fernando village in Victoria, Tarlac.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Sept. 23 statement from the main trade union federation in the Philippines, the KMU (May 1st Workers’ Center), concerning the assassination of one of its leaders, Diosdado Fortuna. The government of U.S.-backed Pilipino President Arroyo is responsible for a wave of human rights violations.
A campaign for the release of political prisoner Donato ‘Donat’ Continente has been announced by BAYAN, an alliance of progressive Pilipino organizations. Background information on this critical case appeared in the summer 2002 issue of Fight Back!
On April 7, 2005, riot police in the Philippines attacked and broke up a demonstration by human rights activists marching near an international parliamentarians' conference. The protesters were gathering at the Malate Church in Manila en route to the Philippine International Convention Center. The police injured various people, including Catholic priests from the organization Promotion for Church People’s Response (PCPR).
New York, NY - More than 50 people rallied at the Philippine consulate, Sept. 21, to protest U.S. military intervention in the Philippines. One of the demands raised was for an end to U.S.-orchestrated moves against exiled progressive Filipinos, such as Jose Maria Sison, who have found refuge in the Netherlands. The U.S. State Department has falsely charged that Sison, a key leader in the fight to create a just society in the Philippines, is a 'terrorist.' As a result, the internationally known scholar, poet and founding Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has had his personal bank account seized and lost his housing. The possibility exists that he may be extradited to the United States. A worldwide movement is being built in his defense.
The following is an exclusive interview with the Chief Negotiator for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, Luis Jalandoni. He has represented the NDF in peace negotiations with the government of the Philippines. The NDF is an alliance of revolutionary organizations drawing from different sectors of Filipino society, including trade unions, peasants, women, students, and religious organizations. The NDF includes the insurgent New Peoples Army.
The Philippines is a country of extremes. There are very rich people and wealthy U.S. corporations in the Philippines. But most people, millions of them, are very poor. The Philippines is also a country that has been at war for over thirty years-a war between the haves and the have-nots.
