PRESS RELEASE
January 31, 2015
STATEMENT BY MILITANT LABOR ON THE MAMASAPANO ENCOUNTER:
Justice and Peace to the "Fallen 44"
and to the Victims of an Unjust War in Mindanao
The militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) joins the Filipino people in their seething cry for justice and peace to the "fallen 44" of the police special action force, as well as to the unnamed Moro civilians and rebels who were also killed in the Mamapasano tragedy.
We likewise convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of our dearly-departed brave servicemen. May your gallant sons rest in peace, knowing that millions of Filipinos will never forget their self-sacrifice.
Justice to the Fallen 44! Not the kind of vengeful justice that seeks an eye for an eye, pursued by warmongers like Erap Estrada, Raffy Alunan, Allan Cayetano, Bongbong Marcos and Teddy Boy Locsin. These publicity-hungry politicians are now eager to beat the war-drums. Yet, if an all-out offensive is declared, they would never trade their pampered comforts for the unfathomable hardships in the frontlines of war.
We seek a justice that is rooted in solidarity with "wage-workers in police and soldiers uniform". Like us, they are toilers. They are at the bottom of a chain of command like workers and the propertyless masses at the base of an unjust social pyramid.
Like workers, who are first to sacrifice during economic crises but are last to benefit from growth and prosperity, waged soldiers and police are always the first to sacrifice during armed conflicts but would be the last to benefit from a peace that they have paid for in blood.
Thus, we join the Filipino people in their demand for a thorough investigation of the Mamasapano mis-encounter in Maguindanao.
The BMP, however, calls on the public to consider the following points:
1. The immediate cause of the slaughter of the PNP-SAF servicemen was the apparent lack of coordination between their team and the Western Mindanao Command of the AFP, the Maguindanao PNP, local government units and the reckless disregard of carefully-laid down procedures agreed to by both MILF and the Philippine government;
2. The lack of coordination, that caused the bungled operation, was induced by the overzealousness to cash in from the $6 million bounty for the capture of terrorists Zulkifli Abdhir alias "Marwan" and Basit Usman, who are the global terror watchlist of the US State Department;
3. Officials - both civilian and military - were more intent on capturing the bragging rights for the arrest of Marwan and Basit in order to appease imperialist America, rather than ensuring the success of the PNP-SAF mission; and,
4. Lastly, and more importantly, the root cause of the problem is not with the Bangsamoro people but with the elite-dominated Philippine state. It is an elitist government that perennially tramples upon the right to self-determination of the Moro people. The Philippine government has a history of subservience to external powers - not just to the American government but to an entire legion of transnational monopoly corporations. Hence, not only does not it respect the heroic and historic sacrifice of the Bangsamoro to keep it free from colonizers, it also sought to subjugate the Bangsamoro and other indigenous tribes to the control of foreign powers.
More so, it is callous and insensitive regime, headed by an absentee landlord who would rather grace the opening of a multinational car factory in Laguna than honor his dead soldiers with his commanding presence at the Villamor Airbase. Once more, Noynoy paraded a conduct unbecoming of a president of the republic and of a commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Also, we extend our solidarity to the PNP and AFP, especially to its rank-and-file, who share a common plight with us as members of the working class, as proletarian wage slaves.
You deserve a better commander-in-chief. One that has the guts to own up to his errors, especially if it caused the untimely and avoidable death of his subordinates. One that honors the supreme sacrifice of his men by highlighting their lives rather his own (or his parents in yesterday's necrological services) and by making sure that they are not sent to fight and die for unjust wars for colonization.
We deserve a better government. One that is truly run by the people, of the people and for the people. Unlike this non-performing elitist state that continues to wallow in the showbiz politics of grandstanding, and the economics of wholesale plunder by local and foreign capital.
Finally, for us to truly give justice to the "Fallen 44" and the nameless Moros who were also killed in the Mamasapano mis-encounter, we must address the root and immediate causes of their untimely demise.
Wage workers - both unarmed civilians in the public and private sectors, and armed public servants of the military and police - must unite and fight for social change - not just regime change. The oppressed proletarians in both the Philippines and "Muslim Mindanao" must unite against our real enemies: the ruling landed or capitalist classes -- foreign, Filipino, and Moro -- who profit from our collective toil and seek to sabotage our unity as a class.
We must work tirelessly for peace based on justice to reign in Mindanao. Put an end to exploitation based on creed, color, sexual preference and social status. Forge the unity of Filipinos and the Bangsamoro towards just and peaceful communities; where those who work truly enjoy the fruits of their labor; where human sources of life, both nature and labor, have the primacy over corporate profit; where the interests of the toiling majority rule over the privileged minority; and where everyone is able to develop their full humanity, their full potential as human beings. #
January 31, 2015
STATEMENT BY MILITANT LABOR ON THE MAMASAPANO ENCOUNTER:
Justice and Peace to the "Fallen 44"
and to the Victims of an Unjust War in Mindanao
The militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) joins the Filipino people in their seething cry for justice and peace to the "fallen 44" of the police special action force, as well as to the unnamed Moro civilians and rebels who were also killed in the Mamapasano tragedy.
We likewise convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of our dearly-departed brave servicemen. May your gallant sons rest in peace, knowing that millions of Filipinos will never forget their self-sacrifice.
Justice to the Fallen 44! Not the kind of vengeful justice that seeks an eye for an eye, pursued by warmongers like Erap Estrada, Raffy Alunan, Allan Cayetano, Bongbong Marcos and Teddy Boy Locsin. These publicity-hungry politicians are now eager to beat the war-drums. Yet, if an all-out offensive is declared, they would never trade their pampered comforts for the unfathomable hardships in the frontlines of war.
We seek a justice that is rooted in solidarity with "wage-workers in police and soldiers uniform". Like us, they are toilers. They are at the bottom of a chain of command like workers and the propertyless masses at the base of an unjust social pyramid.
Like workers, who are first to sacrifice during economic crises but are last to benefit from growth and prosperity, waged soldiers and police are always the first to sacrifice during armed conflicts but would be the last to benefit from a peace that they have paid for in blood.
Thus, we join the Filipino people in their demand for a thorough investigation of the Mamasapano mis-encounter in Maguindanao.
The BMP, however, calls on the public to consider the following points:
1. The immediate cause of the slaughter of the PNP-SAF servicemen was the apparent lack of coordination between their team and the Western Mindanao Command of the AFP, the Maguindanao PNP, local government units and the reckless disregard of carefully-laid down procedures agreed to by both MILF and the Philippine government;
2. The lack of coordination, that caused the bungled operation, was induced by the overzealousness to cash in from the $6 million bounty for the capture of terrorists Zulkifli Abdhir alias "Marwan" and Basit Usman, who are the global terror watchlist of the US State Department;
3. Officials - both civilian and military - were more intent on capturing the bragging rights for the arrest of Marwan and Basit in order to appease imperialist America, rather than ensuring the success of the PNP-SAF mission; and,
4. Lastly, and more importantly, the root cause of the problem is not with the Bangsamoro people but with the elite-dominated Philippine state. It is an elitist government that perennially tramples upon the right to self-determination of the Moro people. The Philippine government has a history of subservience to external powers - not just to the American government but to an entire legion of transnational monopoly corporations. Hence, not only does not it respect the heroic and historic sacrifice of the Bangsamoro to keep it free from colonizers, it also sought to subjugate the Bangsamoro and other indigenous tribes to the control of foreign powers.
More so, it is callous and insensitive regime, headed by an absentee landlord who would rather grace the opening of a multinational car factory in Laguna than honor his dead soldiers with his commanding presence at the Villamor Airbase. Once more, Noynoy paraded a conduct unbecoming of a president of the republic and of a commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Also, we extend our solidarity to the PNP and AFP, especially to its rank-and-file, who share a common plight with us as members of the working class, as proletarian wage slaves.
You deserve a better commander-in-chief. One that has the guts to own up to his errors, especially if it caused the untimely and avoidable death of his subordinates. One that honors the supreme sacrifice of his men by highlighting their lives rather his own (or his parents in yesterday's necrological services) and by making sure that they are not sent to fight and die for unjust wars for colonization.
We deserve a better government. One that is truly run by the people, of the people and for the people. Unlike this non-performing elitist state that continues to wallow in the showbiz politics of grandstanding, and the economics of wholesale plunder by local and foreign capital.
Finally, for us to truly give justice to the "Fallen 44" and the nameless Moros who were also killed in the Mamasapano mis-encounter, we must address the root and immediate causes of their untimely demise.
Wage workers - both unarmed civilians in the public and private sectors, and armed public servants of the military and police - must unite and fight for social change - not just regime change. The oppressed proletarians in both the Philippines and "Muslim Mindanao" must unite against our real enemies: the ruling landed or capitalist classes -- foreign, Filipino, and Moro -- who profit from our collective toil and seek to sabotage our unity as a class.
We must work tirelessly for peace based on justice to reign in Mindanao. Put an end to exploitation based on creed, color, sexual preference and social status. Forge the unity of Filipinos and the Bangsamoro towards just and peaceful communities; where those who work truly enjoy the fruits of their labor; where human sources of life, both nature and labor, have the primacy over corporate profit; where the interests of the toiling majority rule over the privileged minority; and where everyone is able to develop their full humanity, their full potential as human beings. #
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