>From: "T Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Resolution of the International Executive Committee of the United >Secretariat of the Fourth International > >RE: Philippines > >Resolution on "All Out War" by the US-Estrada regime and in support of the >RWPP > >1. When President Estrada declared an "all out war" policy against the Moro >Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao, he intended to finish the war >in a few weeks. He has mobilised almost three quarters of his armed forces >(air force, army and navy) led by the elite force trained by the US through >the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement. > >2. The objective of this war is to militarily weaken the MILF and to draw >it to the negotiating table where the Estrada government can impose its >concept of peace on it. Using the modern military hardware provided by the >US like the Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite photos and heavy >weaponry, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) attacked the 47 camps >of the MILF including those camps where the Revolutionary Proletarian >Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade (RPA-ABB), the armed unit of the >Rebolusyonaryng Partido ng Maggaqawa ng Pilipinos (RPMP) or the >Revolutionary Workers' Party of the Philippines share with the MILF. > >3. The Moro people has been fighting for their right to self-determination >for more than 50 years. In fact, it has constistently resisted all >Philippine colonisers and invaders for more than 300 years. Currently the >struggle of the Moro people for self-determination is led by the Moro >Islamic Liberation Front and the Banga Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). The >Revolutionary Workers' Party of the Philippines has been supporting this >struggle of the Moro people. > >4. The Estrada military solution to a non-military problem has been a >failure. But it has displaced almost a million people in Mindanao. Many of >these people are children and old people are forced to live in the "plastic >tents" in the evacuation centres. Several hundred children have died >because of lack of food and medicine in these places. > >5. The RWPP has been working together with other progressive groups among >the three peoples in Mindanao, the Moro, Lumads (indigenous peoples) and >the majority Christians to achieve a comprehensive solution to the problems >of Mindanao. There have been gains achieved in this already but the Estrada >regime and US imperialism would not want to pursue this. > >6. It was not circumstantial that at the peak of Estrada's military >offensives against the MILF, the Abu Sayyaf (Muslim fundamentalist group) >came back to life. They carried out several kidnappings of Christians and >foreign tourists in a nearby Malaysian island resort. These acts made the >headlines locally as well as internationally. In fact at an early stage >they had announced political demands as conditions for the release of the >hostages. The propaganda machinery of the Estrada government had >successfully packaged the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF as one. The terroristic >acts of the Abu Sayyaf justified the arming of the Christians in Mindanao >to fight not only the Abu Sayyaf but the MILF or the Muslims as well. The >Muslims and Christians who have been neighbours for a long time have begun >to mistrust each other. > >7. After thousands of lives lost and heavy destruction of homes and farms, >Estrada announced military victory over the MILF, especially after the >capture of the main camp of the MILF (Camp Abubakir). The leadership of the >MILF announced jihad, not so much to recapture their camps but to defend >their cause and their homeland. In the last part of July 2000, Estrada sent >his representatives to the Foreign Ministerial meeting of the Organisation >of Islamic Countries (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur to block the application of the >MILF as observer in the OIC. A week after this he went to the United States >to ask for military assistance from President Clinton. > >8. The "all out war" policy of the Estrada government is not only directed >against the MILF. The strategic role of Mindanao for the success of the >neoliberal project of capitalist globalization in the Philippines is the >main reason for this war. It is a war directed at all those who will >oppose capitalist globalization. The Revolutionary Workers' Party in the >Philippines has been one of the main forces leading the campaign to stop >this war, not only in Mindanao but in the whole country. It has been >launching grassroots based peace conferences (local and international) and >conducting humanitarian projects for those who have been dislocated by >war. > >9. At present the MILF has been conducting guerilla counteroffensives >agianst the AFP. The war has totally drained the resources of the >government, so that it has overshot by more than 30% of the allowable >deficit by the IMF. At the peak of the military offensives the government >was spending more than a million dollars a day. This is one of the major >causes of the economic crisis in the country. > >10. The crisis has worsened in the last three weeks because of the scandal >faced by President Estrada. One of the members of his inner circle has >exposed Estrada's involvement in illegal gambling in the country. And now >he is undergoing an impeachment procedure in the Congress. The bourgeois >political parties have taken advantage of this scandal to further weaken >Estrada. > >11. In this difficult situation there is an urgent need for forging >solidarity among the progressive parties and groups in the world to stop >the continuation of the "all out war" policy of the Estrada government >directly or indirectly supported by the US imperialists. There is an urgent >need for us to support the struggle of the Moro people to >self-determination and the progressive organisations embodying this >struggle. > >12. The Revolutionary Workers' Party of the Philippines has been struggling >with the Moro people to attain their political objective of self government >through helping them in the revolutionary work of building and >strengthening organizations among the working and peasant class to ensure >the proletarian content of the right to self-determination. The FI >expresses its full internationalist solidarity with the RWPP comrades and >pledges to continue its political and material support to them. > >International Exeuctive Committee >31.10.00 ___________________________________________________________ >Get more from your time online. FREE MSN Explorer download : >http://explorer.msn.com _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
