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CPP Assassination Threats

Appeal to Defend Threatened Filipino Activists

Thursday 3 February 2005

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Many personalities at the World Social Forum signed an appeal to defend Walden Bello, Lidy Nacpil and others threatened by the CPP’s assination threats. The meeting of radical parties at the ESF made a similar call.

Statement of Concern in the WSF 2005, on the threat of violence in the resolution of political differences

The last few years have seen a very large number of diverse groups and organisations coming together in spite of their differences to confront neo-liberal globalisation. However, we are deeply concerned that there are still some groups in the world today that attempt to deal with political differences using physical attacks and death threats.

Lidy Nacpil

A recent example of this is the situation which has emerged in the Philippines where a number of individual intellectuals, activists (Walden Bello and Lidy Nacpil) and organisations engaged in various forms of struggle against militarism and globalized capitalism have been listed by the international department of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) as ’counter-revolutionary’ and as ’agents of imperialism’. Some individuals named on this list have already been assassinated and, based on past experiences, this list constitutes a credible threat of assassination.

CPP leader Jose Maria Sison

Therefore, those of us gathered here in the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil and others in the world, inspired by the pluralism and inclusiveness of this global process, believe that when the security of activists is at stake we cannot act as if the problem is a local one. In our efforts to consistently build an international movement for fundamental transformation we strongly reiterate that the resolving of political differences must be done through the struggle of ideas and democratic dialogue and not through the politics of individual assassination.

We call on everyone within the global justice movements to re-assert this principle and express solidarity with all those who are victims of such threats.

Adnane Ben Youssef, CCIPPP, France

Alejandro Bendaña, Centro de Estudios Internacionales, Nicaragua

Alessandra Mecozzi, FIOM, Italy

Alex Callinicos, York University, UK

Ali Fayyad, Centre for Research and Documentation, Lebanon

Allianca Social Continentale (ASC)

Alvaro Porticas, Socialist Party, Uruguay

Alvin Anthony, Jubilee South Africa

Amit Sengupta, Delhi Science Forum, India

Andrés Thomas Conteris, Nonviolence International, USA

Anibal Quijano, sociologist, Peru

Anna Maria R. Nemenzo, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines

Anna Marize, ICARIA, Spain

Annick Coupe, Solidaire, France

Antonio Martin, ATTAC, Brasil

Dr. A. Sivanandan, Race & Class, UK

Bertil Kinkunnen, Social Democratic Party of Sweden

Brid Brennan, TNI, Netherlands

Campagna Continentale contra a ALCA

Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch, Canada

Chico Whittaker, Brasil

Chris Nineham, Stop the War Coalition, UK

Christian Schroeppel, ATTAC, Germany

Christophe Aguiton, European March against Unemployment

CUT, Brasil

Dave Batker, Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange, US

Dave Webb, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

Diana Palmo, Alliance for Democracy, US

Dominique Caouette, University of Montreal, Canada

Dot Keet, AIDC, South Africa

Einar Olafsson, Campaign Against Military Bases, Iceland

Elisabeth Gauthier, Espaces Marx, France

Ernst Van Weizaker, MP, Germany

Franc Branco, Right Livelihood Award Foundation

Francis Wurtz, MEP & GUE/NGL Group

Francois Houtart, CETRI, Belgium

Georges Menahem, ATTAC, France

Hillary Wainwright, Red Pepper, UK

Isabel de la Torre, Earth Economics, US

Jack Dalton, POAC, USA

James Cockcroft, USA

Jonathan Neale, Globalise Resistance, UK

Jan Nederveen Pieterse, University of Illinois, USA

Joao Pedro Stedile, Movimiento Sem Terra, Brazil

Jean Luc Rous, Political Director, Greenpeace International

Jean Pierre Dubois, Federation internationale des droits des hommes (FIDH)

Jeremy Corbin, M.P., UK

John Cavanagh, Institute of Policy Studies, USA

John M. Miller, War Resisters League, USA

Jose Correa, Brasil

Josu Egireun, ESK, Basque Country

Kamal Chenoy, Jawarhalal Nehru University, India

Klaus Hartmann, World Union of Freethinkers, Germany

Laura Gonzalez de Txabarri, ELA, Basque Country

Leo Gabriel, Suedwind, Austria

Leo Panitch, Socialist Register, Canada

Lim Soei Liong, TAPOL, Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

Liz Fekete, Race & Class, UK

Louis Weber, Federation Synicale Unitaire, France

Loring Wirbel, Citizens for Peace in Space, USA

Luciano Muhlbauer, SinCobas, Italy

Marcha Mundial des Mulheres

Marco Berlinguer, Transform! and Parti Rifondazione Communista, Italy

Marcus Arruda, Global Workshop on Solidarity Socioeconomy, Brasil

Mark Rand, USA

Matthias Reichl, Center for Encounters and Active Non-Violence, Austria

Maud Barlow, Council of Canadians

Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange, United States

Moema Miranda, IBASE

Mubarak Awad, Non Violence International, Palestine/US

M.P. Giyose, Jubilee South Africa

Nahla Chahal, CCIPPP, France

Nancy S. Lovejoy, USA

Naomi Klein, Canada

Niclas Hallstrom, Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, Sweden

Njoki Njoroge Njehu, 50 years is enough, USA

No Nukes North, US

Ole von Ulexhill, Right Livelihood Award Foundation

Paola Manduca. World March of Women, Italy

Patrice Barrat, Bridge Initiative, France

Peiro Bernotti, COBAS, Italy

Peter Damo, Romanian Social Forum, Romania

Peter Rosset, CECCAM, Mexico

Petros Constantinou, Campaign Genoa 2001, Greece

Pierre Galand, senator, Belgium

Pierre Khalfa, ATTAC France

Pierre Rousset, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières, France

Pouria Amirshahi, 4D, France

Prabir Purkayastha, Delhi Science Forum, India

Qamar Agha, Coalition For Nuclear Disarmament And Peace, India

Rabia Abdel Karim, Senegal/Algeria

Robin Broad, American University, USA

Rogate Mishane, Tanzania

Roger Burbach, CENSA, USA

Salim Vally, Anti-war Coalition, South Africa

Sandeep Pandey, India

Sophie Zafari, Federation Syndicale Unitaire, France

Soren Ambrose, 50 years is enough, USA

Sungur Savran, Turkey

Susan George, ATTAC, France

Tariq Ali, UK

Tewoo Tangela, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, SA

Theo Roncken, Acción Andina, Bolivia

Theresa Wolfwood, Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation, Canada

Tobias Plüger, MEP, Information Office Militarization, Gemany

Toufik Ben Abdullah, ENDA, Senegal

Vinod Raina, Jubilee South

Vittorio Agnoletto, Deputy European Parliament

Wilbert van der Zeijden, Transnational Institute, Netherlands

Workers’ Democracy, Thailand

Yoko Akimoto, ATTAC Japan

To sign the statement please contact Wilbert van der Zeijden: wilbert@tni.org

Second International Meeting of Radical Parties Solidarity Declaration concerning the Philippines Porto Alegre, 31st of January 2005

Some 12 years back, the Communist Party of the Philippines began to condemn to death and assassinate member cadres of other progressive and revolutionary organizations. The situation continues to worsen today.

Walden Bello

All the Left movements find themselves threatened, except for those which the CPP itself is leading. It is especially the case with the different Filipino organizations that participate in our international Network of Radical Parties.

Likewise, persons active in the anti-war movement and with whom we oppose capitalist globalization, like Walden Bello and Lidy Nacpil, have been named and denounced as "counter-revolutionaries".

We cannot accept the use of violence, including armed violence, within the workers and people’s movements. We strongly affirm our full and deepest solidarity with the progressive and revolutionary organizations in the Philippines threatened by the CPP.

We call for the broadest expression of this solidarity on the international level, for the Communist Party of the Philippines to put a final end to this policy of threats and assassinations.

(Editor’s note: To read more about the background of this issue, see the articles: In Solidarity with the Filipino left, May 2003; After Kintanar, the killings continue. The post-1992 CPP assassination policy in the Philippines’, July 2003; The post-1992 Communist Party of the Philippines and its policy of “death condemnations”, October 2003; and A new Letter of Concern, January 2005.

The post-1992 CPP...
After Kintanar...