National Democratic Front of the Philippines Celebrates 50th Anniversary
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the broad united front of 18 allied organizations under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marked its 50th anniversary with two days of celebrations in Utrecht, the Netherlands on April 22-23.
It was 50 years ago under the Marcos dictatorship and martial law that the NDFP was founded, when the basic alliance of workers and peasants together with other democratic and progressive forces saw the necessity of forming a national united front to fight the U.S.-backed dictatorship. On the initiative of Jose Maria Sison, the late founder and leader of the CPP and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA), the NDFP was founded on April 24, 1973 with the aim "to arouse, organize and mobilize the broad masses of the Filipino people in their millions to advance the revolution and attain victory." Comrade Sison remained the Chief Political Consultant to the NDFP until his death in December 2022.
Summing up the achievements of the last 50 years, the NDFP notes: "The Filipino people's courage and perseverance in waging a just struggle through their national democratic revolution, as manifested in protracted people's war, have gained victories and made great advances. The Filipino people continue to deal heavy blows to the enemy while at the same time building a new system that will bring genuine development and the desired lasting peace because there is justice. Today the revolutionary forces are in 70 of 81 provinces in the Philippines and function in 110 guerrilla fronts providing land reform, health, education, justice, defence, economic and other basic services to millions of people."
The NDFP has also been engaged in peace negotiations with successive Philippine governments since the defeat of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in 1987. The negotiations are aimed at securing a just peace to end the more than 50-year civil war pitting the Filipino people organized by the CPP, NPA and NDFP against successive U.S.-backed puppet governments. More than 10 important agreements have been concluded, including the Hague Joint Declaration of 1992 which sets forth the need and mechanisms for addressing the roots of the armed conflict through basic economic, social and political reforms and which also laid out a framework for further negotiations; the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG); the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and even an Interim Peace Agreement between the government of the Philippines and the NDFP in 2018.
However, at every turn the Philippine government under the dictate of U.S. imperialism has sabotaged these agreements. The previous Rodrigo Duterte regime (2016-2022) was especially notorious, refusing to uphold safety and security guarantees for NDFP personnel, in fact assassinating some of its staff in the Philippines and targeting the NDFP as a terrorist organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. The Duterte regime also sabotaged the negotiations to achieve an agreement on the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), a broad nation-building framework advanced by the CPP and the NDFP.
Despite the desperate, violent and brutal attempts by successive U.S.-sponsored puppet governments including the current regime of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to quell the revolutionary movement of the Filipino people through the anti-communist targeting of the CPP, NPA and NDFP as terrorist organizations, the revolutionary and democratic forces in the Philippines prevail and are becoming stronger and more determined. They continue to face the U.S.-supported Philippine state in every arena of battle and stand firm in their aspiration to realize the ultimate political goal of establishing a democratic people's republic in their own image.
On this occasion, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) sent its heartfelt congratulations to the leadership of the NDFP and all its militants across the country and abroad whose sacrifice and struggle hold the promise of a life in the Philippines without the hardships imposed by the subservience of successive governments to the U.S. imperialists. The achievements of the NDFP are many, seen in the conditions of life in the areas where the people rule themselves, feed themselves, educate themselves and learn how to wage effective struggle to liberate the Philippines.
CPC(M-L) calls on the Canadian people to step up support for the fighting people of the Philippines who are making their contribution to a world free from U.S. imperialism, for peace and for the independence and self-determination of all nations and peoples.
A Red Salute to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on its
50th Anniversary!
Long live the immortal deeds of the heroes and
martyrs of the Filipino people!
Strengthen the Bonds of Friendship and
Solidarity Between the
People of Canada and the Philippines!
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 5 - May 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M5300520.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca