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Progressive Filipino Youth in US Protest Criminalization of ST 72

Press Statement
06 December 2008

References:
Jonna Baldres, Secretary General, Anakbayan New York/New Jersey, anakbayan_nj@ yahoo.com
Jeff Rice, Secretary General, Anakbayan Seattle, edjop82@gmail. com
Lyle Prijoles, Chairperson, League of Filipino Students-San Francisco State University, Lfs.sfsu@gmail. com

Progressive Filipino Youth in US Protest Criminalization of ST 72

Once again, the crackdown on activists and leaders of progressive organizations come at a full speed and at increased proportions as the state holds these human rights defenders accountable for false and trumped-up charges, arresting and detaining them at indefinite lengths of time. The most recent of whom are the 72 activists from the Southern Tagalog part of the Philippines — including chief legal counsel of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement), Atty. Remigio Saladero, and among the youth, Anakbayan Southern Tagalog Secretary-General Pedro Santos Jr, and former provincial coordinators for Anakbayan-Cavite Karen Ortiz and Sheryll Villegas — who have been accused of murder and arson.

Thanks to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her ever-loyal cabinet members National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales who head the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG), the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police who are all working together to arbitrarily pin down those whom they believe are members of organizations they tag as communist fronts.

Aside from the case of our Anakbayan brother and sisters from Southern Tagalog, the Filipino youth and students from other regions have not been spared from these acts of criminalization and demonization. During the second half of this year, some student leaders and members of Anakbayan and League of Filipino Students (LFS) from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) were also falsely charged with rebellion and frustrated murder and had been openly accused as NPA recruiters and communists for explicitly criticizing and opposing tuition hikes and other anti-youth and anti-student policies implemented by the Arroyo regime. Accounts of these accusations can be seen in videos and comic strips produced and distributed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines who hold fora and symposia through the ROTC (Reserved Officers Training Corps) and who roam freely inside campuses across the country.

In Jose Rizal University (JRU), 19 students were suspended by the administration for leading a protest action against the Value Added Tax (VAT) — some of whom are also members of Anakbayan-JRU.

Here in the US, we can recall what happened last June at the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York, wherein young members of the Kappa Pi Fraternity who joined the contingent of the progressive alliances BAYAN-USA and National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) in voicing out against the government’s  malpractices had also been falsely charged, almost got arrested and constantly bullied all throughout the event by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Even the blind can probably see through these false accusations and connect the dots to conclude that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo definitely has a hand on all these cases of silencing and criminalizing those who speak the truth.

In this time of severe economic and political crises, the Arroyo administration never fails to flaunt its true color. That in order to cling to power, it will never bow down to its staunch critics, up to the point of striking against all those who get in the way, even those who stand up for what is just and right. This only shows that in the Philippines — and even right here in the belly of the beast — fighting for one’s rights and speaking against the wrongful deeds of the Philippine government will put one deep into the grave. And for the US government to support and give more funds to the Philippine government taken from taxes paid by the American people will only ensure continuous support for this absurd and savage cause.

As we, the Filipino-American and im/migrant youth, look ahead with the establishment of a new US president, we remain vigilant; that the grave mistakes of the previous administration in support of our government back home be not allowed to creep back into the free and peaceful society that our forefathers have envisioned for us.

We, Anakbayan, now with over 7 chapters across the US, and the League of Filipino Students-San Francisco State University (LFS-SFSU), vow to militantly defy state terrorism by the fascist Arroyo administration on all sectors of Philippine society, unwaveringly expose all forms of violations against human rights, and unceasingly fight for justice for all the victims who had fallen into the hands of this unparalleled brute that is the Arroyo regime.

DEFEND THE ST 72!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS AND DETAINEES!
NO TO CAMPUS MILITARIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES!
NO TO CRIMINALIZATION OF THE FILIPINO YOUTH!
NO TO US MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
JUSTICE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND POLITICAL REPRESSION!
DEFY STATE TERRORISM!
OUST GMA!

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