2018

Pacific Eagle appears to be a major escalation of U.S. intervention in the Philippines at a time when tensions in the Korean Peninsula are becoming explosive and when China is transitioning from a regional to a global power. And just as in Plan Colombia, there is both the regional and the internal dimension.

The Duterte and predecessor regime have long slandered the revolutionaries of the CPP and NPA as ¨terrorists¨ in order to perpetrate and justify the gravest acts of state terrorism, including torture, mass murder, arson, looting, bombing of communities and forced evictions.

It is the joke of a shameless traitor who keeps on making fun of the national sovereignty of the Filipino people and Philippine territorial integrity and who is actually giving up the exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea in exchange for overpriced infrastructure projects and high interest loans as well as commissions and low-level contracts for him and his shady clique.

Now, Duterte is frenziedly corrupting and criminalizing the officers and personnel of the AFP by inciting and inducing them to kill suspected CPP and NPA members under the pretext of offering the bounty money of 20,000 to 100,000 pesos per victim to civilian bounty hunters

It is unbelievable that Duterte has abdicated his role as political leader and commander-in-chief and has become the subordinate of his military subordinates on the crucial question of peace negotiations. He is probably insinuating that Lorenzana can overrule him anytime because his DND secretary takes orders directly from the US.

The Kurdish liberation movement in Northern Syria has emerged more powerful militarily and politically in the course of the civil war. It has been able to set up a functioning political structure to run its autonomous democratic administration in Rojava-Northern Syria and an effective armed force in the YPG to defend its territory.

The ILPS calls on all its global region committees, national chapters and member-organizations to initiate or participate in information meetings, cultural presentations, solidarity strikes, marches and mass rallies on the agreed worldwide day of action “Afrin will live!” on 21 March, the day of the Newroz festival, and to win numerous allies for this event.

Duterte thinks that he can play off the US and China and get advantages for himself both ways. He gets Operation Pacific Eagle-Philippines from Trump to assure him of military assistance for killing Filipino revolutionaries and Bangsamoro rebels. And he gets from China pledges of infrastructure projects and loans for the purpose.

For mass murder, the criminal braggart Duterte is the best witness against himself on audio-visual record and in print. Before and during the rampages of mass murder under Oplan Tokhang and Oplan Double Barrel, he has made clear incitements to frame up and kill drug suspects and suppress evidence as well as clear inducements, such as presidential guarantees of pardon and impunity and rewards in cash and promotions.

Duterte boasts of being a strong man and ever ready to kill Filipinos without due process and with impunity. He is obsessed with acquiring unlimited power as a fascist dictator and intimidating the people with martial rule and highly centralized powers in a pseudo-federal form of government.