From InterAksyon (Apr 27): Youth party-list accuses military of Red baiting ahead of elections
The Kabataan party-list on Saturday accused the military of waging a Red baiting campaign against it and left-wing senatorial candidate Teddy Casino.
The youth party-list said in a statement that its chapters in several regions have reported the distribution of printed material tagging Kabataan as a front of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army and vilifying Casino.
The statement quoted Kabataan Baguio City coordinator Cielo Marie Bayson as saying the materials were distributed there by “men in plainclothes with notably similar military haircuts.”
The materials are signed by the called “P4P Movement,” which Kabataan said is “a group closely associated with intelligence officers of the military.”
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the continued vilification of progressive party-lists and candidates, particularly Kabataan, by suspected elements of the military. This shows that despite touted reforms in the military, the mercenary culture remains in their ranks,” Kabataan president Terry Ridon said.
He called the tactic “an old trick of military lapdogs to discredit genuine representatives of the marginalized and underrepresented like Kabataan.”
“Clearly, backward elements in the Armed Forces of the Philippines have yet to understand that being progressive does not equate to being a rebel; that legal democratic organizations are far different from armed rebel groups,” he added.
Ridon noted that Red baiting campaigns are often accompanied by human rights violations against members of progressive groups.
However, he said, “despite the military’s intensified smear campaign against Kabataan, we firmly believe that the public knows better. Our track record of service for the youth and the Filipino people disproves any false claims floated by military henchmen.”
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/60430/youth-party-list-accuses-military-of-red-baiting-ahead-of-elections
Commies just don't like it when they are publicly called commies, and especially if the name calling comes from the military. Kabataan is a CPP-associated political party and is a member of the pro-CPP Makabayan coalition that is sponsoring the senatorial candidacy of Teddy Casino.
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