Masked activists wave Communist flags as they escort the ashes of the late CPP spokesman Gregorio 'Ka Roger' Rosal to the University of the Philippines Diliman for a tribute. (photo by Kathy Yamzon)
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines paid “highest honors” to the late Communist Party of the Philippines spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal on Tuesday, the 47th founding anniversary of the New People’s Army.
But the government’s chief peace negotiator condemned the NPA for continuing its armed struggle to establish a socialist state in the country even as he invited the rebel army to “end its violent struggle against the government and discuss the issues that divide us in sincere, honest and peaceful dialogue.”
Rosal passed away in June 2011 but his death was confirmed by the CPP only in October that year. On Tuesday afternoon, a tribute to the late rebel spokesman will be held at the University of the Philippines Diliman. His ashes were escorted in a march down EDSA by hundreds of masked activists.
Masked members of underground organizations march along EDSA accompanying the ashes of the late CPP spokesman Gregorio 'Ka Roger' Rosal to UP Diliman for a tribue. (photo by Kathy Yamzon)
Rosal will be taken to his hometown of Ibaan, Batangas and buried there on Thursda, March 31.
In a statement, Luis Jalandoni, chair of the NDFP peace negotiating panel, also extended “warmest congratulations to our people's army for its many achievements and in a very special way at this time when the NPA is launching numerous tactical offensives against the reactionary regime's military and paramilitary forces.”
Jalandoni hailed Rosal as “an excellent communicator” who was “loved by the people as he was known as the voice, the face and spirit of the revolutionary movement.”
“Coming from the toiling masses and immersed in their situation, life and struggles, he understood their deepest feelings and aspirations,” he said of Rosal, the son of sugarcane plantation workers.
“His memory and inspiration lives on among the masses and the entire people. His life and service are imprinted in the hearts of the masses, in the entire people who unceasingly struggle for genuine land reform and national industrialization, for freedom and independence, and a just and lasting peace,” Jalandoni added.
But Jalandoni’s government counterpart, Alex Padilla, said the NPA “has escalated its campaign of violence, as if to remind the Filipino people that they are still a force to be reckoned with, capable of inflicting harm on their perceived enemies -- that is, any person or entity that refuses to pay what they call ‘revolutionary’ and ‘permit to campaign’ taxes, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.”
Masked activists raise their fists as they march down EDSA bearing a banner commemorating the 47th anniversary of the New People's Army. (photo by Kathy Yamzon)
The military has time and again declared the communist movement as decimated and on the edge of collapse even as it continues to acknowledge the NPA as its “top priority” in counterinsurgency.
Padilla called the NPA’s continuing armed struggle “totally out of tune with the desire of the Filipino people to live in peace” and invited the rebel army and the CPP “to heed the call of the Filipino people to end its violent struggle against the government and discuss the issues that divide us in sincere, honest and peaceful dialogue.”
“There is no issue that cannot be resolved between well-meaning Filipinos who are determined to secure a better life for all our people,” he said. “After 47 years of armed struggle, the CPP/NPA must realize that, in spite of their avowed intentions to resolve the ills of society, their bloody rebellion has become part of the problem.”
The peace talks between the government and the communists, represented by the NDFP, have been stalled for several years, mainly over the issue of jailed rebel leaders who the NDFP maintains are its consultants and covered by an agreement protecting them from arrest and prosecution for the duration of the negotiations.
http://interaksyon.com/article/125751/ka-roger-going-home-to-batngas-honored-on-npas-47th-as-govt-condemns-continuing-armed-struggle
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