NDF International Information Office
Press Release
31 March 2019
(Amsterdam, The Netherlands) – International friends of the NDFP have pledged their “individual and organizational capacities in helping the Filipino people in advancing their struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism.”
They publicly extended this support in a manifesto they signed and presented during the celebration of 50 years of Struggle for National and Social Liberation held today at the Ru Pare Community Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Powerful international solidarity needed – Luis Jalandoni
“The Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation has been enjoying a strong international solidarity since the time of the Marcos dictatorship,” stated Luis Jalandoni, chief international representative of the NDFP in his speech on the need for a powerful international support for the people’s struggle.
Jalandoni narrated the important role of international solidarity friends during the struggle against the Marcos regime, and how they helped in isolating the dictatorship both domestically and internationally. Jalandoni made special mention of the role of religious missionaries from Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and solidarity activists from Germany and Belgium.
“It is in view of the concrete and fast developing reality of the Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation and the increasing danger of US imperialist intervention and even war of aggression, that we believe it is needed and opportune to launch and build the Friends of the NDFP! The Friends of the NDFP will be a systematic and organized way to develop a powerful solidarity for the Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation,” Jalandoni concluded.
Friends of the NDFP
A long-time Dutch solidarity activist since the time of the Marcos fascist dictatorship, led in reading the manifesto of support.
Calling themselves the “Friends of the NDFP”, they declared: The working class and all anti-imperialist forces around the world have the duty to unite and support the Philippine revolution, as they did in supporting the Vietnamese people’s revolution and other struggles for national and social liberation around the world.
“We unite with and support the mass movements in the countryside and cities in building their organizations; in building new, democratic organs of political power; in promoting the social welfare of the oppressed classes through community programs for agrarian revolution, livelihood, literacy & education, nutrition, sanitation & health, and self-defense; and in defeating the counterrevolutionary attacks of the reactionary state,” they stressed.
Supporters, guests and messages came from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Basque, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kurdistan, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Russia, Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Several of the friends of the NDFP have visited the Philippines and entered revolutionary guerrilla areas run by the People’s Democratic Government and shared their experiences while integrating with the mass base of the NDFP and the people’s guerrillas.
Steven de Castro, an international award-winning filmmaker from the US, related his experiences while documenting “Revolution Selfie” a film on the everday life of the people and the people’s army in revolutionary areas. Through time spent and his interviews with the people’s army he gained insights into their hopes and lives. When asked about Comrade Chen, a subject of one of his films who died fighting for the people’s interest, de Castro cited a line from a movie: “I will not tell you how he died. I will tell you how he lived.”
Another filmmaker from Spain, Paloma Polo, related how she saw firsthand how the members of the people’s army through their work among the people and their sacrifices in transforming a country and its system into a better society, are also continuously transforming themselves into selfless and humane beings. Her experience with the NPA and the people in the countryside gave her hope and she wished she could send all of those present in the event to the Philippines.
In the face of all the violations by the Duterte regime, the people and the revolutionary forces are intensifying their resistance. Effective and urgent international solidarity is needed, now and in the future.
https://www.ndfp.org/international-friends-pledge-stronger-support-for-the-philippine-revolutionary-resistance/
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