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Eighteen political prisoners from Tagum City, Patin-ay in Agusan del Sur, Cebu and Taguig City on a hunger strike last July to underscore the call for the release of all political prisoners in the Philippines. Photo: Human Rights in the Philippines. |
By Cameron Walker
AMONG Tagum City Jail’s inmates are 16 young men aged in their 20s and 30s who were members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Some of them have been wounded in combat.
During my visit, one detainee lifted his shirt to show a sizeable bullet wound on his stomach, which still needed further surgery. Their movement has been fighting the Philippine government since 1969.
Mindanao is considered one of the movement’s strongest regions. Local media often report armed encounters between the NPA and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which have resulted in casualties on both sides.
The Communist Party, along with the other member organisations of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) call for the implementation of a 12 point programme that includes genuine land reform, national industrialisation and upholding democratic rights. They also demand an end to the extrajudicial killings of political activists by the Armed Forces and for the release of political prisoners.
The NPA is mostly based in rural areas. It pursues the tactic of building up a strong base in the countryside, the area where the government is weakest, and fighting a protracted war.
In contrast, the Communist Party, which retains political control over the NPA, has a presence throughout the country, even in the cities. The party is an underground organisation so members are unable to openly declare their affiliation.
As the Filipino journalist Benjamin Pimentel Jr wrote: a Communist cadre could be “…the guys sitting beside you in a jeepney, or the young women munching Big Macs at McDonalds”. (1)
Party cadres have important but less dramatic tasks than those of NPA fighters. They write reports, prepare new policy, solicit funds and provide guidance to other cadre, amongst other responsibilities. (2)