Philippines - NDFP says UN report on use of child combatants by NPA (tags)
MANILA – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Special Office for the Protection of Children slammed the report released by the United Nations Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict (SRCAC) which alleges that the its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) has been using and recruiting children.
MILITARISAYON SA MINDANAO, LUMULUBHA (tags)
Iniulat ngayon ng Pesante-USA, na ayon sa mga koresponsal nito, nagapapautloy ang brutal at todo-todong digma ang inilulunsad ngayon ng rehimeng US-Aquino laban sa mamamayan ng Mindanao. Ito ay alinsunod sa kontra-mamamayan at anti-nasyunal na programa nito na bigyang-laya ang pandarambong ng mga dayuhang kumpanya sa pagmimina, pagtotroso at komersyal na plantasyon sa likas na yaman ng isla. Ayon din sa mga nakalap na balita ng Pesante-USA na nakabase sa Los Angeles, mula Enero 2012, walang patumanggang pambobomba at pang-iistraping at iba pang paglabag sa karapatang-tao ang isinagawa na ng mga armadong galamay nito sa mga sibilyang komunidad.
NDF-MINDANAO CALLS ON ALL REVOLUTIONARY FORCES TO FRUSTRATE OBL COMPLETELY (tags)
The PESANTE BULETIN gathered today that NDF -Mindanao spokeman Jorge madlos said that "the extension of the Arroyo regime’s brutal nine-year anti-insurgency campaign Oplan Bantay Laya exposes Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s real “peace” plan. Aquino's plan the NDF says is to step up military offensives against the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - daydreaming of inducing revolutionary forces to capitulate and to impose its demands on the peace talks consistent with the US Counter Insurgency (COIN) strategy." The NDF also said that He (Aquino III) appears to be in a hurry to please his US imperialist masters, especially in laying the ground for the entry and the increase in profitability of mining companies and foreign-owned plantations such as Xtrata in South Cotabato and Dole Phils. in Surigao del Sur and Compostela Valley, and a host of other foreign monopoly capitalist investments. The NDF Mindanao also said that AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr., in his declaration of a new counter-insurgency plan by Jan 1, 2011, bragged that the new strategy would focus on the respect for human rights, admitting in effect that nine years of OBL were replete with human rights violations.
PHILIPPINES:10,000 march to press South Cotabato govt to sign environment code (tags)
KORONADAL CITY – Pressure has continued to build up on outgoing South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes as she bides for time before deciding on the fate of the Provincial Environment Code passed last week by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan which bans open-pit mining.
GYERA SA MINDANAO-LUMALALA (tags)
Ayon sa pinakahuling ulat ng grupong Pesante-USA, parami nang parami ang bilang ng mga sibilyang Morong binibiktima ng mababangis na operasyong militar ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa ilang bahagi ng Mindanao. Ayon sa ulat ng International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) na nahalaw ng Pesante, noong Oktubre 29, sa mga evacuation center sa Datu Piang, Maguindanao pa lamang ay mayroon nang 55,000 indibidwal na nagsilikas sa kani-kanilang mga tahanan, mula sa 35,000 katao noong Agosto. Mula Agosto hanggang ikatlong linggo ng Oktubre, umaabot na sa 127,164 pamilya o 611,753 indibidwal ang naaapektuhan ng mga sagupaan sa pagitan ng MILF at AFP sa mga prubinsya ng Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat at Maguindanao.
Usapang pangkapayapaan sa MILF (tags)
Panloloko, pagtatraydor at pananabotahe ang ginagawa ng rehimeng Arroyo sa usapang pangkapayapaan nito sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Kunwa'y nakikipagnegosasyon ito sa MILF pero ang tunay na pakay ng rehimeng Arroyo ay gamitin ang prosesong pangkapayapaan para muling itulak ang pakana nitong charter change o pagbabago ng konstitusyon. Sakaling bumalik sa puspusang paglulunsad ng armadong pakikibaka ang MILF, gagamitin din itong sangkalan ni Arroyo para makapaglunsad ng todo-todong opensibang militar at magpataw ng emergency rule kundiman batas militar.
NPA rebels warn of more attacks (tags)
Communist rebels claimed responsibility for the raid on a Swiss mining firm in the southern Philippines and have warned of more attacks in the country. Rebels raided the Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) in the town of Tampakan in South Cotabato early Tuesday, torching buildings and equipment and attacking a military post nearby. Authorities said no one was injured or killed in the raid, which the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels claimed was a punishment for the giant Swiss mining firm accused of land grabbing, plunder and environmental destruction. The rebels said the raid was in response to a longstanding demand of the people to put a stop to the firm’s operations in the area.
OPLAN Mercury Rising in motion (tags)
At the rate the newspapers and TV newscasts are exposing real evidence of electoral fraud since 29 May 2007, Bantay Boto ng Bayan cannot help but feel vindicated for exposing Oplan Mercury Rising. The numerous dagdag-bawas reports accurately quoting, by the hundred thousands of vote leads for Team Unity candidates in the 13th to the 16th slots, give due credence to the Oplan. The provinces where the calumny occurred are the same provinces mentioned in the Oplan. The named Comelec officials are the same persons identified in the Oplan. 1. The delay of the Comelec en banc as the National Board of Canvassers in tallying the provincial COCs and more specifically the canvassing slowdown, particularly in the Oplan Mercury Rising provinces are indicators that this major Oplan strategy is being implemented. It has deferred canvassing in Maguindanao, Sulu, Caloocan City, Taguig-Pateros, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, and South Cotabato for varied reasons, including allegations of massive cheating, yet no charges and complaints were filed against any Comelec and public official involve We are sending a very strong message on the eventual and probable loss of Honasan, Trillanes and Pimentel, as clearly being shown by the current events. We know that the rule of law will ultimately reign. Concerned Comelec officials must now choose whether they prefer the law of the jungle instead. Bantay Boto ng Bayan is making this statement after due consultation with the convenors of the uniformed active and retired member organizations and with the explicit support from their allied civil society groups.
Votes for partylists, Legarda said to have been shaved by 73% in massive election fraud i (tags)
Task Force Poll Watch, an anti-fraud and monitoring group formed by partylist groups, reported this morning massive vote-shaving in at least 10 provinces, resulting in 73 percent loss of votes for Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Loren Legarda.
PILIPINAS: Eleksyong 2007: Anong Bago at Anong Luma sa Pandaraya? (tags)
Kaisa ang AJLPP sa pahayag ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa Pilipinas na “ Ilang ulit na pinasahol ng naghaharing pangkating Arroyo ang bulok na sistema ng eleksyon sa Pilipinas. Labis-labis ang karahasan, pandaraya, panunuhol, maruruming maniobra at pambabraso sa eleksyon nitong Mayo. Isinagawa ito sa pamamagitan ng militar, pulis, mga tauhan sa Comelec at burukrasya. Lalong tumingkad ang kahungkagan ng sinasabing demokratikong eleksyon sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang reaksyunaryong sistema”
PILIPINAS: Eleksyong 2007: Bulok sa kaibuturan (tags)
Ilang ulit na pinasahol ng naghaharing pangkating Arroyo ang bulok na sistema ng eleksyon sa Pilipinas. Labis-labis ang karahasan, pandaraya, panunuhol, maruruming maniobra at pambabraso sa eleksyon nitong Mayo. Isinagawa ito sa pamamagitan ng militar, pulis, mga tauhan sa Comelec at burukrasya. Lalong tumingkad ang kahungkagan ng sinasabing demokratikong eleksyon sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang reaksyunaryong sistema. Pinakamatitingkad ang pandaraya ng kampong Arroyo sa Maguindanao, Sulu at Bohol kung saan nagkaroon ng halos 12-0 resulta ang eleksyon sa pagkasenador pabor sa administrasyon. Sinundan pa ito ng paglilitawan ng 12-0 pabor sa Team Unity sa ilampu pang mga munisipalidad na kontrolado ng mga alipures ni Arroyo.
MILF-GRP Peace Talks Update ; MILF wants entire Kudarat- GRP (tags)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is demanding the inclusion of the entire Sultan Kudarat province as part of a new autonomous region in Mindanao as a condition for a final peace agreement with the government, a ranking Malacañang official revealed yesterday.
AFP: Peace pact with MILF by April (tags)
A peace agreement with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is expected early this year, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. disclosed yesterday. "A final peace agreement with the MILF would be signed by March or April," Esperon told a press conference held at the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters here. The contentious issues affecting the peace negotiations, particularly disputes over ancestral domain, are now being discussed by both panels, said Esperon, who arrived here as part of a series of camp visits to implement the second phase of President Arroyo’s campaign against insurgency.
MILF: Raps vs Murad imperil peace talks (tags)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) protested yesterday the inclusion of its chieftain, Al Haj Murad, in a criminal complaint filed in connection with the recent bomb attack in Makilala, North Cotabato, warning it could endanger the already stalled peace talks. Police filed a murder complaint the other day against Murad and several suspected MILF commanders with the Kidapawan City prosecutor’s office for allegedly plotting the Oct. 10 bombing that killed six people and wounded 29 in Makilala town, government prosecutor Al Calica said.
MILF CALLS FOR DEFENSE OF THE HOMELAND (tags)
Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Murad Ebrahim has called on his fellow Muslims and members of the indigenous communities to stand up together and defend their "homeland." Murad issued the call following last week's stalemate in the peace negotiations