JUSTICE AND LIBERATION: THE ROAD TO PEACE –
Luis Jalandoni is the International Representative of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF, www.ndfp.net), a post that he has held since 1977, and since 1994 he has been the Chairperson of the NDF’s Negotiating Panel for peace talks with the Government of the Philippines. The NDF is the coalition of several underground groups, including the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New People’s Army, which has been waging a war of liberation throughout the Philippines for more than 40 years, making it one of the longest running armed struggles in the world.
The country desperately needs peace with justice and security, so resolving this people’s war is central to that. Luis will be accompanied by his wife Coni Ledesma, who will also be speaking. She is a member of the NDF Negotiating Panel for peace talks; and is the International Spokesperson of MAKIBAKA, a revolutionary women’s group which belongs to the NDF. Luis and Coni are both veteran leading figures in the Philippine revolutionary Left. He was a Catholic priest in the 1960s and she was a nun. Both were founders of Christians for National Liberation, a member group of the NDF.
When Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, both went underground. They were both arrested and spent time as political prisoners. They left the clergy, and got married in 1974. They have lived in The Netherlands since 1976; they were the first Filipinos to apply for and receive political asylum there. They hold Dutch passports and travel extensively as NDF representatives.
ITINERARY
Tuesday October 26 – Christchurch: Public Meeting – 7.30p.m. Knox Presbyterian Church Lounge, 28 Bealey Avenue. Contact: Murray Horton,0274 307742 cafca@chch.planet.org.nz
Wednesday October 27 – Blenheim: Public Meeting, 7.30pm,Nativity Centre Lounge, cnr Alfred and Henry Sts. Contact: Steffan Browning,021 725655 greeny25@xtra.co.nz
Thursday October 28 & Friday 29 – Wellington: PublicMeeting – 7.30 p.m. Thursday 28, St John’s Hall, corner Willis& Dixon Streets. Contact: Rod Prosser 021 0744992 communitymedia@paradise.net.nz
Monday November 1 – Palmerston North: Public Meeting – 7.30 p.m., Catholic Diocesan Centre (Te Rau Aroha), 33 Amesbury Street Contact: Dion Martin(06) 3569658 (w), 021 776029 Dion.Martin@ndu.org.nz
Tuesday November 2 & Wednesday 3 – New Plymouth: Public Meeting – 6p.m. Wednesday 3rd, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, 42Queen Street. Contact: Fiona Clark (06) 7547014; fionaclark@clear.net.nz
Thursday November 4 – Hamilton: Public Meeting –7.30 p.m., Waikato Trade Union Centre, 34 Harwood Street. Contact: BobAnderson, (07) 8297882, 021 776023; ban@xtra.co.nz
Friday November 5 – Whangarei: Public Meeting Manaia PHO Rooms, Rust Ave,central Whangarei. Contact: Tim Howard 027 3089216 the-farm@ihug.co.nz
Tuesday 9 November – Auckland: Public Meeting, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn, 7pm
Wednesday 10 November – Auckland: Women’s Forum with Connie Ledesma, Auckland University, Maori Studies 9am – 12pm (RSVP to Maori Studies)
Friday 12 November – Auckland: 7 p.m. Solidarity Dinner for Justice and Peace in the Philippines, Civic Building, Strata 17, Civic Building, Mayoral Drive: Tickets $30 (Dinner, entertainment cash bar).
Contact: Luke Coxon (09) 8276059, 028 25803203 luke_coxon@yahoo.com
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I remember that Luis Jaladoni and Coni Ledesma gave warmest greetings to Comrade Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, chairman of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and respected
leader of the Korean people on his birthday on 16 February.
I do not think that the pinoys and pinays want a second North Korea in their country.
NDF’s statements on North Korea need to be seen in the context that NDFP give solidarity statements to nearly any group or movement suffering from US imperialism. For example the NDF has also expressed its solidarity to Cuba and Venezuela. While North Korea has a pretty abysmal government, it is often overlooked that the country has been a victim of ugly US foreign policy, such as sanctions and the fact the country was bombed to smithereens by the US Military in the 1950s.
The Philippines revolutionary movement should not be judged by this statement alone. It should be judged by its many real successes in fighting for a more just and equal Philippines. It is a bit like how Hugo Chavez makes some unfortunate statements backing the Iranian or Chinese governments. However, anyone interested in social justice would defintely give Chavez’s government credit for its social programmes that have greatly improved the lives of poor people in Venezuela and many other positive things his government has acheived in both domestic and foreign policy.
If you want to call a method like “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” normal forget it.
I live in the country where the NDF has its HQ and I know for sure that they are the one who are behind the killing of Kintanar and many other leftish pinoys.
Murder as Politics is the result of some deep investigation done bij the people of trotsky. Walden Bello from the Akbayan had threats by Sison(NDF).
Nathan Quimpo the same story.
Quimo even admits that he got threats from the NDF-CPP.
As you might know by now, the NPA-CPP still holds on to Mao, Mao made more victims than Hitler.
If you dont believe it read The Left and Democratisation in the Philippines.
As you can see the CPP-NDF are killing anyone (left or right) who doesn’t agree with Sison and or the NDF.
North Korean style gangsters who got their guns from North Korea with money from the Netherlands from our ex-minister Jan Pronk. What you do not know is that many papers from the HQ from the NFD went straight to a journalist called Peter Siebelt, I saw some of this documents and i know for sure that the NDF ans Sison are simply killers with the well known North Korean attitude, the are alse big fans from the Shining Path. I know that the NDF was a partner with the DDR, Saddam Hoesein(Iraq) and many other human rights killers.
By the way the NDF is even killing farmers, unarmed farmers (Botsoy Vale, farmer leader and elected Barangay Captain, was tortured and killed by the New People’s Army, Rene Llabres and another farmer Junrie Pagaspas, were also slain by armed men suspected to be members of the NPA. Two weeks later another farmer was killed – Alberto “Bito” Yusi, President of Samahan ng mga Anak ng Magsasaka ng Famosa, Incorporated (SAMFAI), an organization of landless peasants that has filed a petition for the distribution of the 490-hectare Ticao Agro-Industrial Development Incorporated (TAIDI) landholding situated at Barangay Famosa, Monreal, Masbate. Relatives revealed that he had been warned by the New People’s Army to stop their petition for the government’s land reform.)
See urgent call ndf and grp regarding recent killings farmers