Condemning atrocities and saving youth from joining armed revolution
March 29, 2023 marks the New People’s Army’s 54 years of existence in the Philippines.
This date is a reminder of their numerous killings of soldiers, law enforcers, and innocent civilians, including countless human rights abuses committed even among their members, most of all, its unjustifiable and unreasonable revolution.
Former members of the underground movement have revealed that NPA anniversaries have been celebrated through destructive attacks, establishing a trend in the past five decades and a half. Consistent with this trend is the Communist Party of the Philippines’ congratulating the NPA for pushing revolution while those from the National Democratic Front secretly gather unwitting youth to be sent to the armed revolution.
This cycle continues, and allows the underground movement to carry out horrifying and unforgivable acts that have long been recognized as terroristic activities by countries such as Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, that all declared the CPP-NPA as terrorist organization. However, such declarations are not enough because these have not put a stop to the NPA’s atrocities.
We have seen in recent years how people are being recruited to the NPA through information campaigns by various stakeholders through different platforms. We are now more aware on how they are able to keep their organization alive through their cohorts from the NDF that operate in urban areas.
This means that we are also more educated on ways of stopping their recruitment – providing closer guidance to the youth who are vulnerable to such recruitment; and not entertaining malicious campaigns on issues circulated by groups that defend the movement, among others.
As we condemn their 54 years of committing crimes against the Filipino people, we should level up our campaign against any act that disrupt peace and security in our localities.
We must also put our acts together to prevent the youth from joining the armed revolution. –MA. LOUISA FOLIGAN, spokesperson, Samahan ng Mamayang Nagkakaisa Kontra Terorismo