Fight against martial law
We are in solidarity with the people of Marawi and of Mindanao as they face the impending horrors of continued martial law in the region and the subsequent militarization that to this day has resulted in the displacement of 71,000 individuals and the death of many because of aerial bombings by the Armed Forces of the Philippines amid on-going evacuation efforts in the city.
On Independence Day, we are ever hopeful that the broad masses will join us in our fight against martial law as it is once again reintroduced and repackaged into the government’s counter-terrorism effort when it has been used in the past weeks as a front for human rights abuses by the military inside and out of Marawi City.
We enjoin all our allied organizations, all anti-martial law supporters and the general public to stand in solidarity with the people of Marawi and Mindanao to commemorate the fallen citizens and innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire between government troops and alleged terrorist organization, the Maute group, and unite in condemning the grave human rights violations committed as the Armed Forces conduct clearing operations and surgical airstrikes that have exponentially harmed more people than terrorists in the past days.
It is further alarming that the United States has used the presence of pro-Islamic State groups as a pretext to justify their operations and activities on Philippine soil.
We believe that having the United States intervening, especially in times of martial law, will pave the way to allow more foreign troops in the country and undermine our sovereignty just as it has done many times in the past.
This places an even greater sense of urgency for all of us to mobilize against the militarist approach towards resolving the crisis in Mindanao.
In connection with this, we invite the public to step up and demand the resumption of the peace process between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) in recognition of the fact that, because of the declaration of martial law, the military operations that followed served to sabotage the peace talks, putting on the line the democratic interest of the Filipino people, especially those who belong to the most impoverished places in the country like Lanao del Sur.
Furthermore, the pursuit of the peace process will hasten the establishment of an independent foreign policy that will protect us from US aggression that is sure to come as terrorism in the country is used as an excuse to station more off-shore bases in the Philippines.--