Obama's "humanitarian" intervention*

Obama's "humanitarian" intervention*

April 21, 2011

On March 28, nine days after joint forces from the United Kingdom, France and the US bombed Libya, US Pres. Barack Obama detailed his "humanitarian" foreign policy. It was forthwith called the "Obama doctrine" and touted as "more just" compared to the "Bush doctrine" of unilateral militarist intervention.

Obama justified the use of force against Libya, an independent country, invoking the need to "defend civilians." The US cannot turn a deaf ear, he said, in the face of the imminent massacre of civilians. Neither should the US hesitate to use force against an enemy of humanity, he added, if this was what the situation warranted.

Within this framework, Obama ordered the bombing of Libya in March using US warships and planes. The objective was to provide support to armed groups fighting Moammar Gaddafi's government. Contrary to declarations of "defending civilians," the bombings conducted by the US and its NATO allies resulted in the widespread loss of civilian lives and infrastructure.

Obama strained to portray his aggression towards Libya as "humanitarian military intervention by a broad democratic coalition" to differentiate it from the previous Bush regime's "war against terror." But apart from the difference in name, there is no distinction between the two. Both the "humanitarian military intervention" and the "war against terror" were launched to defend US interests in the region--namely, the vast oil resources. They both resorted to the same "shock and awe" tactics of former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They both inflicted civilian casualties and damaged civilian infrastructure in a desperate attempt to crush the defenses of regimes in power.

At first, Obama said that his "doctrine" did not include the overthrow of the existing regime in Libya. But after weeks of bombing raids that had no clear objectives, direction and results, the US let the cat out of the bag, saying that it was impossible to have "genuine reforms" in Libya as long as Gaddafi remains as president. The US and its allies had earlier violated Libya's sovereignty when they recognized anti-Gaddafi forces as "legitimate representatives" of the Libyan people despite their small number and the fact that they were based only in three to four cities.

Obama and his allies claim that they are against despotic leaders. France and the US cite their armed intervention in the ouster of Ivory Coast's despotic leader Laurent Ggabo even if it is well known that the man they installed, Alassan Outtara has also been involved in the large-scale slaughter of the people of Ivory Coast.

The real objective of US armed intervention is the removal from power of leaders who refuse to submit themselves to US control.

Contrary to Obama's declarations, the US government supports dictators for its own interests. The US has, for instance, approved the Saudi Arabian king's use of force to suppress the growing protest movement in the country. It did not lift a finger when the US' puppet government in Kuwait violently suppressed protest actions.

In Bahrain, the US supported Saudi Arabia's move to send troops to violently suppress protests against its monarchic allies (who allow the presence of the US' biggest naval base in the region). In the same vein, the US has expressed little interest in the just protests taking place in Yemen, Oman and other parts of North Africa.

* Url:http://www.philippinerevolution.net/cgi-bin/ab/text.pl?issue=20110421;lang=eng;article=12

Rebellions continue across North Africa, Middle East

Rebellions continue across North Africa, Middle East*

By Gene Clancy

Published Mar 21, 2011 9:42 PM

The ferocious storm of uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East continues to stymie the efforts of the U.S. and other Western powers to suppress or contain them. There are ongoing significant protests in Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq, all places with a substantial U.S. military presence.

Also ominous for the Pentagon planners are protests in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, countries which at this time lack the presence of large numbers of U.S. troops, but whose rulers have been long-time clients of U.S. imperialism.

As Rami Khouri, a professor in Beirut, Lebanon put it: “The U.S. doesn’t know how to deal with freedom-loving Arabs.” (CNN, March 13)

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Yemen on March 11, drawing record crowds in Sana’a, the capital, to show President Ali Abdullah Saleh that his reform offers failed to weaken their demand for his immediate departure.

A Wikileaks document recently revealed that Saleh told his people that his own government had carried out drone attacks that were really U.S. military actions in Yemen in violation of Yemeni sovereignty. (BBC, Dec. 10, 2010)

Yemenis flooded streets and alleys around Sana’a University in the biggest protest to hit the capital since demonstrations began in January. The protests followed by only one day a deadly predawn raid by the security forces on an encampment in a central square in the capital which killed three people and wounded 250.

In the southern port city of Aden, police fired on thousands of marchers, trying to disperse them. They wounded three people. Six were overcome by tear gas.

Aden is a strategic port near the Straits of Hormuz which control the entrance to the Persian Gulf and is an important port of call for the U.S. Navy. The USS Cole was attacked there in October 2000.

Unidentified armed men killed four soldiers on patrol east of Mukalla city in Hadhramaut province in southeast Yemen. About 30 people have been killed in Yemen since January.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been gripped by the worst unrest since the 1990s when protesters took to the streets last month, inspired by uprisings that unseated entrenched autocratic rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.

Thousands of opposition activists stormed toward Bahrain’s royal court. Carrying Bahraini flags and flowers, the protesters began walking from the Aly area to Riffa, a district of Manama, the capital, where many of the wealthy and members of the royal family live.

More than 200 riot police armed with batons blocked off the road with barbed wire. Medical sources said one person was seriously injured. Seven people have been killed in clashes with security forces, and thousands of the February 14 Youth Movement still occupy the Pearl roundabout, a busy intersection in the capital.

In Kuwait, the launching point for two major invasions of Iraq by U.S. forces, elite anti-riot police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of stateless Arab protesters who were demanding citizenship and other rights.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Jahra, west of Kuwait City, the capital, following Friday prayers on March 11, despite a stern warning against protests from the new interior minister. “Stateless since 50 years, we demand citizenship” read a huge banner in English as protesters chanted, “We will not leave without a solution.” (Reuters)

There were other protests in Sulaibiya, southwest of Kuwait City, and in the oil-rich city of Al-Ahmadi, south of the capital.

Stateless Arabs, known locally as bidoons, protested last month for three consecutive days until officials gave them assurances that their grievances would be addressed. As in many of the smaller Gulf states, in Kuwait a large proportion of the population (often a majority) are foreign-born workers with practically no political or economic rights.

But on March 8 parliament refused to debate a draft bill that would give the bidoons civil rights.

In the latest challenge to the government in Iraq, thousands of protesters are demanding jobs and better basic services. Protesters turned up in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on March 11, with similar demonstrations in the cities of Fallujah west of the capital, Sulaymaniyah in the north and Basra in the South. Iraq’s government has been shaken by a string of rallies across the country since the beginning of February.

The Arab revolt spilled over into Burkina Faso in Central Africa, which has been wracked by student protests and strikes ever since Justin Zongo, a student in Koudougou, a city in the west of the country, died while in police custody in February.

As of March 10, according to the Bourkinabé internet news service Senego, at least six people died in the protests, including three university students, a high school student and a cop. Many people have been seriously hurt. Four police stations have burned, allowing prisoners to escape. Protests have taken place throughout the whole country. (LeFaso.net)

At a March 11 mass protest in Ougadougou, the capital, which went to National Police headquarters, signs called for “Truth and Justice,” “No to injustice,” “Cops and untenable unemployment, both kill!” and “Cops = armed bandits.”

G. Dunkel contributed to this article.

* Url:http://www.workers.org/2011/world/rebellions_continue_0324/

March 19th, "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"

March 19th, "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"*

The world's true freedom-loving people strongly condemn US/UK/French imperialism's criminal aggression against Libya, which was launched today (March 19, 2011) on the eighth anniversary of the illegal invasion of Iraq. The timing is no coincidence. The bombings represent an imperialist message to the planet that "Nothing has changed!" since 2003.

The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is one of only a few Arab governments not controlled by US imperialism (along with Syria and Algeria, who also oppose this war). Therefore, this attempt to seize control of Libya and its oil is simply a continuation of Wall Street's project for global domination. Their strategy involves controlling the world's fossil fuels (critical for modern industrialized economies) by establishing an empire of overseas military bases, harbored by repressive client regimes. Anti-war leaders must organize against this latest war.

The "Arab League" regimes that voted a week ago for the "no fly zone" are hated by their own people and have seen massive protests against them in the past two months. Meanwhile, those same regimes (Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, and Yemen) continue to slaughter peaceful protesters. As this message is being typed, Western planes and missiles murder innocent Libyan civilians. However, USA's "human rights experts" are not concerned by those deaths, only Libya's oil.

During the "UN Security Council" vote two days ago for a "no fly zone resolution" (UNSCR 1973), Russia, China, India, Brazil, and Germany abstained. On the one hand, this shows that most of the world's population (who live in these five countries) opposes NATO military aggression against Libya. On the other hand, it also reveals the submissiveness and subservience to the US by Russia's current Medvedev government for failing to veto it.

The UN, headquartered near Wall Street in New York City, has proved itself once again to be controlled by US imperialist puppets. The world's progressive forces must recognize that the UN, at present, is fundamentally no different than the IMF, the World Bank, or NATO – which are imperialist instruments. Internationally, protests should be held against not only the NATO-aggressor governments, but also the UN's pro-imperialist leader, Ban Ki-moon. He obviously does not represent humanity.

In addition, any self-proclaimed "left-wing" organizations that do not fully denounce this Western aggression will simply be proving themselves to be imperialist quislings. US progressive voters must remember this infamous day when they head to the polls in November, 2012: "Nobel Peace Prize" winner Barack Obama kills Libyan civilians while allowing Wisconsin's fascist governor to practically ban unions! Finally, it goes without saying that anti-imperialists uphold Libya's sovereign right to defend itself against foreign aggression.

* Url:http://fosterhall.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-19th-date-which-will-live-in.html

Role of U.S. imperialism from Egypt to Libya to Yemen

Role of U.S. imperialism from Egypt to Libya to Yemen

Perspective on the People's Uprisings against autocratic regimes in North Africa & Middle East

Perspective on the People's Uprisings

against autocratic regimes in North Africa & Middle East

Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson,
International Coordinating Committee
International League of People's Struggles
February 27, 2011

The International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) steadfastly stands in solidarity with and supports the peoples of the North African and Middle East countries in their mass uprisings and revolutionary struggles for national liberation and democracy against the autocratic regimes long maintained by imperialist powers and local reactionary classes.

At the same time, the ILPS is keenly aware that the overthrow of a dictator by a rapid spontaneous surge of the masses does not necessarily result in the revolutionary overthrow of the ruling system. In the absence of a strong revolutionary party of the proletariat and revolutionary mass organizations, the imperialist powers and its puppets among the competing political and military factions of the local exploiting classes can arrange a new regime that pretends to be better than the previous one.

Are peoples perpetually and hopelessly trapped in ruling systems controlled and manipulated by the imperialists and their reactionary agents? No. The crisis of each ruling system and the mass uprisings can result not only in the overthrow of the autocratic regime but also in the further development of revolutionary parties, mass organizations and alliances for the continuous advance of the people's cause for national and social liberation.

The peoples' uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East are not the deliberate creation of the imperialists, their mass media and smart political agents. They are the people's resistance to the oppression and exploitation that they have long suffered. Their suffering has been made more than ever intolerable by the crisis of the world capitalist system and domestic ruling systems under the bankrupt US-imposed policy of neoliberal globalization and the US global war of terror characterized by state terrorism and aggression.

While the revolutionary strength of the people in a country is not yet sufficient to overthrow the ruling system, the US and its puppets deck themselves out as democrats by trying to forge new constitutions and instituting periodic elections and term limits for elective officials even as variable balances of political and military factions continue to make the ruling system apparently stable but really more unstable, remaining ripe for the next corrupt autocratic regime or servile to monarchies most favored by the US as in Saudi Arabia and the emirates.

The big prize for the US and its imperialist allies and its biggest local puppets in North Africa and the Middle East is the stepped-up superprofit-taking from the cheap labor of the working people, exploitation of oil and other natural resources, the huge sales of armaments to the oil producing countries and many other kinds of businesses.

The imperialist powers headed by the US are hell-bent on tightening their control over all the major sources of oil and gas and cannot tolerate the degree of national independence or anti-imperialism that Iraq and Libya exercised in extended periods in the past and that Iran is striving hard to maintain. The US is now flagrantly seeking to grab and tighten its control over the oil resources of Libya as in Iraq. It is taking the lead in applying sanctions and threatening to unleash the aggression and atrocities that it used to take over the oil resources of Iraq.

Once more, the irony of autocrats subservient or pliant to US imperialism but eventually junked by it is being demonstrated in North Africa and the Middle East. New sets of puppets are being arranged to further exploit and oppress the people. But through perseverance in revolutionary struggle in the long course of history, the people can develop their own strength to realize their national and social liberation.

On the scale of North Africa and the Middle East and particular countries, the course and outcomes of the peoples' uprisings follow the law of uneven development. Under any circumstances, the ILPS stands in solidarity with and supports the broad masses of the people and the anti-imperialist and democratic forces, and encourage them to be vigilant and militant against machinations to maintain and prolong imperialist domination and subservience by the local reactionary forces.

The International League of Peoples' Struggle looks forward to far greater revolutionary struggles now and in the future. Whatever are the temporary arrangements that can be made by the imperialists and their reactionary agents, the revolutionary energy and forces already released by the peoples' uprisings will find fertile ground to grow in strength and advance against the crisis-stricken world capitalist system and the local ruling systems.

Are the Arab protests inculcate Arab Unity?

Are the Arab protests inculcate Arab Unity?

By Katleah Iskre Ulrike

To the ruling class, it is Anarchy, but to the protesters, it is Revolution.

AS news around the world featured the protests in the promised Al Watan al Arabiyya with tremeandous praise and criticisms as it's replies. Yes, since most Arab people, from Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia), Libya, Egypt, even Bahrain and Yemen are experiencing protests against regimes that is, supposedly "progressive" in its character.

First and formost, how come there will be protests since all of it are "progressive?" Well... most protesters tell that rampant corruption, plutocracy, nepotism, to the rise of bread and call for bigger salaries and benefits caused major protests and outmost opposition all despite countless casualties coming from them. But to the West, they call it much as "Pro-Democratic", but the fact is-wanting systems and orders agreeing to their policies and other related matter.

In Libya, I fairly notice that the protests signified the People trying to reclaim what the first part of "Green Book" stating about the The Authority of the People', and according to the author, the Caid Qaddafi, told about that the winner in the struggle for power is always an instrument of government - an individual, party, class; and the loser is always the people, which is, according to the author of the book, a true democracy. With the political struggle often leads to the rise to power of the guns of government, which is a minority. That is, all existing political regimes falsify genuine democracy and are dictatorships. If so, then the Caid, and even the people itself seemingly faced what the scripture foretold in it- and the protests, mass actions, defections, responses from the system and the like signified how "power struggle" and the "Authority of the People" really is.

So is Egypt, still in the middle of a chaos, the remnants of the old system tried enough to restore order, yet still protests continue to dominate in the streets of Cairo crying for bread and freedom! Same as in Yemen wherein the actions laid by the people, are obviously out of economic and social conditions prevailing all after the reunification of two Yemens under Ali Abdullah Saleh in the late 20th century.

And upon looking at every event in the video, I notice that will these events inculcate Arab unity according to their aspirations? Remember, most Arabs, aside from wanting "Freedom", "Justice", "Democracy", "Peace", "Bread", they wanted genuine unity as they themselves, people of the desert, wandering for years and populating the fertile crescent and the African desert north, wanted a nation that is, greater than their current ones, of what Nasser hath wanted aside from dreaming an Arab homeland free from repression and despotism both domestic and foreign. However, as we dig deeper, seems that foreign interests tried much to turn the spontaneous actions of the masses into an action that as if fit for their own taste. Remember Nicaragua?

Well...

To a writer, these events, despite its call for freedom, may rather lead to submission than to its supposed premonition. The world, especially the west are looking at them and as if taking it as an opportunity for these nations to submit to an order that is theirs. We all remember that America is against Qaddafi, that through a hodge-podge of propaganda coming from the west urges them to "take revolt" but in fact, the West itself wanted a conspiracy due to having not enough concessions from a Caid whose distaste for American Imperialism and advocating Pan-Arab unity meant turning against the oil barons. They even want a government that they can "own" outright, lock, stock and barrel-as they have never forgiven Qaddafi for overthrowing the monarchy and nationalizing the oil industry.

We must also remember that, according to Fidel Castro of Cuba in his column "Reflections" takes note of imperialism's hunger for oil and warns that the U.S. is laying the basis for military intervention in Libya. Yes, we've seen the revolts-some are justified, others are unjustified that as if all are supposedly made in the 1980s! For sure Reagan and the "Christian Right" are starting to laugh over about the events happened this time, but it also doesn't mean that these countries may possibly turning themselves over to the almighty west, to be led by the United States.

As we sum all of these, these actions are rather a premonition, a dress rehearsal for a greater rebellion that may greatly harm the West and its stooges in every country like this oil rich Al Watan Al Arabiyya. Like the past, for sure they still cling for Unity aside from the "Freedom", "Justice", and "Democracy", but will they accept the might of the great West? They are all been victims of Imperialism for years, so how come will they accept the their treacherous hands again? Oh god! People call for freedom but the ones who as if really "supported" it for sure wanted Oil!

And thus, it simply all ends with this, as what Mao said:

"To rebel is to be justified"

And the actions in the Great Al Watan Al Arabiyya perhaps may pave way to another wave, this time around the world in midst of the crisis, this time pointing against the ruling gentries who kept on bannering "Freedom" and "Democracy" to justify their dictatorships.

Filipino revolutionary forces are one with the struggle of the Egyptian people-CPP (NDF)

Filipino revolutionary forces are one with the struggle of the Egyptian people*

Communist Party of the Philippines
February 4, 2011

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the Filipino revolutionary forces express their solidarity with the Egyptian people in their struggle to put an end to the 30-year US-backed feudal dictatorship of the Mubarak regime.

The CPP has been intently following developments in Egypt and a number of other Arab countries where intense and widespread people's unrest against decades of feudal dictatorial rule and social miseries have recently been on the rise. In Tunisia, mass demonstrations succeeded in putting an end to the 23-year iron-fisted rule of the Ben Ali regime that wrought socio-political repression and economic hardships on the masses.

Several hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have been massing up for days in Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand the immediate ouster of the Mubarak regime.

The massive Egyptian demonstrations, which began on January 25 have been impelled by mass discontent over the pro-imperialist, feudal, dictatorial, bankrupt and antipeople policies of the Mubarak regime. The Egyptian people have long been made to suffer political oppression, rising prices, widespread unemployment and mass poverty, and suppressed with the use of terror, emergency laws, military brutality and the secret police. The CPP supports the national and democratic aspirations and struggle of the Egyptian people.

The CPP condemns the Mubarak regime and his ruling party for unleashing security forces, fascist agents and several thousand counter-demonstrators yesterday to attack the anti-Mubarak protestors. Yesterday, camel and horse riding fascist forces charged at and whipped protestors, threw stones and fired guns at them. At least five demonstrators were killed and more than 600 wounded.

The fascist counter-demonstration was an attempt by the ruling regime to project the anti-Mubarak protesters as only a fraction of the Egyptian people. With the outright display of fascist violence, it also tried to dissuade the Egyptian people from joining further demonstrations.

The Mubarak clique's fascist tactics are bound to fail. It reflects the ruling regime's desperation to hold on to power. It is now teetering and nearing collapse.

The Mubarak regime could only persist during the past three decades with its sheer repression of the Egyptian people through the employment of US-funded army and police. With a $2 billion annual military subsidy from the US, this much-detested regime has been second only to Israel in receiving the largest US "foreign aid." Under Mubarak, Egypt has served as a US-Israeli foil against the Palestinian and Arab peoples.

The CPP enjoins the Egyptian people to consolidate their ranks, prepare for greater difficulties and bigger sacrifices, and strive to persist and advance their struggle. They must draw strength from the justness of their cause in order to persevere and achieve victory in the struggle to put an end to the US-Mubarak fascist regime.

* Url:http://theprwcblogs.blogspot.com/2011/02/filipino-revolutionary-forces-are-one.html

WE SALUTE AND CONGRATULATE THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT FOR RISING UP TO OVERTHROW THE MUBARAK REGIME

WE SALUTE AND CONGRATULATE THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT

FOR RISING UP TO OVERTHROW THE MUBARAK REGIME

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison

Chairperson

International League of Peoples' Struggle

January 30, 2011

The mass uprisings sweeping several Arab countries have shifted their focus from Tunisia to Egypt, a country much bigger in terms of land size, population (more than 80 million) and strategic value in the conflict between the US-Zionist combine on the one hand and the Palestinian and Arab peoples on the other hand and in the US global war of terror unleashing state terrorism, wars of aggression, occupation and the rendition of US foes to the torture chambers of Egypt.

Since January 25 tens of thousands of people have poured out into the streets of major cities of Egypt in order to demand the ouster of President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak and his ruling clique. They have defied the police and military forces even as more than 150 of the protesters have been killed and hundreds have been injured by US-made weapons. In a vain attempt to appease the people, Mubarak has reshuffled his cabinet and is maneuvering to stay in power or glide into a less disgraceful exit by a promise to allow new elections according to the US formula of transition to sham democracy.

At any rate, Mubarak is apparently on the verge of losing power. His ruling party headquarters has been burnt down. He has sent out of Egypt his closest relatives and a major part of their bureaucratic loot. The police have begun to abandon their posts in several cities. And various military units are showing either a friendly or hostile face to the people in the streets. There are indications that behind the scenes the US and the generals are trying to engineer a new arrangement.

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, salute and congratulate the people of Egypt for rising up and striving to overthrow the US-supported Mubarak regime which has long oppressed and exploited them. The people have courageously acted to repudiate the regime for its oppressiveness, its servility to US imperialism and its conformity to the US-dictated “neoliberal” economic policy which has brought about the high rate of unemployment, decline of the economy and breakdown of social services.

While the mass uprisings have been successful at isolating and debilitating the long hated oppressive regime, the US-controlled military machinery is intact and is poised to play a key role in rearranging the political setup in the interest of the US and local exploiting classes. The Egyptian state is dependent on a wide range of economic, financial and political relations with the US and other imperialist countries. Since 1975 the US alone has poured more than USD 50 billion into Egypt in order to coopt its rulers and use them as tools of US hegemonism, the Egyptian military is dependent on a huge amount of US military assistance amounting to more than USD 1.38 billion, which is next in size only to that given to Israel. The US also gives economic assistance amounting to more than USD 800 million. The US is highly interested in the restabilization of the situation in Egypt in order to forestall the rise of anti-imperialist forces and thus maintain a balance of forces in favor of the US-Zionist combine in the region.

At any rate, through the mass uprisings, the people are asserting and exercising their sovereign power. They are opening the way to further advances and further possibilities in the struggle for national liberation, democracy, development and social justice. The revolutionary forces have the chance to expand and consolidate their strength.

To any extent that their struggle is frustrated, derailed or hijacked by their enemies, the people of Egypt can raise the level of their fighting consciousness and capabilities and go through various forms of revolutionary struggle until they muster the strength to smash the bureaucratic and military machinery of the ruling classes.

The conditions for advancing the revolutionary struggle are more fertile than ever before on the scale of Eqypt, North Africa and the Middle East and the entire world because of the grave crisis of the world capitalist system and depredations of the US-instigated policies of neoliberal globalization, state terrorism and aggression.

It has been repeatedly demonstrated in recent history that particular despotic regimes can be overthrown, such as those of Duvalier, Marcos, Somoza, Pinochet, Mobutu and Suharto. But the subsequent false facade of democracy can only be fleeting for as long as the US and the local exploiting classes can rule through a bureaucratic and military machinery beholden to them.

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, are in solidarity with and support the people of Egypt in their great cause to build their revolutionary strength and wage various forms of mass struggle against imperialism and reaction. They need to defeat the armed counterrevolution and accomplish the people's democratic revolution. Thus they can move forward on the path of national liberation and social revolution.

Continue the protests! Continue the Storm!

Continue the protests! Continue the Storm!

By Katleah Iskre Ulrike

Last time, militant students around the Philippines celebrated the commemoration of the valiant resistance of the Students, Faculty, and members of the University of the Philippines, Diliman community against State Fascism and the crisis prevailing during the Marcos regime.

Known much by the media as the "Diliman Commune", the acts laid by the UP Diliman community, from the barricades to the creation of self-igniting Molotov cocktails and Pillboxes, shown opposition-first from the increase in oil prices, to the repressive actions laid by the rotten State. It even intensified interest in the study of Pilipino Nationalism and Revolution, all based from the conditions prevailing at that time.

And through the years had passed since the downfall of the Marcos regime, there are still same old problems continue to prevail in the Philippines-that as of 2011, most Pilipinos are affected by the crisis such as oil price hikes, tuition fee increases, increase in commodities, and even the increase in mass transport fares. Most students, and the people in general, respond it with sporadic protests, venting grievances against a regime whose leader nowadays brags his own Porsche and Lexus automobiles. The Philippines was and is, remained poor due to its conditions as a semifeudal, semicolonial country; and with the intensification of Commercialization, Globalization, and State Terrorism, all sponsored by the oligarchs lies enough reasons to continue the protests and armed struggle against them similar to the Diliman Commune and earlier, the First Quarter Storm.

Also last time, people also wittnessed the events in Tunisia and in Egypt, as protests erupted against the regimes of Zine el Abidine ben Ali and Honsi Mubarak. The former had been toppled away but the latter still clings to his post as the head of state. These events, all in response from repression, corruption, price hikes and the like, unveils how people, being the creators of history and the society, and not the government dominated by the privileged few decides in regards to National affairs. And as expected, most are even solidarizing with their Arab comrades from statements to protests condemning the actions made by ben Ali and Mubarak-the way what the First Quarter Storm and the Diliman Commune solidarize with the Vietnamese, Chinese and even Cuban peoples for Antiimperialism and National Liberation.

In Egypt, we expect more and more protests to be seen-that may also manifest the revival of Arab liberation like the days of Nasser against Farouk. In Tunisia, the events after the downfall of ben Ali remained as-it-is as protests against the interim government continuously prevail in Tunis. These two Arab countries, like the actions laid by the Pilipinos, are not absolutely in response to their ruler's repressive actions, but of course, the conditions these people endured, but opportunists take it as a means to topple a ruler without changing the system in general!

After all, back to the topic, the actions of the people, whether in the Philippines, Egypt, Tunisia, even Nepal and India shows that the power will always be in the people-the way sovereignity is vested upon to them according to the laws, and of course, it is an inherent right to be rebellious against the order, therefore, to make the long story short:

IT IS RIGHT TO REBEL! BOMBARD THE HEADQUARTERS!

In Egypt, water cannon, tear gas

In Egypt, water cannon, tear gas*

In Egypt, police used water cannon and tear gas,
in dispersing the demonstrators

Thursday, 27 January 2011

Egyptian police began to disperse thousands of demonstrators on the capital's central El Tahrir Square. According to information received, a unit of the riot police some time ago began to use tear gas grenades and water cannons, pusjing protesters in the surrounding streets.

From 20 to 30 thousand people gathered Tuesday night in downtown Cairo in the "Day of Anger" - anti-government protests organised by the main opposition parties and movements of the country in the wake of recent events in Tunisia. Protesters have promised to hold an indefinite strike until such time until their demands are met - the resignation of the government, dissolve parliament, raise in wages. Previously, authorities have warned they will not allow protesters to remain on Tahrir square.

Reportedly, the protesters resisted police, periodically engage them in skirmishes. Riot police, trying to calm the raging crowd, is also actively beating protestors with rubber truncheon. To the area have been sent dozens of ambulances.

On Tuesday, in clashes with security forces, three people were killed , including two protesters and a policeman having received a fatal injury from a stone thrown from the crowd, reports ITAR-TASS.

* Url:http://aucpbenglishwebsite.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-egypt-water-cannon-tear-gas.html