Relentless violence at the Hacienda Luisita picket line
Violence at the Hacienda Luisita Inc. picket line continues without letup. The latest attack occurred this month, when armed men shot at close range two strikers, George Loveland and Ernesto Ramos, who were manning the picket line at the hacienda's West Gate at around 11 p.m. on January 5. Loveland and Ramos are both in critical condition in a hospital due to serious bullet wounds in the chest. Policemen surrounding the picket line did not lift a finger when the shooting took place.
Earlier, peasant leader Marcelino "Ka Marcing" Beltran, a key witness to the Hacienda Luisita Massacre in November, was killed in his own home on December 8. Ka Marcing chaired the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Tarlak (AMT), was vice president of the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) and was the Anakpawis party representative for Tarlac.
CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal strongly condemned the slaying of Ka Marcing and the shooting of Loveland and Ramos, saying it was a desperate measure on the part of the Arroyo regime, the Cojuangco clan and the fascist AFP and PNP to dampen the determination of HLI workers to fight for just wages and job security and obtain justice for the victims of the Hacienda Luisita massacre.
The CPP in Central Luzon also strongly condemned the murder and declared that the New People's Army in the region will punish bloodthirsty military and police units mercilessly victimizing people peacefully asserting their rights.
In December, an NPA team disarmed the tactical command post of the 69th IB in Mexico, Pampanga. The 69th IB was directly responsible for the massacre of strikers and demonstrators at HLI on November 16 and the murder of Ka Marcing the following month.
On December 26, Jose Agtalon, spokesperson of the Josepino Corpuz Command of the NPA in Central Luzon also stated that those guilty of the massacre in Hacienda Luisita will be arrested and tried before a people's court. They include Gloria Arroyo, some members of the Cojuangco clan and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas who issued an assumption of jurisdiction order which served as basis for successive violent attacks on the HLI picket line.
| 
