Correspondence Reports:
The NPA�s cultural work
A potent weapon of the revolution

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

In May 1999, military forces conducting an operation in Lobo, Batangas mercilessly killed four civilians suspected of being members of the New People�s Army (NPA). In October 2000, nine NPA fighters were slain by the military in Haliging Kanluran, Batangas City.

Thus, they began to assiduously prepare and incorporate cultural presentations during mass meetings held in the barrios. They usually perform songs and plays and recite poetry during special activities such as education sessions or the celebration of anniversaries.

Aside from this, the comrades also saw the effectiveness of art and literature in the daily conduct of work among the masses. Red fighters strove to improve the productions until such productions discovbecame part of their daily work among the masses.

The creation of skits is one type of production that they have effectively developed in the conduct of mass work. The skits they have created depict the ordinary lives of peasants, the conditions they face such as militarization, and the relations between themselves and their army.

As a result, the peasant masses warmly welcome the skits created by comrades. Thus, the message of the productions are better imbibed by the masses. The short skits are also suited to the masses� attention span. They are able to move the sentiments of the masses more easily because the masses see themselves and their very own situations in the stories and characters portrayed in the plays.

The plays have become a medium for imparting the revolutionary movement�s analyses and stand concerning issues related to the conditions of the masses. They have also become a vehicle for enlightening the masses on the importance of advancing agrarian revolution, resolving problems among the people, and ultimately, even the consolidation of their ranks.

According to Comrade Mao Zedong, �An army without cultural work is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.� Comrades in Batangas have proved that every guerrilla front is a broad theater of struggle not only in the politico- military sense, but also in the cultural sense. Cultural work is a potent weapon that empowers the people to vanquish the enemy.

21 November 2003
English Edition

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