A Red celebration
In December 2004, in a clearing in the Sierra Madre mountains, over 1,200 members of the Party and the people�s army, members of mass organizations in the countryside, workers, students, fisherfolk and national minorities, among others gathered to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the Party�s reestablishment. All around the site, flags of the Party, the NDFP and the NPA fluttered at the end of long bamboo poles. On one side, the hammer and sickle was etched on the earth with small CPP flags planted around it, each symbolizing a martyr who offered his life for the revolution. On the other side hovered a sculpture of the hammer and sickle made out of vines and anahaw (a kind of palm) leaves. It was tied to three tree branches ten feet above the ground.
�Consolidate the revolutionary mass base with all our might! Ever boldly intensify the people�s armed resistance! Persevere in the all-sided advance of the revolution!� was the Quezon Party provincial committee�s call during the celebration. Despite a strong downpour, the participants remained in high spirits, honoring the Party as the leading force of the Philippine revolution. The people milled around the area designated as the stage while Red fighters saluted the CPP flag. Using large loudspeakers, their firm and militant voices resonated on that special day. The celebration featured creative cultural performances, interpretative songs, dances, mimes, plays, poetry and murals that showed life and struggle in the revolution. Everyone was delighted with the presentations that assailed and exposed the rottenness of the state and the ruling class.
Various sectors expressed solidarity with the Party in its role of expanding and deepening support for the revolutionary movement from the broadest ranks of the oppressed and exploited masses. Comrades discussed the national situation, explaining the gravity of the crisis and ruling class exploitation in the current period.
Martyrs and heroes who had offered their lives for the people were memorialized and their sacrifices and contributions to the revolution honored. The CPP provincial committee imparted important lessons and victories attained in Quezon in 2004.
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