CNL
Christians for National Liberation
April 24, 2003

Message from the CNL on the 30th Founding Anniversary of the NDFP

Today, April 24, 2003, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the National Democratic Front, the Christians for National Liberation joins the hundreds of thousands of members of the different allied organizations of the NDF in celebrating this historic occasion.

We bow our heads in prayer in thanking the God of history, alive in the lives of the "least of our brethrens", for His continued grace to the people's endeavor. And we salute the countless martyrs of the revolution, including the many CNL members who have laid down their lives in the service of the people.

The Christians for National Liberation which was founded on February 17, 1972, one hundred years after the martyrdom of Gomburza, is a founding member of the National Democratic Front. For the past 31 years, CNL has been actively participating in the struggle for national liberation and democracy, contributing its talents and resources to the people's struggle.

For the past decade, CNL has also been vigorously rectifiying its weaknesses, deriving its strength by being firmly grounded in revolutionary principles and applying the lessons learned from its summed-up experiences.

Together with the toiling masses who struggle against the forces of national and class oppression and exploitation, Christians and church people are confronted by the reality of the constant crisis of a semifeudal and semicolonial system knowing full well that only in the victory of the new democratic revolution can there be newness of life.

The CNL denounces the present worldwide crisis brought about by an imperialistic economic and political system and where a lone superpower, in its greed to maintain hegemony, has time and again launched wars of aggression and armed intervention in different countries including our own homeland.

The CNL likewise decries the ruling system in our country where the comprador and landlord classes and its present ruling section, the puppet Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime, with its own greed and repressive nature and following the dictates of its imperialist masters, have pushed the people to more misery and despair.

We, therefore, put our hope in a new heaven and a new earth, where the God of justice dwells, by affirming that only through the new democratic revolution can a liberating social order be built.

A new social order where the majority of the people are truly represented from the barrio to the national government in a democratic people's government; where the peasants' democratic interests are answered through agrarian revolution; where job security and economic well-being are ensured; where vital social services like health, education, housing are guaranteed; where national sovereignty and territorial integrity are protected and international relations are guided by the principles of respect, mutuality and peace.

In this light we pledge to continue expanding our ranks, contributing our prophetic voice and talents to the revolutionary struggle in different ways.

First and foremost by participating in the armed struggle and propagating the justness of the people's war;

By building a wide underground movement in the cities and towns that will support the armed struggle and be at the core of the mass movement;

By volunteering to be activists and organizers of other mass organizations, especially organizations of the peasants and workers;

By enjoining church leaders to heed the cry of the people, withdraw their support to the ruling elite and not concede the resources of their church to the reactionaries;

By forging international relations that would contribute to the worldwide struggle against imperialism and repression.

And at the beginning of the third decade of our life, we vow to cleanse ourselves of petty-bourgeois pessimism, break away from the fetters of individualism and traditionalism, and keep high our revolutionary strength and determination, until total social liberation is achieved.

Mabuhay ang Christians for National Liberation!

Mabuhay ang National Democratic Front of the Philippines!

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