PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

AFP-PNP attacks against anti-fraud and violence groups backfiring--CPP
May 21, 2004

The Communist Party of the Philippines today said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police's attacks and employment of the communist bogey against anti-fraud and violence groups is backfiring.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said that the AFP-PNP's attempts to discredit political parties and groups charging the Arroyo administration and its military and police forces of systematic and massive electoral fraud and violence have only succeeded in further boosting these accusations.

A military document entitled "Special Report on FPJ Camp and CPP Front Organizations" that was surreptitiously released to the media lumped together various groups documenting and protesting election fraud and accused these groups of being communist fronts plotting post-election disorders. The protestors include a number of religious and civic groups as well as parties and candidates decrying fraud and violence in the last elections.

"The so-called intelligence report is a desperate attempt to fend off accusations of fraud and violence by the government and the AFP and PNP's hand in it," Rosal said. "The report is insidious and dangerous as it applies the communist bogey against progressives and election watchdogs and protestors as well as against Arroyo's political rivals and sets them up as targets of repression."

Patriots, an electoral fraud and violence watchdog is scheduled to reveal today documents and evidence of "tainted elections" and will conduct pickets and prayer meetings in front of the COMELEC building and the Philippine International Convention Center where the Comelec count is being held.

Rosal said that the various CPP organs nationwide have also been receiving reports from all over detailing a nationwide campaign of fraud and violence against progressives as well as against the administration's principal rivals from the presidential down to the local levels. He said that the perpetrators were the AFP, the PNP and the private armies of political warlords.

In a radio interview this morning, AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero hedged at authenticating the veracity of such a report even as he refused to contest its supposed content. Rosal said that the AFP was now trying to distance itself from the report after it boomeranged against the government and its armed forces. ###

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553



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