PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Widespread disenchantment among AFP soldiers reveals depth of crisis in the system-CPP
January 30, 2004

The Communist Party in the Philippines sees the series of open armed as well as unarmed defiance by ordinary soldiers and junior officers of the AFP as "urgent protest statements of widespread disenchantement as well as deep factional stifes within the lower ranks of the military amidst the long-exacerbated systemic crisis in the country."

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said that the other night's open declaration of protest by AFP junior officers representing "Kawal Pilipino," a newly sprung defiant group within the AFP "is only the latest symptom of the deep-seated disenchantments and fissures that point to the utter rottenness and hopelessly losing course of the AFP and the present government."

Rosal said further "All this depicts how the rotten and reactionary AFP is cracking up and bound for defeat, and how desperate and terminally ill are the present ruling state and socio-economic and political system that its rotten and shattering army is serving."

"The only thing the top heirarchies of military establishment and the reactionary governmnent can ever think of in response to such protests is to try to muffle the protests, prosecute with vengeance those they can lay their hands on, threaten the others and keep on fooling the rest of the bottom ranks in the military as well as the mass of the people," said Rosal.

Rosal invited the aggrieved ordinary soldiers and junior officers "and their 'rebel groups' or 'reform groups' within the AFP to get in touch with us for discussions to reach common views and reach common resolutions in response to the present situation in the military, government, ruling system and revolutionary movement."

He called on them to join the revolutionary ranks, forge possible alliances with the NPA and the revolutionary movement or work clandestinely for the revolutionary movement while remaining in the AFP.

"At the very least, they may very well just want to leave the rotten, reactionary and fascist AFP and not to take part in its repression and abuse of the people," said Rosal.

He said that the grievances of the ordinary soldiers and junior officers in the military are constantly brought to our attention by our forces and the masses, adding that "more and more, these grievances are expressed to us by the soldiers and junior officers themselves as they make contact with us."

"Recently, an increasing number of them have actually deserted their units and joined us bringing their arms with them," Rosal added.

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



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