PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

CPP condemns Arroyo regime for latest Hacienda Luisita shooting
January 6, 2005

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today issued the following statement condemning the Arroyo government for the shooting of two striking workers of Hacienda Luisita on Wednesday evening.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) holds the Arroyo regime, the PNP and AFP, the Cojuangcos and their armed thugs responsible for the armed attacks against the Hacienda Luisita strike yesterday evening that resulted in the wounding of two workers.

The treacherous close-range shooting of workers, amid the presence of police personnel, is a desperate attempt to break the will and determination of Hacienda Luisita workers in fighting for higher wages and job security and attaining justice for the victims of the November 16 massacre.

We deplore the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for this act of cowardice. Once again, they have resorted to killing unarmed workers as desperate acts of vengeance for the successive losses they have suffered in the battlefield.

The CPP condemns the Arroyo regime and the Cojuangcos for their adamance and refusal to address the demands of the workers of Hacienda Luisita. The demands for wage increases, the reinstatement of union leaders, the scrapping of the stock-distribution option, are all just and urgent.

The CPP calls on the workers of Hacienda Luisita to remain steadfast in fighting for their demands.

The CPP and the New People's Army (NPA) will continue to intensify the revolutionary armed struggle to punish all those responsible for the intense oppression and exploitation and violence inflicted against workers of Hacienda Luisita.