Read in: Pilipino

Dear Fellow Activists,

As the Founding Chairman of Kabataang Makabayan, I am elated that you are launching the Kabataang Makabayan-Europe. This brings back memories of my youth when we were inspired by the revolutionary example of Andres Bonifacio and were determined to continue the national democratic revolution which he had started in 1896.

It was on November 30, 1964, when we founded the Kabataang Makabayan in Manila. It adopted the program of fighting for national independence and democracy against foreign monopoly capitalism, domestic feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism.

Since then, we have grown in strength and become a major political force in the Philippines as a result of our resolute and militant struggle against the semicolonial and semifeudal ruling system. As a comprehensive youth mass organizations, the KM aroused, organized and mobilized the high school and college students and the youth among the workers, peasants and professionals.

The KM was outstanding in waging mass struggles against the US military bases and US economic and cultural domination, the commercialization of the educational system, the attack on civil and political rights, participation in the US war of aggression against Vietnam, the brutal suppression of the demonstrations of 1969 and the First Quarter Storm of 1970, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in 1971 and the proclamation of martial law of 1972.

When fascist dictatorship was imposed on the Philippines, the KM excelled at revolutionary underground work, provided thousands of activists nationwide to the armed revolutionary movement, joined the National Democratic Front and stayed underground even after the Marcos fascist dictatorship was overthrown.

The NDFP and all its allied organizations, including the KM, uphold, defend and promote the civil and political rights of the Filipino youth abroad and do not violate but respect the laws of the host countries. The KM has a long history of existence in the US since the late 1960s, understandably because the overseas Filipinos have been most concentrated there.

You have always had the right to launch the KM in Europe because the NDFP has a lawful standing here and has been well known as a promoter and supporter of the self-organization of overseas Filipinos, the solidarity of the Filipino people and European people in various countries and the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.

It is correct and highly praiseworthy that you are now launching the KM-Europe in order to focus on arousing, organizing and mobilizing the Filipino youth in Europe to uphold, defend and promote their rights and general welfare as part of the Filipino community. You must learn the needs and demands of the Filipino youth in order to serve them well.

You must understand the situation in Europe and every host country and act lawfully as you exercise democratic rights more easily than in the Philippines where the Duterte tyranny is now ruling. It is highly important that you can perform your tasks freely and fruitfully.

Your main task is to develop the KM in the interest of the Filipino youth in Europe and enable them to cooperate with the national democratic movement in the Philippines. I hope that you will be able to build national chapters as the solid base of your Europe-wide leadership.

Further on, you must develop solidarity relations with your fellow youth organizations of the host country and other guest people who are in the main migrant workers like the Filipinos. You must promote international solidarity and cooperation against all kinds of oppression and exploitation and for the benefit of the Filipino people and all peoples of the world.

I am confident that on this day you can establish a strong foundation for the Kabataang Makabayan-Europe by gathering the youth activists who are committed to the KM revolutionary tradition and program and drawing up a program which is appropriate to Europe by basing yourselves on the study of the situation and which has a clear definition of objectives, aims and tasks. I wish you the utmost success.

Long live Kabataang Makabayan in Europe!

Uphold, defend and promote your rights and interests!

Support the national national democratic movement in the Philippines!

Long live the Filipino youth and people?

Long live international solidarity!