MIM Notes 194      September 15, 1999

MIM honors accomplishments, mourns murder of Ka Paking

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) sends condolences to 
the comrades, family, and friends of Ka Paking and his three 
companions who were brutally tortured and murdered by the u.$.-
trained and supplied Armed Forces of the Philippines on August 2, 
1999. Hundreds of people across North America became acquainted 
with Ka Paking through screenings of the documentary "Green 
Guerrillas" organized by MIM. We were inspired by his obvious 
dedication to the masses, his respect for and solidarity with 
indigenous peoples, and his leadership in launching an armed ban 
on logging operations in his area.

Even from the small glimpse we caught of Ka Paking in "Green 
Guerrillas," we recognized his ability to carry out fearless self-
criticism and struggle in difficult conditions. He clearly 
analyzed the ultra-left mistakes of the New People's Army (NPA) in 
the 1980s and devoted himself to correcting those errors and 
winning back the trust of the masses. We learn now that he led the 
rectification movement in his area. (The Communist Party of the 
Philippines launched the Second Great Rectification Movement in 
1992, to reaffirm the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist founding principles 
of the Party and the NPA.) Under Ka Paking's leadership, the NPA 
in his area grew tenfold from 1992 to 1996.

The tribute written by Luis Jalandoni of the National Democratic 
Front of the Philippines reads in part:

"He showed a deep respect and appreciation for the tradition of 
the native population in the area, while at the same time 
imparting to them the principles, polices and programs of the 
revolutionary movement. ...

"Ka Paking was renowned as a wise revolutionary leader to whom the 
people came with all kinds of problems, big and small, for advice 
and help. The prestige and influence of the revolutionary movement 
spread wide and far, because of his wisdom rooted in the tradition 
of the people and realities of their everyday life.

"Ka Paking showed his practical wisdom in carrying out the log ban 
of the revolutionary movement, taking into consideration the 
people's needs and circumstances, the balance of forces in the 
area, and the principles and policies of the national united 
front.

"With such valuable contributions to the revolutionary movement 
covering a span of so many years, it is no wonder that Ka Paking 
aroused the fear and hatred of the enemy."

While we are saddened by these deaths, we understand the necessity 
of the armed struggle waged by the NPA for the liberation of 
oppressed and exploited people in the Philippines. Under the 
current system of subordination to foreign monopoly capitalists 
and local reactionaries, 70% of the population of the Philippines 
suffers from malnutrition. Easily treatable diseases like cholera 
continue to kill hundreds. The per capita annual income is $570. 
Only a revolutionary struggle for true self-determination and 
socialism can change these conditions. The bloody record of the 
Armed Forces of the Philippines and armed paramilitary groups in 
the Philippines confirms that the reactionaries will use arms to 
defend their power. It is correct to counter reactionary violence 
that oppresses the people with revolutionary violence which 
liberates them.

The priceless sacrifices of Ka Paking and other martyrs of the 
protracted people's wars being waged around the world will live on 
not only in our hearts and minds as inspirations, but also through 
the flowering of their revolutionary work.