By Max Lane

Carlos Forte, secretary of the Manila Rizal branch of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, released a statement on May 9 “fully supporting the call of comrades and concerned progressive sectors for a peaceful disengagement between the so-called `Reaffirmist' and `Rejectionist' blocs within the revolutionary movement.”

The “Reaffirmist” bloc of the CPP, led by Netherlands-based Jose Maria Sison, has announced that it has assigned an armed unit to “arrest” Carlos Forte to be tried by a “people's court” set up by the Reaffirmist forces. The Reaffirmist CPP has targeted four other leaders of different sections of the Rejectionist left for trial as “enemies of the people”.

Earlier in the month, 16 prominent progressive figures issued a public statement calling on the different blocs to keep the political debate from spilling over into bloodshed. Among those signing the call were leaders of BISIG (Union for Socialist Thought and Action) including former chairpersons Francisco Nemenzo and Randy David, independent progressive intellectual R.C. Constantino, church figures Bishop Camba and Sister Mariani Dimaranan, and progressive congressmen Bonifacio Gillego and Gregorio Andolana.

The call noted that never before had conditions in the Philippines been so serious, with the issues of jobs, water, land, electricity, high prices and lack of simple social services “chipping away at the core of our being”. They appealed to the two blocs to agree on ground rules for the conduct of their debate so that the whole progressive left could unite to escalate the struggle for “justice, freedom and a life of dignity”.

Forte has stated that, despite the fundamental differences in theory and tactics, both camps can still join hands in revolutionary struggle against the main enemy -- US imperialism and the Ramos regime. “We call on Sison not to allow the Party crisis to deteriorate further into an open armed conflict to the benefit of the counter-revolution.”

A similar call for peaceful disengagement has been issued in Europe by 130 individuals and organisations, including most Filipino support groups in Europe.

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