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| Enemies of the State By Antonio C. Abaya Written April 12, 2005 For the Manila Standard, April 14 issue Right at the start, it has to be admitted that the Philippine military does not have the intellectual sophistication to convincingly draft a document, even only for its own internal consumption, that attempts to identify the �enemies of the state� that they are sworn to protect us against. This attempt has led to withering criticisms from the usual liberals and communist sympathizers, as a result of which military spokesmen have had to back pedal to a softer rationale for their Know Your Enemy exercise, which in turn weakened their own credibility and strengthened that of their critics and detractors. Having said that, however, it must added that drawing up a list of �enemies of the state� is not qualitatively different from drawing up a list of �enemies of the revolution,� which Mao Zedung and Joma Sison, each in his day, did draw up for their own followers, as other revolutionaries no doubt also did for theirs. The difference is that those listed as �enemies of the revolution� (categorized as �CIA stooges, counter-revolutionaries, feudal landlords, comprador businessmen, bureaucrat capitalists, soldiers with blood debts to the people� etc) did not raise howls of protest as those listed as �enemies of the state� now do. Maoists and those who support Joma�s Maoist revolution to overthrow the bourgeois state - whether through �legal� means or through armed struggle - and their counterparts in the military, are but two faces of the same coin. A coin that will not be devalued and rendered worthless as long as the Maoists, the constitutional outlaws, persist in bearing arms against the state even though avenues of peaceful dissent have long been opened to them in the political arena. (They now have 12 party-list congressmen, a 300% increase over the three they had in the earlier Congress. What more could they ask for? No doubt, the whole state apparatus.) The Maoists want to have their cake (their armed revolution) and eat it too (with their legal political parties). No self-respecting sovereign state would allow such a pass, in which a political group or party has an armed component free to intimidate the state at will. Onli in da Pilipins! We might as well allow the other political parties to also have their own armed groups even if, in doing so, we become another Lebanon, another Iraq, another Afghanistan. Lest they be blinded by their own hypocritical self-righteousness, the Maoists should be reminded that their own socialist model states did not and do not allow their own dissenters to organize into opposition groupings�..except in Poland in the 1980s, and look where that led them: straight into the garbage dump of history. To this day, the People�s Republic of China does not allow the Falun Gong, a mere pseudo-religious cult, to organize and hold public meetings because of latent fears that such meetings could lead to demands for free elections, a free press and free speech.. That is what happened on Tienanmen Square in Beijing in June 1989 when the Politburo had to call in troops and armored personnel carriers to machine-gun the dissenters out of the square, a massacre condemned by the whole world but applauded by Joma Sison and Crispin Beltran. Which illustrates my point, that the Golden Rule of Maoists and Leninists is: Do not do unto Us what we will do unto You once We are in power. Liberals in media, in Congress and among the clergy are appalled at the sweeping manner in which the military crudely lumped together as communist fronts such organizations as the CBCP, the PCIJ, the NUJP and 30 others. I have not seen the controversial Power Point presentation myself, so I cannot comment directly on its contents. But everyone should be reminded that no less than the Last Great Maoist Pope himself, Joma Sison, writing ex cathedra (meaning, he was infallible) from his basilica in Utrecht, likened the Philippine communist movement to a Warrior who wields both a Sword and a Shield. The Sword, wrote Joma, is the New People�s Army (NPA) which the Warrior uses to deliver deadly blows and thrusts against the �enemies of the revolution.� The Shield, wrote Joma, is the National Democratic Front (NDF) and its many front organizations which protect the Warrior from the counter-blows of the counter-revolutionaries. Front organizations are made up mostly of non-CPP members but are led and steered by CPP ideologues so that they perform their assigned roles.. Both the Sword (the NPA) and the Shield (the NDF) are integral parts of the national democratic movement, which is meant to lead to the socialist revolution, which in turn is meant to lead to the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat (with monopoly of power for Joma�s CPP) and eventually to the �inevitable� triumph of Communism. And what organizations make up the NDF? In an official party video-document in 1987, P. Dekkers, sec-gen of Belgium�s miniscule Labour Party, a Maoist party sympathetic to the CPP, interviewed Joma Sison and wife Juliet. He asked them which organizations make up the NDF. Juliet spoke of �hundreds� of organizations and was obliging enough to a fellow Maoist to name some of them: Bayan, KMU, ACT, Gabriela, League of Filipino Students, etc. Later in the interview, Juliet spoke of �thousands� of these organizations. Is the CBCP a communist front? Certainly not. But some bishops and, more importantly, some of their staffers or staffers of the CBCP-NASSA secretariat may be advocates of, or converts to, Liberation Theology, which the late Pope John Paul II categorically proscribed or forbade for the Roman Catholic clergy. This would be the handiwork of ex-SVD priest Edicio de la Torre (co-founder in the 1970s with Boy Morales of the NDF, the Shield of the CPP Warrior) who also founded in the 1980s the Christians for National Liberation (CNL) which is known to have influenced thousands of priests, ministers, nuns, seminarians, religious superiors and perhaps a few bishops, to accept Marxist analysis of socio-economic-political problems as the Gospel Truth. That the idealists (or, more correctly, dialectical materialists) De la Torre and Morales, both intellectuals, have since abandoned or been expelled from the Communist movement and have re-invented themselves as social-democrats kuno, toiling as organizers for the supreme trapo, the criminally inclined ignoramus Joseph Estrada, must count as one of the most baffling mysteries of the Filipino political psyche. But you are not likely to find that in the military�s Know Your Enemy exegesis. (To be concluded). ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Enemies of the State� Thanks for the info, Sir. Best regards. Chris Mesias, [email protected] (Goldenbatch 71 Ateneo de Davao HS) April 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Great article. I know your new publisher, Teddy Boy Locsin.. How's the new partnership working out? Cita Abad Dinglasan, [email protected] April 15, 2005 MY REPLY. A bit stormy at the start, but I think we�ll survive. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony: Just a note to let you know that I continue to enjoy and get better informed by your weekly columns. God bless you. Maraming salamat po. ~ Jimmy. Jimmy Pimentel, [email protected] Sydney, Australia, April 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Didnt know that Juliet can speak for the bat....I mean Joma. Waiting for your conclusion. Impy Pilapil, impy@pilapil April 15, 2005 MY REPLY. He did not contradict her during the interview. It�s a conjugal papacy. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I emailed the following article to the print media and other friends but has not been published yet. The military, media, and national security The military and media do not seem to see eye to eye on what is really intended to maintain, preserve, and uphold the security of the State. The military gathers information in various ways to be able to plan properly its operation to secure the State. The use of open sources, such as the media, is often the easiest way of gathering information. To supplement such sources, deep penetration through clandestine operation and / or confidential debriefing of sources that have gotten in touch with the enemy are the better means of getting information to produce intelligence for purposes of national security. Members of the media that have interviewed the enemy are the best source of information to produce good intelligence. Information gathered through deep penetration operations may be compared with media statements to validate military intelligence. The military should take advantage of their statements or better yet, confidentially debrief them, to make use of their knowledge about the feelings, behavior, and thinking of the enemy, instead of charging the media openly as the enemy's spokesperson. But when media informs the enemy about military plans and dispositions, there is a clear violation and irresponsible exercise of press freedom that infringes and adversely affects the nation' security and stability. Here, the media service concerned can be taken to task. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Fortunato U. Abat, [email protected] Tel: 425-1284, April 15 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I think this is dangerous. The message sent to thugs is that it is all right to kill. Notice that many journalists have been killed for exposing the truth. The last one has not even been committed by the usual thugs by by a bureucrat of the Department of Agriculture. Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City, April 15, 2005 MY REPLY. So? wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, RE: ENEMIES OF THE STATE This stresses the urgent need for good old fashioned intelligence in our Intelligence Community. One can't help noticing the lack of creativity in script-writing, among others, like lack of vitamin...I? Sino kaya ang mas-creative, sina Mon Ramirez at ang kanilang Bayan Muna? Just for everybody's info including those intelligent guys in our IntelCom, the "CP" in CBCP does not stand for "Communist Party". Amen? Amen! Let us pray... Ed J. Tirona, [email protected] April 15, 2005 PS. Wala bang decendants si Joe Crisol? Wala bang mga apo si Nenita? Mahirap talaga kung babad sa airconditioned office. Why coco sa NBI? Wala na bang iba? 'yung hindi ma-porma para naman me ma-solve na kaso. Anak ng ___ talaga, oo! Tumataas na naman ang presyon koh! wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, This is just a quick email to give you some information after I read your article called �Enemies of the State�. After the Pope passed away there seems to be a lot more discussion about communism these days, particularly because the Pope contributed to communism�s collapse in Eastern Europe. To know the real history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is still in power today, I think you will find it most interesting to read the �Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party� as published by �The Epoch Times� newspaper. I read it and found it not only interesting but also horrendous when I awakened to how many atrocities this party has committed in its history and is still committing today. It can be downloaded at the website http://theepochtimes.com/jiuping.asp. It is a must read and I highly recommend it. These nine commentaries has already been said to be the instrument leading to almost one million Chinese people publicly declaring their resignations from the CCP on an �Epoch Times� related website. Never before have party members had the courage to make such public statements about the CCP. It�s quite amazing that this news hasn�t hit the front pages of all the world�s media outlets considering how much interest there is in China these days. I thought I�d bring this to your attention. Thanks for your article. Regards, Chris Cominos, [email protected] April 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww My dear Abaya, As usual you are calling a spade a spade. Good work. Your "enemy of the State" is most interesting. These are very profound concepts, far beyoind the understanding of Governments and Militaries. Was Brutus an ememy of the State when he stabbed Caesar. Or was Caesar an enemy of the State when he was stabbed. His successor Augustus, (probably an enemy of the State when Caesar was stabbed), subsequently became Rome's greatest Emperor. I have absolutely no knowledge of Joma, so I can only comment in the abstract, on social systems and people's reactions to them. The NRA and the American gun lobby keep saying it is not guns that kill people but the person holding the gun. I agree with that. There should be compulsory gun ownership and required that everybody carry a machine gun at all times. It would fix both the political and population problem at the same time. Nobody understands that it is only the "Law" that makes criminals. The Axiom is, More laws make more Criminals, less laws less criminals. The US is a perfect example At last count I think they 6.9 million people either in jail or on parole. A Very frightening number for an "Advanced" society. Maybe the Philippines can thank God that it is not as "advanced" as the US. Back to Maoism, and Joma. We keep attaching negative and emotional names to our Political enemies, then we try to hate them. In Politics It always comes down to only two sides, each a mirror image of the other. "Side A" is the incumbent power, usually monopolizing the bulk of the rewards. "Side B" thinks they deserve the bulk of the rewards and will keep smashing at the mirror. If the mirror shatters, they win. If not they will brainwash the next generation to keep up the struggle. Axiom. The mirror always eventually shatters, and Side B, and Side A, change places. "Terrorist" is the latest negative connotation we give our enemies, Communist is passe Liberation Theology is not what it appears to be. Priests have a vested interest political systems. Some Individuals, are as corrupt as any politician, and some, as part of a group can have a lot to lose if either a system changes or if it does not change. The Class of 1939 Priests sure changed easily to Hitler's fascist ideas to save themselves. The Chinese Falun Gong have to hide their sedition until they can make a deal. They may yet have to become Marxist.. There is No Left and No Right. Each side will espouse as much Force, guile, and deceit as is necessar in order to keep, or get, themselves into power. What is more they often freely change sides if there is more reward for them on the other side�. If Mr. Joma is still using the Communist name and Logo, he is not very smart, and can be sure not to progress until he takes on a better suite of armour. Joma will have to wait his time, All his pronouncements are wishful thinking at this moment, but if he hangs in, they may yet come to pass. It is absolutely conceivable that Midanao and the southern Islands will separate from the Philippines. How, is another story. Regards Graham Reinders, [email protected] April 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya may think he is an insider once, but that once eons ago (which must be why he's baffled with Edicio's and Horacio's metamorphosis ). His image of revolutions are still those of the Red Guards, or Pol Pot, or Shining Path or Joma. This makes his claims to 'inside' knowledge suspicious. The national liberation movement in the Philippines is much bigger than the papal Joma or ka Roger, or whatever is left of petty Etta's and Walden's so-called leftism. Never mind the gangsters and ideological soldiers of fortune), and may i ask Mr Abaya why he's suddenly silent on the politics of the revolution's correlate? Or is he saying that the death of Fr. William Tadena should be explained, with little sophistication, as rightful? What is it that Mr Abaya's wishing for? to become the military's or PNP's official exegete? How can some gifted people be so low? Ferdinand Anno, [email protected] April 15, 2005 MY REPLY. I do not claim to be an insider in anyone�s revolution. I do not wish to become the military�s or the PNP�s official exegete. And I never wrote that the death of Fr. William Tadena can be explained as rightful. I will answer you in more detail in a separate article. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Not quite " Onli in da Pilipins!" Note what has happened in Northern Ireland with Sinn Fein (Quote: " We will fight with a Kalashnikov in one hand and a Ballot box in the other") and the IRA and for that matter the Unionist Parties and their paramilitary groups. John Adams, [email protected] April 17, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |