May 2003  

The Rebolusyonaryong Grupo ng mga Komunista, along with the League for the Fourth International/Internationalist Group, is calling on the working class here in the Philippines and the whole world to combat the imperialist occupation of Iraq by the U.S. and Britain and the imperialist aggression of U.S. military troops in the Philippines. We call for class war centered on proletarian actions that will stop capitalist industry and the imperialist war and aggression, rather than symbolic actions to protest the war, such as are being peddled by left-posturing organizations and parties through the building of a “People’s Front”/“Democratic Front”. We also call upon the working class to fight for its political independence against the bourgeoisie and to lead the struggle against moves and actions of the Philippine bourgeoisie, currently headed by [President Gloria] Arroyo, which seeks to further tighten its rule here in the Philippines.

It is clear in the recent campaign against the U.S. imperialist war in Iraq that the rallies and protests by Maoists/Stalinists and other fake left – which formed various “Popular Front”/“People’s Front” coalitions that included opportunists and bourgeois politicians – have not been effective in combating, much less stopping the imperialist war (which is actually an inherent characteristic of imperialism). It has not even prevented the entry of the mercenary troops of the U.S. imperialists to “aid” the blood-drenched AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] to attack and quash all groups that are fighting imperialism and the Christian-chauvinist Philippine bourgeoisie. And even if they repeatedly rally at EDSA [the major avenue near the presidential palace] to protest the enacting of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, the bourgeois state will always find ways to strengthen the grip of its rule over the working class, peasant, women, youth, the Moro peoples and the other tribal minorities. What the “popular front” formed by the fake left (including Maoists, Stalinists, social democrats, pseudo-Trotskyists, and other variants) carried out were only symbolical protests that did not, even a bit, stop the raging bull-like war machine of the U.S. and British imperialists nor the actions and attacks of the “super-puppet” Philippine bourgeoisie headed by Arroyo.

On the other hand, the left-posturing “underground” parties of the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines/New Peoples Army (CPP/NPA) and the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines/Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan (Revolutionary Peoples Army) that are calling for “People’s Protracted War” and “Class War Against the Imperialist Occupation” will also lead to a merry-go-round ride. Their concept of war does not recognize the real contradictions in class struggle and they see victory solely in terms of the military strength between the guerilla army and the AFP. Secondly, these Maoist parties continue to pursue the bankrupt theory of “guerillaism” – launching military actions against individual targets that do not bring down the rule of the bourgeoisie and lead to the seizure of political power by the working class. In addition, the war that these Maoists carry out is also based on the strength and extent of the “underground peoples front” – including the “national bourgeoisie,” the class enemy of the working class – to fight imperialism and their own bourgeois class. This has been repeatedly proven a dead-end historically (Indonesia 1965, Chile 1973, and other bloody defeats) and would only result in the bourgeoisie wresting political power from the working class and in the end the destruction of workers organizations and parties.

This is also the essence of the program of the other “underground” Stalinist parties who try hard to inculcate into the consciousness of the working class the Menshevik theory that the main struggle of the class is “for democracy” or “for the neutralization of the local government of the bourgeoisie.” Like the Maoists, these underground Stalinist parties also pursue the anti-Leninist concept of “guerrillaism.” The only difference between them is their tactics on how to “smoothly” insert the bankrupt theories of Stalin so that it will not be the same terminology as the Maoists. Like the Maoists also, these underground Stalinist parties that pretend to be for the working class also ally with the enemy of the working class, the so-called “progressive”/“liberal” bourgeoisie to win the “democratic” struggle of the class. That is why the workers, peasants, women, youth and other sectors that are led or influenced by these parties have illusions that they can “pressure” the bourgeoisie and its state to give some of what they call partial demands of the “democratic demands.” In the end, this program of the “labour,” “socialist,” “Leninist” parties eventually leads the working class towards reformism. Reformism slowly poisons the class, causing it to struggle for only the betterment of exploitation under capitalism, and to delay the struggle for workers revolution and socialism.

These so-called “Popular Fronts,” “Peoples Fronts” and “Democratic Fronts” do not and will not help in the struggle of the working class in its struggle against the bourgeoisie. Instead, they actually hinder the revolutionary struggle of the working class for the seizure of political power and for socialism. That is why it is important for the working class and the whole of the working people to break from all forms of “Popular Fronts” – which the entire fake left continue to pursue – to ensure victory in the revolutionary struggle against imperialism and the bourgeois state headed by the “super-puppet” Arroyo.

The working class, because of its nature of being present in every country that has industry, not having private property, and its social and economic role in the mode of production, is the only class that has the capacity to combat the class war of imperialism and the bourgeoisie. Through the leadership of its most advanced sector, the organized workers movement, it can stop and bring the whole capitalist system to its knees and combat the war waged by imperialism as well as the attacks and aggression of the Philippine bourgeoisie. What’s needed are militant actions like work stoppages to protest the war and aggression, as well as refusal to handle war materiel bound for U.S. and British troops, including the troops of the “Coalition of the Willing,” and strikes against the imperialists’ occupation/war of rape and plunder in Iraq as well as against the aggression in the Philippines by mercenary U.S. troops and the Philippine bourgeoisie. These actions can be key in stopping the on-rushing train of aggression of the local and international bourgeoisies if the working class will fight for its leadership and its political independence from the “liberal” or “national” bourgeoisie that is also the class enemy and from the posturing “communist” leaders and other variants of the fake left.

That is why it is important to struggle to build a genuine revolutionary party of the working class that will lead the working class and all the working people in the struggle for the political independence of the class. This is not reflected by the posturing leaders and parties of the Maoists, Stalinists, and all the other variants of the fake left. A genuine revolutionary party of the working class must be patterned on the Bolshevik Party of Lenin and Trotsky – that led the victory of the first workers state created through workers revolution in 1917. Such a party will fight consistently to ensure that the struggle of the class and the working masses is directed not only against the imperialist war but also in leading the working class in the struggle to break from all variants of “popular fronts,” a struggle for political independence and for workers revolution and the seizure of political power from the bourgeoisie.

The RGK and the LFI are fighting to build this party. We also call for the reforging of the Fourth International that was founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938, the world party of the international socialist revolution, to win new October Revolutions - the only successful workers revolution - in the 21st century. JOIN THE RGK!! The RGK and LFI are fighting for revolutionary regroupment of conscious revolutionary workers, women and youth that clearly see the bankruptcy of the organizations and parties that continue to reflect the theory and practice of Stalin, Mao and revisionist social democracy. We seek to intervene in the struggles of the working class and in the decisive moments of the class struggle. You can contact the RGK through e-mail at: rgk7@hotmail.com. You can also contact the IG/LFI at internationalistgroup@msn.com.

WORKING-CLASS, FIGHT FOR YOUR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE FROM THE BOURGEOISIE AND ALL KINDS OF POPULAR FRONTS!!

FOR NEW OCTOBER REVOLUTIONS!!
FOR THE BUILDING OF A GENUINE REVOLUTIONARY-TROTSKYIST PARTY IN THE PHILIPPINES AS PART OF THE REFORGED FOURTH INTERNATIONAL!!

REBOLUSYONARYONG GRUPO NG MGA KOMUNISTA

April 30, 2003