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Sine Proletaryo
In cooperation with
Asdang Productions
Istatus: FSMR
An Interview with Ka Efren
Spokesperson, National Democratic Front-FSMR
The revolutionary forces
here in Far South Mindanao Region,
through the leadership of its regional committee,
continue to exert efforts to complete
all the requisites in order for us
to advance guerrilla warfare
from the strategic defensive
to the strategic stalemate.
In 2010,
the regional party committee decisively identified
the urgent tasks that needed to be accomplished
to enable us to advance
guerrilla warfare.
Thus, the New People's Army
is now present in all
the strategic sections of the terrain
in our region.
Because of this,
we have been able to compel the enemy
to react to whatever our army does,
and therefore, the revolutionary forces,
especially our army, have been able to possess
the initiative vis a vis the enemy.
Defeating Oplan Bayanihan
The Aquino regime's Oplan Bayanihan
has failed in this region
but all the revolutionary forces
also suffered hardships due to enemy attacks.
All the guerrilla fronts
in Far South Mindanao Region
experieced sustained pressure
from virtually non-stop
military operations.
Several villages that have been identified
as part of the area of operations of NPA platoons
were subjected to RSOT operations.
The masses within the guerrilla zones
and even within guerrilla bases
suffered harassment and terrorism.
But all these trials and hardships
have been effectively overcome
due to the efforts exerted by the NPA platoons
as well as the revolutionary mass organizations
and allies and the entire mass base.
Oplan Bayanihan has been defeated and has failed
and this is proven at present
by the continually expanding and deepening mass base,
the NPA's continued attainment
of victories
in its tactical offensives
as well as the continuing vibrancy and invigoration of various mass campaigns
within guerrilla zones and bases.
120% increase in the number of platoons and zero defensives
In 2013,
our army grew by 120%
and we were able to launch more than 70 tactical offensives
and confiscate 32 firearms from the enemy.
We were able to inflict a significant number of casualties on the enemy
62 killed
and several wounded.
Another striking development
in our armed struggle in 2013 is the fact
that the New People's Army
did not figure in any defensive action.
Open and armed struggle against destructive mining
The people's struggles in the region
against foreign large-scale mining
continues to advance,
in terms of both the open struggle
and the armed struggle.
For the past few years,
the open mass movement
has incessantly been expressing its opposition,
its resistance to destructive foreign mining
here in the quadri-boundary,
particularly in the area of *** Mal
where XStrata-SMI's mining operations
are actually taking place.
Armed resistance continues to advance.
First, the New People's Army unit
operating in that area
has been able to launch successive actions
to punish this company since 2008
and from 2009 to 2010.
But the most striking armed actions
against this company
have come from the armed uprising of the B'laan people
in *** Mal
and surrounding areas.
The Lumad people have risen up
because of their desire to defend
their ancestral lands,
defend their right
to the land of their birth
and defend the environment as well.
The Communist Party in the region continues to issue calls
to other Lumad communities targeted
for large-scale mining
to look to and follow as a model
the B'laan people's resistance
to Xstrata-SMI.
The struggle is not only against mining companies
but also against multinational agribusinesses
and other businesses
whose objective is to claim our land
and destroy the environment in the name of
accumulating large amounts of profit.
Base consolidation and agrarian revolution
In the arena of base building,
we have effectively positioned ourselves
in the most strategic parts of the region.
We have thus been able
to expand
in the New People's Army's areas of operation
and we continue
to effectively consolidate areas
already previously covered.
At present,
our areas of operation include several hundred barrios.
Consolidation work is ongoing
--raising the level of our revolutionary mass organizations
and building organs
of political power.
Also, agrarian revolution is being advanced
on various levels,
both in terms of the minimum and maximum program.
Some guerrilla fronts have already been implementing
a number of elements
of the maximum program of agrarian revolution.
Fighting tasks
For the next two years,
the regional committee has issued a call
to further expand the membership of the Party and the New People's Army
by 100% and further advance the armed struggle.
We expect to double
the number of NPA units
and launch more annihilative blows
with the goal of confiscating
more high-powered rifles from enemy units
in order to arm
the new platoons we will be forming.
As for mass base building,
we are also targeting the formation
not only of barrio revolutionary committees
but a significant number
of revolutionary committees at the municipal level
in order for the organs of political power
to fulfill their functions,
including providing social services
that are urgently needed
in various areas of the region,
such as building schools,
providng health services to the residents
and improving production
in the guerrilla bases within our region.