Almost
immediately after President Duterte's official cancellation of the peace talks,
his military has announced intensified and focused military operations against
the New People's Army. The Armed Forces of the Philippines aggression will make
deaths, human rights violations, displacements and illnesses of civilians a
certainty that will burst whatever Christmas spirit people hold on to in this
crisis-laden year.
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| An effigy of President Duterte with US President Trump on his back at the November 30, Bonifacio day protest against Duterte's fascism and RevGov. |
Duterte
officially canceled the peace talks on November 24, despite the supposed talks
in Norway set at November 25 to 27. Common drafts on agrarian reform and
national industrialization are already up for signing: these could have addressed
the roots of armed conflict and lead to a just and lasting peace.
Duterte
has also declared war against what he called "terrorists," ordering a
crackdown on "reds" and "leftist fronts." These labels however
can be applied to anyone, much like the "drug addict" label of his war
on drugs, which had left 13,000 people killed in a year. Similarly, former
president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's counter-terror policies implemented then by
General Hermogenes Esperon (now a cabinet member of Duterte) left a bloody
record of tortured, missing, and dead activists and human rights defenders (120
extra-judicial killings a year). Duterte is set to beef up his disastrous human
rights record.
Fascism
worsens by the minute under the US-Duterte regime. In the face of a fascist dictatorship,
the people have no other choice but to resist (a healthy choice in an ailing
system). Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) is an organization composed of
health professionals, health workers, health science students, and health
advocates in the Philippines and abroad.##
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