In the Philippines as elsewhere in the world,

symbols of US imperialism should be exposed and resisted!

The fourth of July is most popularly known in the world as the commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America (USA) from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776, during the time of the American Revolution. Ironically in the Philippines, the fourth of July is a symbol of US imperialism, but cleverly disguised as the “Philippine-American Friendship Day”.

This so-called “Friendship Day” was designated by the late Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the Philippines by the joint Filipino and American forces from the Imperial Japanese occupation at the end of World War II. It should be noted that during the Second World War, the Philippine Islands was already under US dominion (except for a large part of Mindanao and Sulu where there was an on-going resistance at that time, primarily waged by the Bangsa Moro) by virtue of the Treaty of Paris approved in 1899 which “legalized” the selling of the Philippine Islands by the then losing Spanish colonizers to the United States in the amount of twenty million dollars.

The designation of the fourth of July as the “Philippine – American Friendship Day” was made in order to strengthen the propaganda of US imperialism that they are liberators and not colonizers – that they are friends and not enemies. This is designed to perpetuate the imperialist interest even into the minds of the people by creating an angelic image of the new oppressor.

However, no matter how clever the imperialist and their local cohorts in trying to fool the people, they cannot escape from history as written by the nationalist and progressive historians of the country, and from the constant expositions and resistance of the activists and revolutionaries. The various revolutionary, nationalists and socialists movements in the country will surely continue to expose and resist the domination and exploitation of US imperialism in the country in whatever forms.

The KKK for its part, have been consistent and vocal in its works against the US military presence and intervention in Mindanao in the guise of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Balikatan Military Exercises and the various Humanitarian Aids in the forms of Medical and Relief Missions by US Soldiers and through millions of project grants through agencies like the USAID and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) instrument The Asia Foundation (TAF). Further, the KKK, along with other left blocks in the country have exposed that by means of cooptation, corruption, good publicity and diplomacy, among others, the US played an active role in the peace process in Mindanao in order to best serve the US imperialist interest of further exploiting the vast natural resources and possible gas and petroleum reserves in the island. In fact, for some years now there is already an on-going oil exploration by an American Petroleum Company in Sulu.

With the new Aquino government in the Philippines, the KKK is expecting for a strengthened US-Philippine relationship and the intensification of US intervention in the affairs of the country. It is a known fact that the US supported the new President Noynoy Aquino last May 2010 elections using various instrumentalities. In Philippine history, no President was ever elected without the support of the US.

The KKK is calling the multitude of young peoples to never forget that the hands of the imperialists are tainted with blood of our martyrs. Let us not forget the barbaric massacres (including the elderly, women and children) they made like the Bud Dahu Massacre in Sulu. Let us not forget that they are the ones who rescued the late Dictator Marcos from the Malacañang Palace and gave him a safe haven in Hawaii. Let us not forget that they have been exploiting our natural resources for many decades and they want to exploit more.

Let us not forget that they are the champion of Capitalism and they control the IMF and the WB. They are responsible, along with local cohorts, in the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) in the country, along with the program of Deregulation, Liberalization, and Privatization, which destroyed our local economy and brought the people into abject poverty.

Let us continue and intensify this struggle as our contribution to the worldwide struggle against imperialism and social justice!

Andy M. Razil, Spokesperson, KKK

The Katipunan ng mga Kabataang Kadre is an autonomous youth organisation that supports the RPM-M