Political prisoner
speaks out
political prisoners and working for the release of his comrades.
We publish below an interview conducted by Deb Snookal when Satur was still in prison.
Question. What has been the are so many cases of murders, disimpact of the August 1983 assas- appearances, and so on. What did sination of Benigno Aquino? Has the Aquino mean to the Filipino people? movement against Marcos become A. At first when Aquino was stronger in the last year? killed, some people thought that
Answer. Definitely yes. This is he was just one of the victims ot particularly true of the open, legal the military depredations. But in democratic movement, although there the course of the popular response has also been an intensification of the of the people, of the protest and armed struggle in the countryside. anger against the regime, Aquino's
Before the assassination of Aquino, murder became an oustanding example the street demonstrations were essent- that the regime or those responsible ially made up of workers, students, for these killings and "salvagings" and the more radical side of the [summary executions] would not opposition to Marcos. But in the wake respect even those in the elite of of the Aquino assassination the so- Filipino society. called legal forces, including the representatives of business, more church Q. What would be your balance people, and more the dutiful, sheet of the May parliamentary conservative elements of society, saw elections? It has been suggested that the truth - that if a man of Aquino's Marcos used the elections to present a stature could be done away with facade of democracy to improve his in the way he was killed, then it could international image. (See IV No 59). happen to anybody. A. Even before the assassination,
So it was something like a catalyst. the regime was already in need of a The people sought some catharsis political exercise that would improve for their hatred, for their pent-up its image internationally. The election anger against the regime. This became of the regular parliament was one way worse as the economic crisis worsened, Marcos tried to prove that there is with the flight of some capital and a workable democracy in this country. nervousness in the business com- Because of the demands of the opposimunity. Then there was also the tion and of the people who are prorepatriation of foreign exchange by testing the undemocratic way the people who had been investing here or government has been running affairs, who had been keeping their money Marcos was pressured into granting in banks here. some electoral reforms.
With the aid of the National Move-
Q. The Aquino assassination, of ment for Free Elections (NAMFREL), course, has only been one more the businessmen, and the Bishops' incident in which the Marcos govern- Conference, they were able to get ment has been implicated. There some improvement in the rules by 14 which the elections were conducted.
pl
The militant monitoring by
NAMFREL of the elections provided m some credibility to the results of the th elections, particularly in metropolitan
Manila, where the KBL [New Society re
Movement] of Marcos was trounced.
se
Q. What was the significance of
Di the boycott campaign?
pc
A.
The boycott campaign was the manifestation of the people, the
SU broader opposition to Marcos, which m did not consider the parliamentary elections as essentially responding to the need for change.
fo
But as it turned out, the boycott movement had very little time. And be while it was able th of support, it was not able to counterrel act the great enthusiasm of the people ra.
ar the Marcos government through the ch be
This indicated that a lot of Filipinos
0g may be a way out of this undemoc-
US ratic government. But Marcos intranholds on to Amendment
US
Six, which authorizes him to make decrees and override parliamentary an ar decisions, including on questions of wl budget allocations. So it's becoming op de
[parliament] voting might have been
a useless exercise from the point of view of effectively eroding or doing en away with the dictatorial authority po de pe
Of course, I grant that the Batasan can be a sounding board for the th people's sentiments. But in terms of tic achieving significant changes in the
WE government, there's very little chance on through parliament.
ba
Q.
What do you see as the main program of reforms needed in the be
Philippines today?
th
A.
What the parliament streets' has been calling for is the destruction of the dictatorship. But this is tied up completely with the
Fr economic strangulation of the Philipwh
One month after the death of Ageno -
BAN
STICE R
IR AL
International Viewpoint 16 September 1985 pines by foreign interests.
The political and economic change must be achieved in tandem, although the key is the dismantling or removal of the Marcos dictatorship and its replacement with a government that would be representative of the various sectors of society. Some, like Jose
Diokno and •Lorenzo Tanada [opposition political figures], call this a coalition government. Basically I support this kind of transition government.
How united are the anti-Marcos Well, compared with the period before the assassination some cleavages within the ranks of the opposition, in particular arguments about though I think this could be ironed out through earnest dialogue among all the opposition forces.
What are the options for the US government in the Philippines?
From the statements of the US State Department and the US ambassador to the Philippines, they are still opting for a unification of what they call the "democratic opposition." When I talk about the democratic opposition, it is not the same terminology as the American embassy. They mean the traditional politicians. When we talk about the democratic opposition we mean the people's organizations.
In the case of the United States, they are trying to tie up all the traditional opposition groups and drive a wedge between the left and the traditional opposition. They know there is a basic influence of the left within the mass movement. Whether they will be able to build an opposition minus the left remains to be seen.
Q. How would support for the National Democratic Front (NDF) opposition in which the New People's Army (NPA) • - the people demonstrate (DR)
WANASA, AND USTICE NA PAGH POLITICAL MARIGAGH and the CPP participate?
better known internationally than it is here. Here the people identify more
New People's Army, which is a component of the NDF. As an idea, the
NDF is very acceptable, even to some sections of the middle forces.
The government accepts that there has been an expansion in both the number of fighters and the strength of armaments of the NPA, although it tries to play this down by saying that the situation is not as serious as 1972, which is not accurate.
What is the effect of the militarization of the countryside by the army, the hamletting of peasant communities, and so on?
particularly "salvaging,"
hamletting, torture, etc. These activities are helping to politicize
Marcos government. The only alternis the NPA, because it is the one most responsive to their basic problems and grievances.
However much the government tries to counter the NPA, they will never be successful in their "civic action"
counterinsurgency
Q. The NPA is said to organize its own local government administration in some areas. Would you describe these as similar to the liberated zones in El Salvador?
As far as the level of armed struggle in the Philippines is concerned, there has not been any claim yet of liberated zones. But they are classified as guerrilla zones, that is, guerrilla bases that are relatively advanced. These bases, when consolidated, would get to the level of liberated zones.
But even in the guerrilla zones there already the infrastructure of a government in the villages, the Barangays [village councils]. In some areas it is the government structure itself which is utilized; in others it is an alternative form.
As the area of the armed struggle by the NPA expands, the villages are consolidated into self-governing units defense, health, education, and administration.
Q. Could you tell me something about your case?
A. In the "rebellion" case, it is my contention that I should not be rebellion entails taking up arms against the government. The crime I am alleged to have committed was at a time when I was working as a journalist, that is in 1972. So not have been a participant
You have been charged with organizing the import of arms from a presumably
People's Republic of China, in this rebellion case.
of "subversion"
and "rebellion," they want to prove that I am a member of the Central of the Communist Party of the Philippines and by implication responsibility for I deny both accusations, and it is up to the military prosecution to prove that I am a member of the
Central Committee and that I am responsible or partially responsible for the bringing in of arms.
Is it true that Jose
Sison has not denied that he is the chairman of the CPP?
He has a statement which he signed in which he says he was chair.
man of the CPP. In my case I have refused to sign such a statement, knowing it would be used against me
Q When I spoke to the military's prosecuting lawyers, I asked them about the use of torture to exact confessions. They denied this, course. Could you explain your own case?
A The documentation of my torture has been submitted to Amnesty International and has also been well- publicized by the Task Force Detainees. In 1978 an investigation was ordered after my complaints of torture. But nothing happened because there were no witnesses to corroborate my contentions. But of course there are never witnesses to torture. It's all on their side.
Q What have been tions during your eight and a half years' imprisonment?
A. For the first nine months after my arrest I was in solitary confinement. Then for five months in 1980 and 1981 I was put in solitary again because I was accused of leading a hunger strike of the detainees.
Q. Do you think the hunger strike tactic was effective?
A. Up to 1981 it was effective. The best hunger strike we had was in November-December 1980 when 133 of us went on strike. About 100 of these won their release.
But after that we haven't been able to win many concessions with hunger strikes. So last year we changed our tactics. Instead of the prisoners alone going on hunger strikes, the relatives and friends went on hunger strike outside. But even that did not move Marcos into releasing most of us.
SWEDEN
Democrats had done in the governbec the workers need and ment that hol another voice besides those of the ago two bigger workers parties. And then pec