(We yield this space to the statement of the Center for Women’s Resources due to its significance. – Ed.)
THE WOMEN of Center for Women’s Resources join the nation in commemorating the 1986 People Power that overthrew the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and in remembering those who fell victims －killed, tortured, abducted, jailed, assaulted, raped－ during the dark days of Marcos dictatorship.
Three decades have passed yet the shadows of tyranny continue to haunt us. Despite the charges filed against them, the Marcoses continue to consolidate power, wealth and influence both in local and national governments.
Worse, the current administration perpetuates tyrannical rule with nationwide de facto martial law －red-tagging and crackdown of activists, extrajudicial killings, and amassing wealth and power. The threat continues because the United States-backed security framework remains as the guiding principle of the government in handling peace and security. As long as the government continues to be beholden to the US dictates, tyranny will persist and human rights violations will aggravate.
Such intervention is happening in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, where US president Donald Trump is brazenly urging other western powers to endorse an unknown self-proclaimed president so as to topple the elected government of President Nicolás Maduro. In a totalitarian doublespeak, the western powers disguise their intervention as upholding democracy, their invasion as waging peace. This is how the western powers led by the United States government distort their action against the Venezuelan people.
Thus, we are in solidarity with the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela who remain steadfast amid the imperialist intervention led by the United States government. We stand with all the nations that struggle for genuine democracy and we condemn any foreign intervention that threatens their sovereignty.
Historically, any western power intervention as well as its support to a tyrannical ruler results to bloody uprisings. Moreso, history teaches us that only the people have the power to defeat an enormous enemy.
We urge the public to never forget the horrors of martial law and to continue to struggle for genuine democracy. We stand with all the activists －then and now－ in demanding for justice and accountability. We likewise urge every patriotic Filipino to denounce any foreign-backed security program that threatens our freedom and sovereignty.
The current struggles of the Philippines and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela against imperialist powers may be triumphed over when people collectively assert their rights and fight for their liberation.
