By Prof. JOSE MARIA SISON
Chairperson, International League of Peoples' Struggle

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS), convey our most militant greetings of solidarity to the Asia-Wide Campaign against US-Japanese domination and aggression of Asia (AWC)  on the occasion of the 15th Campaign Coordinating Body (CCB) meeting and its-related activities from January 27, 2012 to February 1, 2012 in South Korea.

We are glad  to know that among those attending the AWC-CCB meeting In Seoul on January 28029 are  AWC Japan, AWC Korea Committee, BAYAN Philippines, Labor Rights Association in Taiwan, ANSWER Coalition-US, KASAMMA-KO and Indonesian activists. Various activists of people's organizations in South Korea, including KCTU, are expected to  join the open forum.

We are deeply pleased that the delegations will proceed to Jeju Island  in order to show solidarity and support for the people who are resisting the construction of a new naval base in Gangjeong village, Jeju. It is of urgent necessity that the people of East Asia and the whole world oppose  the scheme of the US and Japan to increase war preparations and provocations in East Asia.

We admire and salute the AWC for having served since its formation in 1992 as a network of people's organizations in the Asia-Pacific region and for having promoted joint campaigns and activities of mutual support along the anti-imperialist and democratic line. Member organizations have cooperated to fight against the imperialists and the reactionary governments. We are proud of the AWC as a reliable and outstanding ally and we are grateful that organizations in AWC have joined the ILPS.

We appreciate highly the successful joint actions initiated by AWC against the conferences of such imperialist-controlled agencies like WTO, APEC and G8 which have promoted neoliberal globalization and likewise against the imperialist wars of aggression, military intervention and the repression of the people in various countries. The AWC has excelled in demanding the withdrawal of all US forces from Asia and respect for the national sovereignty and democratic rights of the people.

It is of urgent importance to confront the rapidly worsening crisis of the world capitalist system and the aggravation of mass unemployment and poverty among the workers and people. The imperialists continue to intensify exploitation and plunder in order to shift further the burden of crisis to the people. In Asia-Pacific region, they are pushing the negotiations on bilateral and multilateral FTAs/EPAs, such as the Korea-U.S Free Trade Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and even Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) plan.

At the same time, the US has announced the refocusing of its overseas military forces on the Asia-Pacific region. It is openly saying that it is counteracting and encircling China and threatening and pressuring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The construction of the new naval base in Jeju island, South Korea, the  consolidation and realignment of US bases in Japan, and re-stationing of U.S troops in Philippines are all within the context of serving the aggressive US strategy and are raising military tensions in the region.

The US is deliberately making war provocations on the DPRK in order to continue dominating South Korea and perpetuating its pivotal security alliance with Japan. It is also stirring up tensions in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, in order to have a pretext for re-establishing military bases in the Philippines. It is using its military bases in the Pacific Ocean and Australia to backstop trouble-making in East Asia. It is trying in vain to use military power to impose its hegemony on a region that can produce everything for its needs.

The ever worsening crisis of the world capitalist system is resulting in the escalation of oppression and exploitation as well as fascism and war. But the proletariat and the people are rising up in resistance in the imperialist countries as well as in the dominated countries. The Occupy Wall Street Movement has inspired similar protest actions all over the US against the monopoly bourgeoisie and the financial oligarchy and against the wars of aggression and state terrorism. Massive protests and general strikes have also broken out  in West and East European countries against the debt crisis and the austerity measures being adopted at the further expense of the people.

The broad masses of the people have risen up and brought down long running despots in the Middle East and North Africa. And they are striving hard to stay on the road of anti-imperialist and democratic resistance because the imperialist powers headed by the US are also busy trying to preserve the ruling system with  reactionary cliques of their choice. Elsewhere in the world are armed revolutionary movements of the people against imperialist aggression and occupation and against reactionary ruling systems.

The AWC is holding its CCB  meeting at a time  of grave crisis for the monopoly bourgeoisie, great challenges, upheavals and people's uprisings in the world. We urge you to rise to the occasion and decide to do what you can in order to contribute to the struggle and advance of the people towards greater freedom, democracy, social justice all-round development and peace.

We wish the AWC to achieve the utmost success in holding the CCB meeting as a way of exchanging updates, ideas and proposals among the participants and adopting the over-all plan of joint campaigns for 2012, including those  against US military bases and nuclear power plants. We hope that your meeting will result in raising the people's anti-imperialist and democratic struggle to a new and higher level.