Greetings of Peace!
Kalipunan (or Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa) is a gathering of social movements that came together in the face of rising authoritarianism in the country. It consists of the labour movements SENTRO and Partido Manggagawa (PM), the World March of Women (WMW), PILIPINA, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), PAKISAMA, USAD-Ateneo, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) and the biggest urban poor movements Kilos Maralita (KM) and Urban Poor Alliance (UP ALL).
Following the extra-judicial killings, burial of the former dictator Marcos, and promotion of death policies by the Duterte administration, was the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao, using the Maute attacks in Marawi last May 23 as the pretext.
Our members and leaders in Mindanao have been responding to abuses of Martial Law. We have been mobilizing and calling for humanitarian interventions, a stop to the bombings and to violence against women (given the President’s rape remark), to lift Martial Law, and for an inclusive peace process. However, we feel that further reflection is called for to shift our actions to a more decisive level.
We understand that it is our duty as social movements to deepen our constituents’ understanding of the conflict, and create greater awareness where we are present, in the face of deliberate misinformation and the sowing of fear by interest groups. The situation demands of us who can mobilize and are grassroots-based, to educate and push for a counter-narrative to the government’s justification of Martial Law and intensification of armed operations in Mindanao and the country at-large.
Towards this, we invite you to join our grassroots leaders in a forum on “Reclaiming Peace, Demystifying Terror.”
This will be July 22, 2017 (Saturday), 2:00 PM at Faber Hall (Rizal Library), Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan, Quezon City.
Confirmed resource speakers for this forum are:
- Archbishop Tony Ledesma (Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro)
- Aleem Mahmod Mala Adilao (Ulama League of the Philippines)
- Raissa Jajurie (ARMM)
- Timuay Alim Bandara (Loyukan) tbc
(Sgd.) (Sgd.)
Jean Enriquez (WMW) Jaybee Garganera (ATM)
Co-convener, Kalipunan Co-Convenor, Kalipunan
