ATİK

The heroic child of the Filipino working class’ Crispin Beltran is immortal!

The great leader of the working class, the chairperson of the 3 turn of the Anakpawis Party, parliamentarian and great fighter for independence, democracy and of the solidarity of the international working class, and at the same time the first chairperson and later on honourable chairperson of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) Crispin Beltran or as the oppressed masses called him’ Ka Bel has passed away on May 20^th with 75 years.

Ka Bel leaves behind a live full of an honourable and shining struggle, within the working class and the oppressed masses. His live of struggle started already in a very young age during the Japanese invasion, he then was working as a guerrilla currier. After the war, in order to accomplish his education he worked as a farmer and doorkeeper; he worked at the gas station, as currier and as bus and cab driver. When he became 20 years old he took place in a strike against the unjust working conditions of the cab drivers. The strike was attacked by the police and 3 people were killed and many were injured.

This drove Crispin Beltran to the decision to struggle on the side of the working class. He formed the union for cab drivers and was its spokesperson from 1953-1966. He organised together with the other working class leaders the Filipino Working Confederation. From 1963-1972 he was assistant chairperson of the confederation. During the time of the Marcos dictatorship when martial law was declared Ka Bel, took place in the formation of the Union Federation in Rizal and the National Workers Organisation of the Philippines.

 He took also place in the formation of the biggest union in the Philippines, the KMU in 1980. From 1980 the number of members in the KMU increased from 100.000 to 500.000. KMU didn’t only remain as an organisation for the economical demands of the working class, at the same time it became one of the main focus points of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship and fascism. Marcos prohibited a strike in 1982 and Ka Bel was amongst the arrested activists.

 In 1984 he fled as a militant leader of the working class to the mountains and started to be part of the organising of workers and peasant’s mass organisations. When in 1987 the KMU chairperson Roland “Lando” Olalia was brutally murdered Ka Bel was chosen as the new chair. In the same year, he participated under the flag of Parti ng Bayan in the senate elections and became 1.52 million votes. But with the adulteration of the ruling classes he was not able to win the elections. He continued until March 2003 as a militant working class leader to be in the service of the working masses.

At the same time, Ka Bel was a National Congress member of Bayan which takes place in many fields of the struggle of the oppressed masses. After Crispin was elected chairperson of the ILPS in 2001, he became a well-kwon person in our country. During his time as chairperson he travelled to Turkey and formed relations with many revolutionary, democratic institutions.

During the time of 2001-2003 he was assistant chair at Bayan Muna and one of the three representatives. In 2004 he became a representative of Anakpawis Party. Ka Bel was in the end of 2006 arrested by the Macapagal Arroyo government and imprisoned for one and a half year. He was released in October 2007.

Comrade Beltran, never stopped his militant class struggle during the time of the Marcos dictatorship or during the time of the Arroyo government, when he passed away into immortality on May 20^th, we salute his live that was dedicated to the service of the working class and oppressed people.

          -Crispin Beltran is Immortal! Long Live the Social Liberation Struggle of the Philippines!

        -Long live international Solidarity! Comrade Crispin Beltran will live in our struggle!

Signatories; ILPS Turkey, Partizan Magazine, ATIK, HITIF, ITIF, FITIF,ATIGF, FITIF, ATIG-YDG, ATIK Woman Commission, Yeni Kadin

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