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Activities: Study Groups

 

Study Group: Fall 2003
"On Revolution and the Possibility of Pan-Asian Narratives: Maoism, Nationalism, and Globalization."

Mediators:
Vince Rafael, Department of History, UW
Robert Garcia, Resident Fellow, Project for Critical Asian Studies

 

Meeting I: Nov. 7, 3:30-5:30 (Smith 203E)
Trauma of the Unspoken: The Case of the Philippine Revolution and the Question of Violence

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA) had been a strong social movement in the Philippines that was in the forefront of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. It figured prominently in shaping the Philippines' recent political history, and still occupies an important place in the country's present political landscape. It now remains one of the longest surviving armed insurgencies in Asia and even the whole world.  

But the CPP-NPA suffers from a dark, bloody taint in its history. In the 1980s, it undertook a series of anti-infiltration purges against communist cadres and revolutionaries falsely suspected of being enemy spies, resulting in the torture and execution of thousands within its own ranks. To this day, the trauma and political repercussions of this revolutionary tragedy remain.

This is the main subject of our study, founded on the following premises:

  • Philippine economy and polity is still mired in the old fundamental defects that put the country in perpetual crisis and keeps it from attaining real progress. Also, the Philippine State, through its military machinery, was responsible for numerous acts of atrocity against the opposition, many victims of which were members of the CPP-NPA. These were considered blatant human rights violations upon which many human rights groups in the Philippines were founded. These had been the principal targets of criticism from the progressive sectors in Philippine society.

  • The CPP-NPA, on the other hand, as a non-State political entity, committed acts of similar nature "particularly, but not solely, through the purges" and thus cannot be spared from critical scrutiny.
    The purges resulted in widespread trauma that was, by and large, kept silent and unspoken of. Now, with renewed attention to the phenomenon, it is subjected to conflicting sets of interpretations that are highly political and partisan in nature.

  • Arguably, the CPP-NPA continues to commit "crimes against humanity" in the present - this time in the form of intimidation of perceived enemies and direct political assassinations.

It is against this backdrop where the study will be situated, giving focus on (1) the peculiar kind of trauma suffered from one's own; (2) the phenomenon of deliberate infliction of social suffering and the perpetuation and contagion of cruelty; and (3) the discourses arising from this tragedy.

Readings:

To Suffer thy Comrades: Excerpts and Critiques

The 'Left Purges' and Their Implication on Human Rights

  • Bonifacio Ilagan, Chair. 2003." First Quarter Storm Movement. " Bulatlat.com Vol.3 (4). (Reflecting the official view of the CPP on the Purges)
  • Atty. Soliman M. Santos Jr. 2003. "The Human Rights Implications of the Left Purge." Philippine European Solidarity Centre, Feb, 2003 at http://www.philsol.nl/A03a/HRLeftPurge-SSantos-feb03.htm (A Legal Perspective on the CPP's Human Rights record)

Other Articles on the Purges and Left Violence

  • Bulatlat.com. 2002. "NDF’s Jalandoni Speaks on ‘Kampanyang Ahos’ " Bulatlat Vol. 2(14). (Perspective of the National Democratic Front)
  • Pierre Rousset. 2003. "The Post-1992 CPP Assassination Policy in the Philippines." Philippine European Solidarity Centre, July 2003 at http://www.philsol.nl/A03b/CPPAssPol-Rousset-jul03.htm
  • Earl G. Parreño. 2003."Comrade vs. Comrade." Newsbreak Vol.3 (6):28-29.
  • Robert Francis Garcia. 2003. "Between a rock and a hard place." Inq7.Net  Feb. 22, 2003 at http://www.inq7.net/opi/2003/feb/22/opi_commentary1-1.htm
  • Conrado de Quiros. 2003. "The Worst Enemy." Inq7.Net May 14, 2003 at
    http://www.inq7.net/opi/2003/may/14/opi_csdequiros-1.htm
  • Joel Rocamora. 2002. "Democracy and Communism." Institute for Popular Democracy, 14 September 2002.
    Patricio N. Abinales. 2003. "Rollie Kintanar and his Killers, Part II" UP Forum Online, April 2003 at http://www.up.edu.ph/forum/2003/Apr03/heresies.html
  • Ricardo B. Reyes. "Time to Disclose Everything."
  • Nathan Gilbert Quimpo. 2003. "Why Kintanar Was Killed - The Real Story" Philippine European Solidarity Centre, Jan. 2003 at http://www.philsol.nl/A03a/Kintanar-Quimpo-jan03.htm

 

Meeting II: Nov. 21, 3:30-5:30 (Smith 203E)
Revolution, Nationalism, and Globalization in Asia


The second meeting was devoted to readings and discussion of broader and comparative issues related to revolution, nationalism, and globalization in Asia. What made it possible for Maoism to spread in Asia? What is the relationship between communism and globalization? If revolution was in some ways hope for justice - at the international and national levels - through violence, how should we think about the amnesia toward injustice and history under globalization?

Readings:

  • Anderson, Perry. 2000. “Internationalism: A Breviary.” New Left Review 14: 5-25.
  • Cheah, Pheng. 1999. "Posit(ion)ing Human Rights in the Current Global Conjuncture.” In Shirley Geok-lin Lim et al.( eds.) Transnational Asia Pacific. Gender, Culture, and The Public Sphere. Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press. Pp. 11-42.
  • Eaton, Kent. 2003. "Restoration or Transformation? Trapos versus NGOs in the
    Democratization of the Philippines." Journal of Asian Studies 62: 469-496.
  • Gould, Jeffrey L. 2001. " Revolutionary Nationalism and Local Memories in EI Salvador." In Gilbert M. Joseph (ed.) Reclaiming the Political in Latin American History: Essays from the North (American Encounters/Global Interactions). Chapel Hill, Duke University Press. The chapter can be found at: http://www.duke.edu/web/las/Council/gould.html.
  • Hinton, Alexander Laban. 1998. “A Head for an Eye: Revenge in the Cambodian Genocide.” American Ethnologist 25: 352-377.
  • Hinton, Alexander Laban. 1998. “Why Did You Kill?: The Cambodian Genocide and the Dark Side of Face and Honor.” Journal of Asian Studies 57: 93-122.

 

Further background reading:

The published works of academic scholars with strong social movement background could inform this study further. It is important to see how scholarly language captures the ethos of the left, and the nuances of the revolutionary movement's written and spoken word. Some of these are:

  • Fellow Traveler. Patricio Abinales
  • Breaking Through. Joel Rocamora
  • To Suffer thy Comrades. Robert Francis Garcia
  • The Leader's View, Jose Maria Sison
  • Red Revolution. Gregg Jones,
  • Necessary Fictions. Caroline Hau
  • Edjop. Benjamin Pimentel.
  • Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage. Pete Lacaba