Ka Bel's freedom regained at last!

Dear Comrades, friends and allies,

Great news! Rep. Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran will very soon walk free from unjust detention! Various people's organizations immediately gathered and rejoiced this afternoon over the Supreme Court's decision to junk the trumped up rebellion cases against Ka Bel, the Batasan 5 and other progressive leaders. (Along with a couple of articles below are our wholehearted thanks for your solidarity.)

We owe this not to the Supreme Court but to the local and international mass movement that caught the world's attention and created overwhelming international pressure on the Philippine government to free Ka Bel. We thank the hundreds of organizations in at least 33 countries that have thrown their support for Ka Bel in various ways - solidarity messages to Ka Bel, protest letters to the government, picket protests in Philippine embassies, fact-finding missions and solidarity visits - all these have sustained and even heightened Ka Bel's morale all throughout his 15 years of incarceration.

But the fight for freedom and justice isn't over yet - the real criminals must be made pay for the 15 months of injustice on Ka Bel and the toiling masses that he represents; for arresting Rep. Ka Satur Ocampo, and attempting to arrest Representatives Ka Paeng Mariano, Liza Maza, Teddy Casino, Joel Virador and several other leaders of the progressive people's movement; for the continuing political repression and extra-judicial killings that had claimed lives of hundreds of labor and peasant activists and human rights fighters. Also, we must ensure that comrade Dennis Maga, spokesperson for the Free Ka Bel Movement, is not arrested or worse when he returns home to the Philippines after exposing Pres. Arroyo's human rights violations in New Zealand.

Let us press the Philippine government to immediately, without any delay, implement the Supreme Court Order to Free Ka Bel. Let us continue calling on Pres. Arroyo to Stop Political Persecution, Harrasment and Extra-Judicial Killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.

This week, Pres. Arroyo's three consecutive state visits in Japan, New Zealand and Australia were all hounded by protests. We ask you to encourage your allies, friends and comrades in Italy, Germany, Portugal and China, where Mrs. Arroyo will next set foot on, to echo our calls for freedom and justice. On June 03, Pres. Arroyo will be in Rome, Italy for the canonization of the Blessed Marie Eugenie, from which she will fly to Lisbon, Germany to meet with Pres. Anibal Cavaco Silva, as well as to visit the Shrine of the Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima. She will then proceed to Portugal to meet with the Filipino community, and later will head for China.

Through our solidarity, we regained Ka Bel's freedom.
Through our solidarity, we will find freedom and justice for all the oppressed.
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!