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Ezekiel
20th March 2007, 09:04
http://images.inq7.net/news/nation/images/2005/feb/07/0207npawed3b.jpg
"Revolutionary Lifestyles
February 22, 2005 9:42 AM
Wedded by the revolution...
"Dare to struggle, dare to win ... as married gays. After raiding a few Army camps, two communist guerrillas hid in a forest gorge and fell in love. Deeply. That was three years ago. On Friday, under a romantic drizzle in a muddy clearing in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao, Ka Andres and Ka Jose exchanged vows in a heavily guarded ceremony before local villagers, friends from the city and their comrades in arms.
They are considered the first homosexual couple in the New People's Army (NPA) who were wed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)."


Note the following (from the linked article) - and notice how traditional revolutionary puritanism is giving way to a more rational view of sexuality:

On gay relations

"[We] conducted painstaking discussions to make comrades understand gay relations and gay rights," Andres said.

"Gay cadres adhere to the strong Party discipline. They enhance the prestige of gays in the movement. This has gained positive results through the years. Comrades (male and female) and even the masses have learned to respect and recognize gays and their contribution to the revolution," he said.

As early as 1995, the CPP's Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee started to discuss gay rights in the movement.

In 1998, a provision on gay relations and same-sex marriage was added to the CPP's guiding policy on relations contained in a document titled "On the Proletarian Relationship of Sexes (OPRS)."

Under the OPRS, the communist movement is committed to guide and ensure there is no exploitation in any relationship-heterosexual or homosexual."


http://www.workers.org/world/2005/npa2.jpg

New Peoples Army recognizes same-sex marriage
By LeiLani Dowell
Published Feb 17, 2005 11:23 PM

On Feb. 4, the New People's Army (NPA) conducted the first same-sex marriage in the Philippines. Two guerrilla fighters who have participated in the armed struggle against the pro-U.S. regime in Manila, Ka Andres and Ka Jose, exchanged their vows before their comrades, friends and local villagers.

The ceremony was full of symbolic imagery of the two comrades' commitment to each other as members of a couple, as well as their commitment to the revolutionary struggle. The two men held each other's hand throughout the wedding, and a bullet in the other as a representation of their commitment to the armed struggle.

During the ceremony, Ka Andres and Ka Jose were draped in a sequined flag of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which was secured by a long, beaded rope around the couple and their sponsors. The rope and flag, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, symbolized that their marriage would be made stronger with the help of both their comrades and the masses.

NPA comrades hold
first same-sex wedding.

A choir of the New People's Army serena ded the couple with revolutionary love songs.

In response to the marriage, representatives of the Philippine government have condemned the NPA for lacking religion. A spokesperson for the Air Force generals told reporters, "This proves that they have no god and their morality is very much in question."

Although proposals in support of same-sex marriage have been introduced several times to the Philippine legislature, none have passed so far.

The Progressive Organization of Gays (ProGay) responded to the NPA marriage with a challenge to the administration of President Gloria Macagapal Arroyo to enact legislation that would formalize equal rights for lesbian and gay Filipinos.

Michael Falguera, secretary general of Pro Gay, said, "Instead of branding homosexual marriages as immoral, the government should be taking steps to follow the example of the NPA by legalizing domestic partnerships and honoring gay families."

Speaking on gays in the NPA, newlywed Ka Andres said, "Gay cadres adhere to the strong party discipline. They enhance the prestige of gays in the movement. This has gained positive results through the years. Comrades (male and female) and even the masses have learned to respect and recognize gays and their contribution to the revolution."

Ka Jose said, "What we have to do now--with the help of the party--is to work on our marriage and to be strong while serving the people."

Cheung Mo
20th March 2007, 14:55
I can think of a few "comrades" in Nepal and India who could learn from this example.

Comrade_Scott
20th March 2007, 15:24
the nepal maoists can learn alot from there filipino comrades. thats all i have to say

Severian
20th March 2007, 19:02
Originally posted by [email protected] 20, 2007 02:04 am
Note the following (from the linked article) -
You didn't link an article. And generally with this kind of stuff, you gotta ask: are they putting out the same line for domestic consumption as for foreign consumption?

In this case, apparently yes (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2005/02/09/news/davao.solons.dads.frown.on.gay.marriage.of.2.npa.r ebels.html)

The NPA's a rather different kind of organization than say, the CPN(Maoist.) You gotta look past ideological labels - what does "Maoist" really mean nowadays, if anything?

The NPA has roots going all the way back to the resistance to the Japanese occupation during WWII. It's led by the Communist Party of the Phillipines, which does also have a certain role in mass organizations and so forth.

Cheung Mo
20th March 2007, 20:17
Too bad so many Filipinos have been and are being repressed by lies of the Vatican and of the imperialist powers. Thanks to the fucking Church, you can't even legally sell most methods of birth control in that country. The Church hasn't truly reformed: It's all window dressing combined with a loss of power and influence in much of the world.

Red October
20th March 2007, 20:37
this is great news. i was discouraged my the nepali maoists stance on homosexuality, but these phillipinos have got it right. bringing gays into the movement and fully recognizing their rights and equality as people is absolutely essential to communism.

TC
20th March 2007, 20:45
You know this happened like two years ago and i'm pretty sure someone started a thread on it here at the time.


Edit: in fact it was posted in the newswire here:

http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...ndpost&p=510342 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=33513&view=findpost&p=510342)

in 05

and here:

http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...ndpost&p=508847 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=33411&view=findpost&p=508847)

also in 05

and i just posted both of those photos with a link to the article in another thread when it came up

TC
20th March 2007, 20:51
Originally posted by Red [email protected] 20, 2007 07:37 pm
this is great news. i was discouraged my the nepali maoists stance on homosexuality, but these phillipinos have got it right. bringing gays into the movement and fully recognizing their rights and equality as people is absolutely essential to communism.
I don't think its ever been established that the Maoists in Nepal are anti-gay, all of the suggestions that they are have pointed to a single source outside of the maoist movement.


Has Prachanda ever said "gays are bad, hinduism is cool", i don't think so.

Ezekiel
20th March 2007, 21:27
Yeah, I've seen this all over, and it's all from one newspaper in Australia, hostile to the revolution, if i'm not mistaken.


And yeah, I assumed that it went up here when it happened, but I thought it was relevant to repost it to present the 'other side' of the Maoist stance on homsexuality.

Severian
21st March 2007, 18:32
Originally posted by [email protected] 20, 2007 01:51 pm
I don't think its ever been established that the Maoists in Nepal are anti-gay, all of the suggestions that they are have pointed to a single source outside of the maoist movement.
Yeah, if by "one source" you mean the Blue Diamond Society, the main organization advocating rights for sexual-orientation minorities in Nepal. There isn't a lot of info on the web about gay rights in Nepal, that's for sure.

I like that "outside the Maoist movement"....

Comrades, only believe authorized Holy Writ! Do not trust any statement by infidels!