TaLkingPoiNts aldo, Isis International T Mayang Political Violence, The State and the Anti-State

by Miriam Coronel Ferrer

This paper discusses the Philippine context of a state facing off with socialist revolutionary groups threatening its power. However, the typical solution is violence, specially now that the government’s anti- communist stance is now re-stated as anti-terrorism. Meanwhile, anti-state forces also use violence to challenge state power.

66 Talking Points No.2 2006 WOMEN IN ACTION 7

5 For centuries, national security Reports of de facto curfews, arbitrary options of states straddled between two searches, harassment, imposition of the approaches: one based on power, the cedula, and mopping up operations, reflect other based on peace. The first option, that the classic counter-insurgency power, may be better said as “power approach of draining the fish of its over” or the principle of domination water continues. To suffocate the fish, over the groups posing a challenge to the water is contained, drained or the state—its policies, actions, and more rendered unable to resist military fundamentally, its nature. “Power over,” pressure. at the minimum, aims to neutralise, and at the maximum exterminate, eliminate, These methods have been referred to subjugate contending forces in the name as “collective impact measures.” This of the state and its desired attributes— type of measures intends to hurt the sovereignty, stability, survival. At a populace in order to render them glance, this approach seems to be the submissive. A local resident who gets only logical option for a weak state, killed in the process is seen as collateral whose very weakness forces it to make damage to the intent. a show of being strong. Collective impact measures also function The second approach is peace—that is, as “collective punishment.” Residents to seek peace as a precondition to and/ are scolded and threatened for acts or an outcome of security. This deemed sympathetic to the enemy. In approach is founded on the core values general assemblies recently held in of tolerance, pluralism, and dialogue, the Central Luzon by the military under exact opposite of the values in the first General , a former approach: intolerance, exclusivity, brute commander of the , force and monologue. It involves state- residents are beseeched and courted, building through much needed reforms. entertained with songs and sexy dancers Its guiding principle is “do no (more) in exchange for their sympathies. They harm” to the situation as it is. are urged to speak out despite the asymmetry in the situation: unarmed, Collective impact measures poor farmers facing fully armed lieutenants, colonels, and generals. But What we have been witnessing in the when they speak out and complain of in the last years is an internal abuses of government soldiers, they are security approach founded on the state’s reprimanded and accused of being attempt to dominate and subjugate “influenced” by the insurgents or by critical socio-political forces. Its guiding being members of the New Peoples principle is precisely to “do harm”. Army (NPA). They become the brunt It incorporates the usual military of displaced aggression, the easy target operations against communist guerillas of traumatised soldiers faced with operating in the countryside. Such an elusive “enemies.” approach relies heavily on the Philippine The unprecedented high number of army entailing the participation of state killings of political activists in the

agencies. Philippines associated with national

6 7 democratic organisations as well as other its norms, polarise, and desensitise. They The society left-wing groups in compressed time is provide fodder to counter-violence, and endures a part of this “collective punishment” diminish faith in the system and peaceful frame. The extrajudicial killings share the change. They are sure-fire formulas for high level of same features of rural community-based greater violence. They are our own criminal counter-guerilla warfare: indiscriminate “low-tech” version of weapons of mass or dismissive of the distinction between destruction which nonetheless leads to violence, combatants and non-combatants, and the same MAD-ness or “mutually and delivery clouded by “hate language” and assured destruction.” The victory they demonisation of the enemy. A slight lay claim is short-term, flaky, and one- of socio- difference is that the killings are sided. somewhat disguised: they are not done economic by men in military uniform, whereas the Multi-Layered Contexts usual counter-insurgency is marked by goods is There are multi-layered contexts on this troops descending in communities who intensified state violence against a certain limited. Its seek security and cover in numbers. institutions are social force, its various apparatuses, but The killings’ desired impact is the same: ultimately, violence or assault on the flawed; its fear, paralysis, scuttling of the citizens at large. organisational network, albeit not just in infrastructure, One context is the short term: President the local but the national sense. The goal ’s (GMA) is to break the political infrastructure deteriorating political survival. or destroyed. of the movement whose good showing in the past election under the party list The long and short of this context is system and corresponding access to pork the legitimacy question raised against her barrel funds were, from the point of administration. Here, the national view of the anti-communist state, democratic left has played a major role, alarming. National politics is after all whether in the attempts at setting off the bigger pond where the fish swim. an impeachment process or in military But here the instructions are straight to coup-cum-street protests that will force the point: kill the fish. GMA to step down. The national democratic left has also put blocks to In this power-based approach attempts of the government to manifested in collective punitive strengthen its emergency powers or measures, victory is easy to measure. insulate the presidency from the checks One is through body count: how many powers in the hands of Congress and are dead and wounded? Another is the citizens. through weapons count: how many weapons were seized? The final measure It is to the GMA presidency’s interest is on the number of communities, to weaken the multiple machineries of organisations, and people neutralized. the national democratic left through both judicial and extra-judicial means. It is to Collective impact measures create more GMA’s interest to reward the loyalty of problems due to the social tensions and key state players crucial to her political resentment they generate in the survival, notably, the military, the police communities and the affected public. and the members of Congress. It is in They erode the fabric of society, confuse

her interest to join the “coalition of the 8 6 Talking Points No.2 2006 WOMEN IN ACTION

willing” and the US-led global fight What is a failed state? Rotberg (2004) against terrorism in order to get the describes it as one marked by enduring backing and material support of US violence, though not necessarily always President Bush. In this regard, the GMA of high level of intensity. It is tense, administration actively lobbied for the deeply conflicted, dangerous and inclusion of the Communist Party of contested bitterly by warring factions, the Philippines (CPP)-NPA in the list of with varieties of civil unrest and two or terrorist organisations of the US and more insurgencies, different degrees of European bodies – even though the communal discontent and other forms CPP-NPA does not as a rule employ of dissent directed against it and at terrorist methods like bombings. groups within it. Parts of the territory, notably the peripheral regions, are not But beyond the GMA presidency is the under its control. There is a high level state of affairs of the Philippine state – of physical insecurity among citizens, the more important, larger context. This thus they are armed or they join rebel is a question that will transcend GMA, groups. The society endures a high level and is related to but distorted by the of criminal violence, and delivery of partisan peddling of charter change. This socio-economic goods is limited. Its is the specter of not just a weak state institutions are flawed; its infrastructure, but of a disintegrating, failing state, one deteriorating or destroyed. where governance increasingly becomes unstable and short-sighted, and reforms The more recent line from General impossible. The prospects of a failed Palparan, said over one television state result from the transgressions of program recently, is almost a tacit the Marcos administration that the recognition of the situation of the country has inherited and how its political Philippines as a failing state. Only in such elites have selfishly played their games a state can his explanation for the killings in this situation. It is the bigger context make sense. According to Palparan, the where the wanton use of state violence killings are perpetuated by people taking by both civilian and political leaders, and vengeance on the NPA for the latter’s the military’s privileged role in national abuses. Queried if these people include security and national politics have soldiers, he replied in the positive, saying become even more ominous. such soldiers are probably taking revenge for the death of other soldiers. If the state were a viable state, can this kind of anarchy and lame excuse be palpable?

This is the specter of not just a weak Anti-communism and state but of a disintegrating, failing anti-terrorism state, one where governance Anti-communism as the ideological increasingly becomes unstable and foundation of and justification for the state’s excessive use of violence remains. short-sighted, and reforms The language of anti-terrorism adds a impossible. new, more contemporary twist, and locates domestic wars in the context of

the post-9/11 world order.

6 9 The language of anti-communism penetration agents cannot be simply remains effective, given a general forgotten without full retribution and antipathy to communism, and an honest accounting before former and increasing alienation of the citizenry to present comrades and the greater public. national politics. To those who have fallen The ghosts of murdered comrades will for this anti-communist “rhetorical haunt the party forever. And though not hysteria,” the killings are not a case of particularly convincing to explain away “slaughter of innocents” given that these the recent spate of political killings people are somehow allied with the CPP- among those who study their politics, NPA. They do not think much about and revolting for the disrespect shown the fact that slaughter remains slaughter; the dead lying in mass graves, the purges that the basic principle of respect for of the 80s and 90s will remain scraps human life and human dignity is for to poke around with, in the Armed everyone, including the enemy number Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and one of the state, and yes, including police forces’ operations against the terrorists; that there are rules even in insurgents. war that must be followed, notably distinction between those who carry In all, taken in the context of an arms and those who do not. Meanwhile, untransformed state and reform- business executives and professionals resistant state elites, the language of anti- may be morally aghast at the unabated communism coupled with anti-terrorism killings of alleged communists, but are is actually anti-left. Thus while many not motivated enough to put pressure human rights and peace advocates have to stop it, until somehow, it starts hurting differences with the communist left and their economic interests, or their oppose terrorist methods, these immediate environment. The middle advocates cannot tolerate the rhetorical class will continue to fight for their own hysteria of anti-communism/terrorism. means of survival regardless of the They cannot be unconcerned with the course of Philippine politics. killings of branded communists/ terrorists. However, class analysis alone cannot explain part of the lingering potency of Ways Out anti-communism. Part of the effectiveness of the language of anti- What, then, is the central political communism and resultant alienation is question of today? During the martial also due to the CPP-NPA-NDF law regime and even during People themselves—their excesses such as the Power 2, the answer seemed simple revolutionary taxation of rich and poor enough: Marcos, in the case of the and infliction of punishments; own former, and Joseph Estrada, in the pandering of violence and machismo; case of the latter. Today, the their inclusivity and dogmatic framing Philippines has to find the answers of Philippine society and politics; and beyond GMA. their counter-monologue to the state’s The Philippines must resolve how to anti-communist mantra. The purges of deal with armed challenges faced by the 80s and 90s where the CPP killed the state: resolution through conquest

members suspected of being deep 0 7 Talking Points No.2 2006 WOMEN IN ACTION of power by a dominant force using autonomy; and putting more resources force, or through sustainable, inclusive in the educational system so that education peace through peaceful means. The is provided for all, and it is the kind of state has been pursuing the former; it education where the values of human is time to put more stake in the latter. rights and peace are at the core. But this can only be done if critical mass is achieved in forcing the state to Correspondingly, counter-violence as the take this direction. better or best way to fight state violence cannot be accepted. Civil society must work for a sustainable change founded on human rights and The Philippine society is festering in a dignity—or a peace process alongside culture of violence—violence that begets pursuit of specific reforms. There are violence that dehumanises the victims key critical areas where state reforms are and the perpetrators, reduces all forums needed and where civil society should to monologues, and elevates killing to spread out and simultaneously intervene: the status of a national sport. The reform of the electoral institutions and country finds in its midst self-righteous processes; reform of the security sector protagonists out to lay claim to their rights while blinded by their dogma and politics to the rights of others. There is much to untangle in the orthodoxy of class antagonism, of class struggle being necessarily violent, the state being the instrument of the ruling class, and the primacy of armed struggle in achieving political change. There is much to question about the soundness of the Maoist injunction to encircle the cities from the countryside as the route to revolutionary victory, of the national democratic revolution as a stepping stone to a socialist revolution. Certainly, people should discuss and debate these but not kill each other.

There should be a discussion on how to reach some national consensus to best aldo, Isis International-Manila T achieve social and political change. Without a shared norm or ground rules, Mayang and a consensual road map, the like the cleansing and professionalisation Philippines is doomed as a nation. of the military and police; enhancing The campaign against political killings of governance processes such as the leftwing activists requires focused, case- depoliticisation and upgrading of the specific response directed against the bureaucracy, strengthening of local perpetrators and their chain of

governments leading to greater

7 1 command. It also compels citizens to ask Human rights, peace, and development hard questions about the national security workers, students and other groups orientation and national security policies should come together to work for new of the state and concerned agencies. politics, the kind of politics that makes a firm stand against political violence. Hence, advocacy should be extended to become a campaign for a peace process; a movement against political violence as Miriam Coronel Ferrer is an Associate a whole, promoting human rights and Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Philippines; extracting accountability from all parties; She is also Co-convener, Sulong - a dialogue for norms founded on life- Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for affirming means and ends; a national Human Rights and International quest for peace built on respect for Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) human rights.

References: Buzan, Barry. 1983. People States & Fear, The National Security Problem in International Relations. Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Rotberg, Robert . 2004. When States Fail, Causes and Consequence. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Soyinka, Wole. 2004. Climate of Fear. London: Profile Books Ltd. Stepanova, Ektarina. 2003. Anti-terrorism and Peace-building During and After Conflict. Stockholm:

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2 7 Talking Points