NOVEMBER 14, 2006

On November 16, 2006 the workers and the people of Hacienda Luisita will commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the infamous Hacienda Luisita massacre. We will be joined by individuals and organizations from all over the country and from abroad who have stood with us in our historic and victorious struggle.

We pay the highest tribute to the seven Luisita martyrs who were killed when the military and police fired at thousands of protesters at the picket line on November 16, 2004-- Jesus Laza, Jhaivie Basilio, Juancho Sanchez, Jessie Valdez, Jun David, Jaime Fastidio and Adriano Caballero; and our leaders and supporters who were likewise murdered by state agents-- Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union president Ricardo Ramos, ULWU director Tirso Cruz, peasant leaders Marcelino Beltran and Ben Concepcion, Bayan Muna secretary-general Florante Collantes, Tarlac City councilor Abelardo Ladera and Iglesia Filipina Independiente clergy Fr. William Tadena and Bishop Alberto Ramento.

We owe to the martyrs of Hacienda Luisita whatever triumphs we now enjoy. We reiterate our absolute condemnation to the Cojuangco-Aquino family and the US-Arroyo regime for being responsible for the murders and for blatantly coddling the killers. Not a single suspect has been brought to justice and all are still at-large.

The commemoration is aimed at strengthening our gains, among which are the revocation of the stock distribution plan and the gradual transformation of the sugar plantation into a land where food crops are now grown and enjoyed by the hacienda community.

Because of the courage and determination of the workers and the people of the hacienda in defending the barricades and the supreme sacrifice of our martyrs we were able to stop the evil design of the Cojuangco-Aquino family to deprive us of our jobs and drive us away from the land.

On this historic occasion, we call on the workers and the people of Hacienda Luisita to:

• Expand the cultivation of the more than 1,000 hectares already planted to rice, vegetables and other food crops and continue to transform the hacienda from a landlord-controlled sugar plantation into a place where the bounty of the land is enjoyed by the tillers
  
  
• Continue to vigorously assert our rightly claim on the land and oppose the machinations of the Cojuangco-Aquino family, the courts and other government agencies such as DAR to evade land distribution.
  
  
• Defend our right to harvest the standing sugar cane that we won in the negotiation to end the strike and embodied in the agreement with management. Prevent scabs, yellow leaders, financiers and local officials from stealing what is rightfully ours.
  
  
• Continue to demand and implement the P250 daily wage for cane cutters and other farm-related work that the union has instituted. In the current cane harvest season, do not allow the opportunists and financiers to amass millions while depriving us of just wages.
  
  
• Expose and oppose fake organizations like the PEACE Foundation and DKMP who are scheming to mislead the people and benefit from the fruits of our sacrifices.
  
  
• Demand for the withdrawal of the military from the barrios in the hacienda. Make the military and the police accountable for human rights violations committed against the people of the hacienda such as extra-judicial killings, abductions, torture, hamletting and other human rights violations. Oppose the military's continuing harassment and coercion of civilians to 'surrender.'
  
  
• Demand that the fascist, corrupt and illegitimate president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo step down from Malacanang for her crimes against the people.

The real meaning of paying tribute to the memory of our martyrs is for us to persevere and continue with the struggle for land jobs and justice.

NOVEMBER 16 ITINERARY:

08:00 AM- START OF CARAVAN FROM SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA TO HACIENDA LUISITA
11:00 AM- PRESS CONFERENCE AT HACIENDA
1:00 PM- ECUMENICAL SERVICE AT HACIENDA

Reference:
RENE GALANG, President
United Luisita Workers’ Union
Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac City
CP No. 0918-572-7102