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Southeast Asia
Commies fight anniversary battle with Philippine troops
2003-03-30
Troops clashed with communist guerrillas in a hilly area near the Philippine capital, and at least 24 were people killed, officials said Sunday. Gunbattles raged all day Saturday in Angat and Pandi, towns about 30 miles north of Manila. About 20 rebels of the communist New People's Army, a soldier and three policemen were killed. It was the closest the fighting has come to Manila. The fighting had subsided by Sunday, and government troops were scouring the sparsely populated, hilly region in search of other guerrillas, Army Maj. Gen. Alberto Braganza said. At least 10 bodies of rebels have been recovered, he said.

Officials said about 70 guerrillas had gathered near Angat on Saturday, the 34th anniversary of the founding of the New People's Army. The group is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The guerrillas had apparently been planning attacks on the Pandi town hall and a cement plant. Police said they were tipped off by residents about the presence of the rebels. As officers arrived on the scene, the guerrillas opened fire. Reinforced by army troops, police chased the guerrillas southward to Pandi, where the rebels apparently broke up into smaller groups.

In an anniversary statement Saturday, rebel spokesman Gregorio Rosal said the rebels were continuing to expand their presence throughout the Philippines with 27 battalions of "red fighters" — about 13,500 men — operating in 120 guerrilla fronts around the country.

Because the forces of international Islamism have been so active lately, we tend to lose sight of the fact that the commies still have a lot of remnants trying to impose workers' paradises on anyplace they can find with an unstable government, and some with stable governments. Generally, the more unstable the government, the more influential they are — viz., the Philippines and Nepal. In areas where the governments actually are stable, like Europe, they actually do better, as they become "socialists" and get out the vote.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

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