GABNet Statement on the Passing of Ka Bel

GABNet Statement on the Passing of Ka Bel
From Dr. Annalisa Enrile
National Chairperson
GABRIELA Network USA

GABRIELA Network USA, its entire membership singly and collectively,
and all sister organizations under the Mariposa Alliance, hereby give
our last clenched-fist salute to the indomitable labor leader and
revolutionary Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, standard bearer of the
Anakpawis Party and chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement).

We feel as bereft as his family, comrades, friends and allies; and
share with them an immense sense of loss at his death. He was a
leader among leaders, a rarity one could respect and admire without
reservation.

We held and continue to hold Ka Bel dear for his uncompromising
dedication to the struggle for the emancipation of the working class,
for the liberation of the Filipino people and for the creation of a
society where true justice and equality could prevail.

We held and continue to hold Ka Bel dear for his militancy, his
personal courage and continued defiance of the political repression
which successive Philippine governments – from the Marcos Dictatorship
which imprisoned him to the Macapagal-Arroyo government which again
imprisoned him—visited upon his person, upon the Filipino worker and
upon the Filipino people. We only regret that Ka Bel, who saw the
demise of the Marcos Dictatorship, will not witness the demise of the
current regime which has murdered nearly a thousand progressive
leaders and activists.

We held and continue to hold Ka Bel dear for being one of the most
considerate leaders of the Philippine national democratic movement,
despite the enormous power of his reputation and positions. He dealt
fairly, politely and patiently, and sometimes with humor, with even
the least of those he came into contact with.

We held and continue to hold Ka Bel dear for unfailingly treating
women with due respect and equality, never even once condescending to
them or their struggle for emancipation, but recognizing the need for
women’s emancipation as an intrinsic part of the struggle to liberate
the Filipino people and the Filipino nation.

And finally, we held and continue to hold Ka Bel dear for having made
indelible, through personal example, the dignity of the working class,
the justness of the cause of workers’ emancipation, and the
correctness of working class leadership.

We beg his wife, children, relatives and friends to accept this
message of sympathy at their pain. Time may be the great enemy of
individual lives, bringing each to an end, abrupt and often
unexpected; but time is also a great ally of mass movements, in the
epic march towards freedom, equality and liberation, and for the
historic vindication of such heroes as Ka Bel.

Crispin Beltran, presente!