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Rebellion and Repression in the Philippines
by Richard J. Kessler
Yale Univ Pr; Reissue edition (August 1991)
ISBN: 0300051301
The relevance of the book "Rebellion and Repression" returns with the rise of the Communist insurgency in the Philippines and the Military Unrest. The book presents a background of the history of Philippine insurgency and the armed forces who confront them.
The increase of activity by the New People's Army and Abu Sayaff Terrorists combined with the recent Military unit mutiny of July 2003 places a shadow over the 2004 Presidential elections in the Philippines. The problem of the Political Military "Genie" being out of the bottle is evident today in the appointment of people who express their loyalties to patronage and political favors. I read the book in the last years of the Aquino administration when the conflicts within the Armed Forces were growing and culminated with the December 1989 Coup that nearly ended Aquino's government. The success of President Ramos who succeeded Aquino in negotiating a peace with the Moro National Liberation Front and the decline in the reported activities of the New People's Army would have put the book as a secondary refference on Philippine affairs. But recent events in the Philippines can make Rebellion and Repression... a necessary book for those with interest in the continuing Philippine Insurgency.Retail Price : $37.50
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers WeeklyOpposing other studies of the revolutionary struggle in the geographically and socially fragmented Philippines, Kessler--Senate Foreign Relations staff member responsible for Asian issues--argues that future stability in this nation depends as much on the evolving character of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as it does on the strategy of the Communist Party and its New Model Army. Looking closely at the histories and present status of both adversaries ("like scorpions, they are locked in a deadly embrace"), he examines how the Manila government has allegedly used the AFP to protect the interests of the elite. The government's counter-insurgency program "guarantees" insurgencies to come, claims the author, tracing the development of the pattern through the Huk rebellion, the Marcos era and into the present Aquino government. U.S. security and economic interests in the Philippines are substantial, but Kessler believes that Americans "lack the financial resources, the will, and even the right" to interfere directly in the reform of the AFP. He hopes that Washington aid programs will "help clarify" the means by which Filipinos can determine their own destiny.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The fall of the Marcos regime in the Philippines has not resolved the basic social and economic problems in that former colony of the United States. Kessler and Jones provide much needed perspectives on these problems, although they approach them in very different ways. Kessler's book is an academic study concentrating on rebellions in the Philippines, showing that the current Communist situation is very much a part of that tradition. Jones, in contrast, is a journalist (he's the Manila special correspondent for The Washington Post ) who went underground and lived with Communists over an extended period of time. His book is overwhelmingly based on personal interviews with the principals concerned. While this format does allow for self-aggrandizement, Jones is careful to document both the successes and failures of the Communists. Both books draw the same conclusion; namely, no government in Manila is safe until basic structural reforms of society are made. Both titles are highly recommended for the insight they provide in what easily could be the United States' next major involvement in Asian affairs.
- Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc
KUDETA
Pictorial History of the 1989 Rebellion.