On Saturday President Arroyo of the Philippines declared a State of Emergency in response to an alleged coup against her. Just prior to this there had been several workers’ mobilisations demanding her resignation. Bonapartist measures will not save her in the long run. They will not remove the underlying social and economic problems which are at the root of the political instability.

We have received three press statements from left groups in the Philippines. Although we may not agree with every detail of these statements, we are publishing them for the interest of our readers together with an accompanying letter which helps to understand the context in which they are written.

Felix Zorba looks at the peace talks taking place bewteen some of the armed left parties in the Philippines and compares the behaviour of these parties with that of the Bolsheviks at Brest Litovsk in 1918. He explains the dangers involved in trying to achieve partial, or even regional, deals when the only lasting solution to the problems of the working masses is the socialist revolution.