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MANILA, Philippines -- Activists and progressives around the world are mourning the death of the late Anakpawis Representative Crispin ?Ka Bel? Beltran.
Tributes, eulogies and other written memorials for Beltran found their way to a makeshift ?mourning wall? set up by his family at the Cathedral of the Holy Child in Manila, where the congressman?s remains lie in state.
Letters of condolences and tributes, offered by overseas Filipinos and foreigners alike for a man whom a Middle East daily described as a ?leftist firebrand?, ranged from praises for his legacy, his contributions to the socialist struggle and anecdotes about his life as a militant.
The messages came from countries such as Australia, the United States, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Malaysia. Some were written in foreign languages, including Italian, Dutch, French and German.
?Ka Bel was a giant in the Philippine leftist movement, and spent his lifetime working for justice, workplace human rights and equality for Filipino working families. Many people have a better life today because of the commitment and dedication of Ka Bel,? said Peter Jennings, executive officer of the Union Aid Abroad-Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad, the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Members of the overseas Filipino group Siklab-Canada recalled one of three visits of Beltran to Vancouver in 1997 where he attended a gathering of the Network Oppressed to Anti-People Economic Control. Beltran surprised delegates by dropping by a picket of local postal workers on strike.
Lyn Meza and John Harris of the Chealsea Uniting Against War, a Massachusetts-based organization, said Beltran was the ?living example? of the slogan chanted in many labor Day marches: ?the working class struggle has no bounds.?
?The world has lost one of the finest exponents of genuine grassroots activism and leadership, a man who lived what he preached, namely to be at one with the people and serve the people,? said Murray Horton, secretary of the Philippine Solidarity Network of Aotearoa from Christchurch in New Zealand.
Many groups cited Beltran?s last incarceration for rebellion charges, which his family blamed for the decline of the solon?s health.
?Ka Bel was treated very badly by the Philippine government many times and he was jailed. However, he never lost his strength, his political consciousness, his perspective and his ability to organize,? said Manrico Moro, information convener of the Australia Asia Workers Link from Victoria, Australia.
?He became the symbol of resistance and uncompromised militancy. His legacy is a valuable consignment, not only for his comrades but for all the Philippine people,? added the Communist Party of Greece (CPG).
A group of Greek communist politicians and activists who visited Beltran in the mid-1990s said his life ?represented the very history and the heroic struggle of the Philippine people for national liberation and social emancipation during more than half a century.?
Hsin-hsing Chen of the Taiwanese Committee for Philippine Concerns recalled a meeting with Beltran, then the chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, in Manila in 1999. Chen said Beltran abruptly ended the meeting, saying he had to go because he had to distribute leaflets. They were surprised that a labor leader was still doing it.
?For me, that was the moment that the whole strength of the Philippine movement was expressed in a tiny act,? he said.
The late lawmakers? remains were to be flown to his hometown of Bacacay, Albay via Legazpi City at 3 a.m. Saturday. His body will lie until Sunday at the Big Dome Gymnasium in Bacacay.
