The Communist Party of the Philippines is looking for young blood to bolster its armed struggle against the government. In a statement yesterday, the communist group called for people especially the young to join the New People's Army (NPA) and continue its "revolutionary armed resistance." It also called for celebrations marking "victories of the past year." "Let us carry out street demonstrations, display streamers, put up posters, paint walls, write new poems and sing new songs," the Communist Party said in the statement. All units of the NPA and people’s militias were also urged to prepare for military parades and cultural activities to celebrate the NPA’s 43rd anniversary on March 29. The NPA was established on March 29, 1969 with only 60 fighters. It now claims its numbers have swelled to several thousand. The aremed wing of the Communist Party has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for more than four decades. The military estimates that there are some 4,700 NPA guerrilla fighters scattered in more than 60 provinces across the country.