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By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
ZAMBOANGA CITY: The National Democratic Front of
the Philippines (NDFP) over the weekend demanded that Manila comply
with agreements it previously signed with communist rebels.
The Front, the political wing of the Communist
Party of the Philippines, ended a three-day informal meeting with
Filipino peace negotiators in Norway, which brokered the talks.
“We are pleased with the opportunity provided
by this informal meeting to exchange views with regards to the
impediments that must be overcome for the formal meetings to
resume,” said Luis Jalandoni, the Front’s chief negotiator.
The communists praised the Norwegian government
for brokering the meeting, aimed at finding ways of resuming talks
stalled since 2004 when rebel leaders accused Manila of reneging its
agreements.
The informal talks were held from May 13 to 15,
but Jalandoni said the Filipino peace panel failed to come up with
solutions that will lead to the resumption of the negotiations.
“The NDFP delegation expressed its strong
desire for the resumption of the formal meetings and took pains to
persuade the GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines]
delegation to do away with said impediments.”
“It is unfortunate that the GRP delegation did
not bring any idea towards the resolution of any problems that
impedes the resumption of the formal meetings,” he said, adding,
his group presented 13 impediments that must be overcome before
formal peace talks could resume.
Jalandoni said that among the impediments are
the terrorist tag by the United States and the European Union –
reportedly on Manila’s prodding – of the Front’s chief
political consultant, Jose Maria Sison, the Communist Party of the
Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA); the illegal
“suspension” of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity
Guarantees.
The other impediments include the Oplan Bantay
Laya and the alleged gross and systematic violations of human
rights; the persecution, murder, arrest and enforced disappearance
of the Front’s consultants; the demand for capitulation of the
Front to the government in the guise of prolonged ceasefire before
addressing the fundamental problems of Philippine society and the
roots of the armed conflict; and the failure to indemnify the
victims of human rights violations under the Marcos regime.
“We stressed that overcoming these impediments
are not a precondition but an obligation of the Arroyo government to
comply with the agreements it has signed with the NDFP,” Jalandoni
said.
Army skeptical
The Philippine Army officials said they will
abide by government’s decisions as far as the possibility of the
resumption of the peace talks with rebels. “We will follow the
decision of our political leaders. Whatever would be the outcome of
these talks [with the NDFP], we will abide like a true soldier that
we are,” Major Raymundo Aguada, a regional army spokesman, told
The Manila Times.
But many soldiers in the southern Philippines
are disgruntled by the news that Manila is trying to reopen peace
talks with communist rebels, saying, the New People’s Army will
only use the negotiations to recruit and strengthen its forces.
“There should be no peace with rebels who
waged war and sow terror throughout all these years,” said an Army
soldier, who asked not to be named for fear of being reprimanded for
speaking to the media about the peace talks.
Government troops are not allowed to disclose
their personal feelings or opinion, especially on matters of
national interests or on government decisions.
The New People’s Army is the military wing of
the communist party, which was founded in the 1968 by Sison, who is
living in exile in The Netherlands since 1987.
Manila is also negotiating peace with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Muslim separatist group, which
has also accused the government of reneging on its commitment to
grant them ancestral lands in Mindanao.
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