Commies now ready to talk peace with Manila

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2009) – Philippine communist rebels said they are resuming formal peace talks with Manila next month, five years after the negotiations collapsed.

Luis Jalandoni, head of the communist peace panel, said preparations are being made by both sides for the resumption of formal talks in Oslo, Norway next month.

“On behalf of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, I wish to announce that preparations are being made by the Negotiating Panels of the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines for the resumption of formal talks in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway sometime in August 2009.”

“The GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels have agreed on the implementation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees for the purpose of enabling persons covered by JASIG to participate in the preparatory meeting and formal talks of the aforesaid parties in August. Legal teams of the two panels are currently working and cooperating to ensure the implementation of the JASIG,” Jalandoni said.

He said both the peace panels have also agreed to exchange within this month a joint statement containing the agenda and points of agreement in the formal talks.

Norway, which is brokering the peace talks, helped negotiators meet June 15 in The Hague to discuss the preparations for the resumption of formal talks, according to Jalandoni.

It was unknown if communist rebels would sign a case-fire agreement with the government or not.

The United States listed the Communist Party of the Philippines and its political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and their armed wing, the New People’s Army as a foreign terrorist organization on Manila’s prodding after the peace talks collapsed. The European Union also blacklisted the three groups.

The NPA accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on an agreement that would free political prisoners and stop the killings of activists in the country, among others.

Secretary Avelino Razon, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, on Wednesday said the government is ready to resume formal talks with communist and Muslim rebels in an effort to end decades of bloody secessionist war in the country.

Razon’s call came Razon’s announcement came after a series of recent bombings blamed by the police and military to the MILF killed six people and wounded dozens more in the southern Philippines.

Government peace talks with the NPA collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement that will put an end to four decades of bloody fighting in the country.

Peace talks also with the MILF also in August last year after the failed signing of the Muslim ancestral domain. The MILF said Arroyo reneged on a deal that would have granted to some four million Muslims their own homeland in Mindanao. But the Supreme Court said the agreement was unconstitutional.

“After 40 years of fighting, it’s time we give peace a chance,” Razon said. “The government sees a good prospect for the resumption of the talks in the immediate period given the commitment of both parties to work in addressing the issues that clog the negotiating table.”

Razon said the Arroyo government is determined to end the fighting not only in Mindanao, but all other conflict areas in the country. He said the government would like to see a conclusion of the peace process, particularly with the MILF and the NPA rebels by 2010 as envisioned by Arroyo.

Razon also said that the government has intensified its rehabilitation and development projects in Mindanao and other rebel-influenced areas. But rebels said continued government offensive resulted in a humanitarian crisis and unabated human rights violations against Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reds Demand Manila To Abide By Agreement Before Peace Talks Can Resume

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 17, 2008) – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines on Saturday demanded that Manila complies with agreements it previously signed with communist rebels.

The NDFP, political wing of the outlawed 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, chief NDFP peace negotiator.

The NDFP praised the Royal Norwegian Government for making possible the meeting between peace negotiators aimed at finding ways of resuming talks stalled since 2004 after rebel leaders accused Manila of reneging its agreements with the CPP.

The informal talks were held from May 13-15m but Jalandoni said the Filipino peace panel failed to come 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 among the impediments are the terrorist tag by the United States and the European Union, on Manila’s prodding, of the NDFP chief political consultant Prof. Jose Maria Sison, the CPP and the NPA; the illegal “suspension” of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

And also the Oplan Bantay Laya and the consequent gross and systematic violations of human rights; the persecution, murder, arrest and enforced disappearance of NDFP consultants; the demand for capitulation of the NDFP to the GRP 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 is not a precondition but an obligation of the Arroyo government to comply with the agreements it has signed with the NDFP,” Jalandoni said.

The Philippine Army said it would abide by the decisions of the government 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 Mindanao Examiner.

But many soldiers in the southern Philippines are disgruntled by the news that Manila is trying to reopen peace talks with communist rebels, saying, it the NPA will only use the negotiations to recruit and strengthen its forces.

“This has been a cycle already. All presidents of this forsaken country had tried everything and failed to bring back peace, but the NPA remains defiant and victorious and all it wanted is to topple this democratic government and install a dictatorial government.”

“There should be no peace with rebels who waged war and sow terror through out all these years,” said a local army soldier, who asked not to be named for fear that he would be reprimanded by his commander for speaking to the media about the peace talks.

Government soldiers are not allowed in the Philippines to speak out about their feelings or opinion, especially if it concerns national interests or government decisions.

The NPA is the military wing of the CPP, which the Philippine military said was founded in the 1968 by Sison, who is living in exile in The Netherlands since 1987.

Sison was arrested by the Dutch police on charges of masterminding the killings of two former NPA rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, but had been subsequently freed.

Since its founding, the CPP has been fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the Philippines.

Aside from the communist rebels, Manila is also negotiating peace with a Muslim separatist guerrilla group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has also accused the government of reneging on its commitment to grant them ancestral lands in Mindanao.

The seven-year old peace talks with the MILF have been stalled since last year and are now threatening the fragile truce and security in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)