Macapagal-Arroyo regime relentlessly obstructing the peace talks
The regime is obstructing the peace talks at every turn. As it progressed, the militarists in Macapagal-Arroyo�s cabinet persistently and vehemently objected to its continuance. At the instance of Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, the peace talks were twice halted supposedly due to the NPA�s punishment of notorious and murderous politicians. The talks have been suspended now for more than half a year.
The regime likewise continues to refuse to release political prisoners and grant other concrete concessions to the revolutionary movement and the people. Even the joint Christmas season ceasefire was violated several times by the reactionary armed forces. Intense military operations go on without letup in the guerrilla fronts of the revolutionary movement. It is clear that Macapagal-Arroyo favors and has given her blessings to the game plan and direction that the militarists have set.
Their militarist position has further rigidified with the all-out support given by the puppet regime to the US� "counter-terrorism" campaign and the NPA�s inclusion in the list of those the US considers as terrorists.
The Macapagal-Arroyo regime once again suspended the scheduled formal resumption of the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on January 7 in Oslo, Norway. Instead, the regime insists on holding nothing more than back channel talks.
Macapagal-Arroyo hopes that through the conduct of back channel talks for an indefinite duration, the negotiations would go on aimlessly without the revolutionary movement and the people attaining anything substantive even as the NDFP�s position is slowly undermined and its strength exhausted. Macapagal-Arroyo would like these talks to be held in The Netherlands to deny the NDFP the chance of being accorded diplomatic recognition by the Norwegian government and the international community.
The regime would likewise want the talks held away from the public�s view so that the Filipino people would remain unaware of the superiority of the NDFP�s program and the justness of its proposed reforms. On the other hand, the regime wants to avoid exposing to the people the reactionary and decadent character of the social system that it maintains and defends.
The NDFP is aware of the regime�s objectives in confining the negotiations to back channel talks. The NDFP negotiating panel has made it clear that keeping the talks at an informal level for an indefinite duration and without achieving anything decisive, is untenable.
To jump-start the talks and to prevent the peace negotiations process with the Macapagal-Arroyo regime from collapsing, the NDFP has chosen to be flexible despite the GRP�s lack of reciprocity. In November, the NDFP agreed to hold the meetings of the reciprocal working committees on socioeconomic reforms in the Philippines even without the formal opening of talks. In December, the NDFP issued a challenge for a joint and coordinated ceasefire between itself and the GRP.
In addition, the NDFP expressed its readiness to release prisoners of war currently in the custody of NPA units in Far South Mindanao. The NDFP agreed to another round of informal talks in its desire to pursue the peace negotiations and in the hope of implementing the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL and establishing the Joint Monitoring Committee for the accord.
The regime has conditioned the resumption of formal talks on the merging of negotiations for the remaining three points on the agenda allegedly to arrive at a single agreement. This is violative of the The Hague Joint Declaration which stipulates the order in which the items in the four-point substantive agenda should be negotiated (on human rights and international humanitarian law, socioeconomic reforms, constitutional and political reforms and, lastly, disposition of forces and cessation of hostilities).This will mean a more protracted process of formal negotiations before a decisive agreement and substantive benefits could be attained from the talks.
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