NDFP-GRP Talks
Still no agreement

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The regime is desperately making it appear that the peace negotiations are advancing. Arroyo wants to use them in the face of her dwindling chances of winning the forthcoming election. Nevertheless, the GRP has made no meaningful and official concession that would genuinely pave the way for the continuation of the actual talks. In the first round of talks, the GRP appeared to have withdrawn its initial position insisting on a single negotiation centered around its proposed Final Peace Agreement (FPA). It was on this basis that the NDFP announced in October that the talks' resumption was drawing closer.

Towards the end, however, it turned out that the GRP still wanted to restrict the talks to the FPA when it insisted that it was necessary to sign the separate agreements all at the same time. Worse, the GRP wanted the signing to take place before the 2004 election � which was even sooner than what it had previously set with the FPA.

In November, both parties sought to resolve the obstacles to the resumption of the formal negotiations. Although meaningful talks took place, no official agreement was forged. No decision was reached on the formal talks' reopening.

Foremost among the issues discussed were the inclusion of the CPP, NPA and Comrade Jose Maria Sison on the "foreign terrorists" list, the GRP's junking of earlier agreements that defined the framework of negotiations and its insistence on the "final peace agreement."

The NDFP has demanded the GRP's recognition of the fact that the list made by the US and certain countries in the European Union was a grave violation by the foreign powers of the rights of Comrade Sison and constituted interference in issues internal to the NDFP and GRP. The NDFP has likewise insisted that the GRP's active imitation of the US and EU's act of including the CPP, NPA and Comrade Sison in the listing is a serious violation of previously forged agreements. The NDFP panel said that the only appropriate action was for the GRP to repudiate and rectify this situation.

The GRP recognized that the listing has obstructed the negotiations. Nevertheless, it denied having anything to do with the listing � something repeatedly belied by the statements and actions of the regime's officials.

The GRP has attempted several times to dilute the role and effectivity of earlier agreements such as, among others, The Hague Joint Declaration and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). The GRP panel has insisted that they should merely be regarded as "guides" instead of serving as the framework for the negotiations. The GRP reasoned out that its constitution had to prevail. But it could offer no counterargument to the NDFP panel's stand that the agreements had to be retained as the framework for the talks because both parties had different constitutions, governments, armies and forces.

Some advances were made on other issues such as the formation of a Joint Monitoring Committee in line with CARHRIHL's provisions and the continued operation of the reciprocal working committees on Socio-Economic Reforms, the second of four substantive issues in the talks' agenda. The GRP, however, would only begin doing its part once the formal talks resume. As a confidence-building measure, the GRP agreed to make appropriate efforts, such as freeing political prisoners and facilitating the grant of indemnification to victims of human rights violations under the Marcos dictatorship. The GRP, however, wanted to reduce by P2 billion the previously agreed amount of P10 billion. There has yet been no agreement on this matter.

The NDFP rejected the GRP proposal to declare a mutual ceasefire from the Christmas season until the end of the peace negotiations. Instead, the NDFP declared a unilateral cessation of offensives from December 20 to January 4, 2004 out of respect for the Christmas tradition.

In the end, the parties did not issue any joint communiqué. Neither was there any decisive official agreement. The NDFP remains open to the continuation of the negotiations to advance the people's interests in all arenas. The GRP, however, needs to set aside its framework calling for the capitulation of the revolutionary forces and must agree on a worthy framework so that meaningful negotiations can be realized between the two opposing forces.

21 December 2003
English Edition

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