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PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
CPP says US wants Arroyo to scuttle talks with MILF
April 2, 2005
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) to be on guard against US attempts to meddle in and force the scuttling of peace talks between the MILF and the Arroyo government.
CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal issued the call in reaction to a recent statement by a US State Department official warning the Arroyo government against pursuing negotiations with the MILF, which it accused of having ties with Jemaah Islamiyah. The statement came a few days before scheduled talks this month in Malaysia and amid speculation that the US was planning to put the MILF on its list of foreign terrorists.
Rosal deplored the US move as "political blackmail" that seeks to compel the Moro fighters to bow to the authority of the Arroyo government. He added that the MILF will likely be threatened with the talks' cancellation if it refuses to capitulate.
Rosal cited the National Democratic Front's experience in its own talks with the Arroyo government, saying the Bush government's inclusion of the CPP, NPA and the NDF's chief political consultant remains the "the biggest roadblock" to the peace negotiations.
Rosal blasted the US' terror listing as "direct political intervention". He said that with the US and Arroyo government putting up one roadblock after another to talks with the NDF, their refusal to address the socio-economic roots of the armed conflict was obvious. "Instead, they want to intensify policies and measures that will worsen the exploitation and oppression of the Filipino people," Rosal said.
He explained that for the Arroyo regime, "peace negotiations have lost their effectivity as an instrument to inveigle the revolutionary forces to submit to the authority of the reactionary state."
"Thus," Rosal continued, "it has lost interest in carrying out peace negotiations, and instead has followed the lead of the US in unleashing the fascist dogs of war to terrorize the Filipino and Bangsamoro people."
Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553
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