PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

CPP calls gov't truce "token" and "plain deception"
December 21, 2002

The Communist Party of the Philippines called the two-day ceasefire announced by the Macapagal-Arroyo government "plain and simple deception," claiming "the government has lost all moral right to talk peace in the face of the all-out war of terror it is waging against the Filipino people. Their supposed ceasefire is nothing but a token declaration."

President Macapagal-Arroyo today declared a one-day "suspension of offensive military operations" from Christmas eve to Christmas Day and again from New Year's eve to New Year's Day.

CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said today that "the people do not stand to benefit at all from Macapagal-Arroyo's token ceasefire declaration since she has not withdrawn the military operations she has ordered. She remains relentless and unrepentant in her all-out war that has already caused unspeakable hardship and suffering to the people, especially in the countryside".

"As has always happened in the past, in many cases some AFP officers are so hard-heartedly intent at launching reconnaisance-and-destroy operations against possible venues of Party anniversary celebrations, so that there is really no Christmas at all for them and the barrios in the swath of their operations. Otherwise, the mercenary troops of the AFP get too drunk during Chistmas and New Year to be able to launch any effective offensive military operation anyway," Rosal added.

He said Malaca�ang "is hypocritically making use of the token ceasefire as a publicity gimmick in a desperate move to prop up Arroyo's sagging popularity. By declaring this pseudo ceasefire," said Rosal, "Arroyo wishes to sugar-coat her all-out war of terror against the people which has been condemned and rejected by a large section of Philippine society."

The CPP Central Committee earlier announced that it would not declare a Christmas ceasefire this year after the government's display of "outright puppetry" and its perpetration of "fascist and antipeople measures, especially this past year."

"The CPP-NPA's non-declaration of a ceasefire this Christmas is a defensive policy in the face of Arroyo and her AFP's unrelenting all-out war of terror in the countryside and gives highest consideration to the promotion and defense of the interests of the masses who are being cruelly victimized by this war of terror," Rosal explained.###

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553



Back to top