No agreement on resumption of talks and on ceasefire

Luis Jalandoni, chairperson of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) set the record straight when he stated that no agreement was reached on the resumption of the formal meetings and on ceasefire during the last informal talks between the delegations of the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) held in Oslo, Norway last 28-30 August 2005.

GRP sources had been quoted as saying that the NDFP and the GRP agreed to resume formal talks and to a nationwide ceasefire. Jalandoni issued the statement to belie the claims of the GRP.

He said that the GRP representatives did not have the mandate to conclude any agreement with the NDFP. Thus, there are several outstanding issues that still have to be resolved, including the GRP�s compliance with its obligations according to Oslo I and II, before there can be a resumption of formal meetings of the GRP and the NDFP panels.

Jalandoni also stated that although the GRP has withdrawn its invalid suspension of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), it has failed to answer satisfactorily the prejudicial questions raised by the NDFP about the �terrorist� listing of the CPP, NPA and the NDFP Chief Political Consultant by the US and other governments.

�The GRP remains culpable for violating the principle of national sovereignty in The Hague Joint Declaration by declaring that the US and other foreign governments have the sovereign right to interfere in Philippine affairs and particularly in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. The GRP is reprehensible for allowing foreign governments to violate the safety and immunity guarantees stipulated in the JASIG and the Hernandez political offense doctrine and basic democratic rights enshrined in the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL),� Jalandoni said.

Emphasizing the need to immediately put a stop to threats of assassination on NDFP consultants Atty. Romeo T. Capulong and Prof. Jose Maria Sison, Jalandoni said that the GRP must order a stop to these assassination attempts before formal meetings can be resumed. He stressed that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should rein in and castigate the likes of Norberto Gonzales for proposing, during a GRP high-level national security meeting, the assassination of Sison.

Jalandoni likewise took the GRP to task for abetting the killings of human rights advocates, progressive party list leaders, journalists, lawyers and church people. He cited Atty. Norman Bocar and UCCP Pastor Raul Domingo as the latest victims of motorcyle-riding assassins.

He also called on the GRP to comply with its obligation to release political prisoners, especially those whose orders of release had already been signed in 2001, including the seven Mamburao farmers.

�The prejudicial questions raised by the NDFP must first be answered satisfactorily by the GRP before the place, date and agenda for the resumption of formal meetings of the negotiating panels can be set,� Jalandoni concluded. ###

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