GRP insincere on peace talks, only wants to divert attention from crisis--CPP

September 14, 2005

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today deplored Malaca�ang for again threatening to terminate the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) to divert attention from the current crisis and to compel the revolutionary forces to resume formal peace talks without the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) addressing important prejudicial issues and its outstanding obligations.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said the threat to terminate the JASIG shows the Arroyo regime's insincerity in conducting peace talks with the NDF and dishonesty in presenting the facts. Rosal was reacting to statements made yesterday by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita again threatening to terminate the JASIG on the false pretext that the NDF has made a "sudden turnaround" from its agreement to resume peace talks next month.

Rosal said the GRP negotiating panel "has resorted to issuing completely false statements" when it announced last week that that the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the GRP agreed during informal talks to resume formal negotiations by October. "No agreement to resume formal talks was forged in the informal negotiations last week," Rosal said, citing reports by the NDF negotiating panel.

"In making up the story that an agreement has indeed been forged to actually resume formal talks soon, the Arroyo regime obviously only wants to go through the motion of the talks to divert attention from the crisis it has hopelessly been entangled in and to inveigle the revolutionary forces to surrender," said Rosal.

He added that even the representative of the Royal Norweigian Government can verify that no agreement to resume formal talks was forged in the recent informal talks, principally because the NDFP has consistently insisted that the GRP comply with its outstanding obligations, including those stipulated in the April 2004 Oslo agreement.

"The GRP has resorted to outright lies in its desperation to portray itself as pushing for peace talks and the NDFP as "reneging on the agreement," in order to cover up the fact that its continuing failure to address its past obligations is the principal roadblock to the resumption of formal talks. Now it has gone further by absurdly subjecting those prejudicial questions and previous agreements not only to the formal resumption of the peace talks; worse it wants those prejudicial questions and agreement to now be subject to a final peace agreement," Rosal said.

In the Oslo Agreement of April 2004, the GRP agreed to take effective measures to address the issue of the terrorist listing of the CPP, the NPA and NDF Consultant Jose Ma. Sison by the US government and its key allies. The GRP also agreed to release political prisoners.

"The GRP issued a false announcement claiming an agreement to resume formal talks has been forged with a devious objective of putting the NDF and the revolutionary forces in a bad light. The follow-up threat to terminate the JASIG seeks to compel the NDF to resume negotiations under the threat of arrest and other acts of retribution by the fascist forces of the GRP," added Rosal.

"The NDF and the revolutionary forces will not bow to such pressures," said Rosal. "Peace talks should be conducted with both sides on equal footing and with both sides faithfully complying with their obligations in the agreements in order for the talks to proceed in good faith and to address squarely the roots of the armed conflict."

The CPP spokesperson emphasized that the peace talks will not proceed if the GRP's purpose is just to use it to divert the attention of the public and to compel the revolutionary armed forces to surrender."

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

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