Peace talks are ever relevant and needed

Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal
Spokesperson
Communist Party of the Philippines
October 11, 2002

As the civil war in the Philippines intensifies, peace talks become even more relevant and necessary to ensure the rights and welfare of the Filipino people especially against military abuses, ensure that international humanitarian law and rules of war are observed and address the root causes of the armed conflict and resolve them.

Peace talks are thus not incompatible with the intensification of the armed conflict, but are very necessary.

The Communist Party of the Philippines and revolutionary organization are therefore always open to deal with any regime that is ready to seriously and sincerely conduct peace negotiations.

The Macapagal-Arroyo regime, however, has no interest in peace negotiations. The militarists, who have persistenly blocked all efforts at upholding and advancing peace talks, are now completely dominant. It is thus not at all surprising to hear chief militarist Angelo Reyes state that peace talks are "useless", since he has been the Number One hurdle to the NDFP-GRP talks.

Gen. Angelo Reyes and company are totally hostile to peace talks because these obstruct the all-out war unleashed by the fascist warmongers. They are now fully supported by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who has "plenty of time for sex" but no time to talk peace. The "95%" who "do not want peace talks" is a figment of Macapagal-Arroyo's imagination.

We express solidarity with the mass organizations, politicians, church people, doctors, businessmen and others who call for the resumption of formal peace negotiatinos. The NDFP Negotiating Panel is intact. Comrade Luis Jalandoni is always ready to face the GRP's panel.

The CPP and New People's Army stand ready to uphold all GRP-NDF agreements including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). The CPP and NPA fully value these agreements, especially the CARHRIHL, since they uphold the rights of the people and provide the people with means to put forward their grievances against abuses.

We call on all groups and individuals who are interested in peace negotiations to resist all maneuvers by the militarists to shunt aside the peace negotiations.

At the same time, we wish to state that the CPP and NPA are ready to persevere in armed struggle and defeat the all-out war of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime. The armed offensives of the New People's Army shall continue to thwart abusive military troops and defend the interests and revolutionary victories of the people.

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