Philippines seeks arrest of rebels as talks falter

THE Philippine government ordered the arrest yesterday of communist rebel leaders involved in peace talks, the day after a guerrilla ambush left five presidential bodyguards wounded in the latest escalation of the half century-long conflict.

The insurgents have been engaged in off-and-on peace talks with Manila to end one of the world’s longest insurgencies that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, since President Rodrigo Duterte was elected last year. But the government suspended formal peace talks in May, and yesterday chief government lawyer Jose Calida said guerrilla leaders who were let out of prison to take part in talks were now subject to arrest.

The talks were cancelled by the government due to deadly guerrilla attacks on security forces, with the two sides failing to agree to a ceasefire.

After Wednesday’s attacks by the communists’ 4,000-member armed wing the New People’s Army – during which gunmen opened fire on two Presidential Security Group vehicles on the southern island of Mindanao – Manila called off a planned informal meeting, saying the situation on the ground was not conducive for peace talks.

The rebels said yesterday their armed attacks were in response to Duterte’s plan to extend his 60-day martial law proclamation to the end of the year for Mindanao, the southern third of the country where the rebellion is concentrated.

Duterte had said he needed a longer martial rule to defeat Islamist militants holed up in the city of Marawi in a near-twomonth battle that has left more than 550 people dead.