■ PEACE TALKS WITH COMMUNISTS RESUME IN ROME
Government pushes more durable ceasefire deal, but rebels not optimistic Rebels complain of human rights violations allegedly committed by gov’t
Government negotiators and communist guerrillas resumed peace talks in Rome on Thursday, with the insurgents warning that alleged government violations of an accord on human rights might prompt them to terminate a monthslong cease- fire. The venue was shifted from the Norwegian capital, Oslo, which officials said would be too cold.
Government negotiators and communist guerrillas resumed peace talks in Rome on Thursday, with the insurgents warning that alleged government violations of an accord on human rights might prompt them to terminate a monthslong cease-fire.
Government officials led by Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and guerrilla leaders shook hands in a show of unity at a hotel in the Italian capital before resuming the negotiations, which both sides acknowledged would be tough. Special envoy Elisabeth Slattum from Norway, which has been brokering the talks, also attended. The venue was shifted from the Norwegian capital, Oslo, which officials said would be too cold.
“Although there are still unresolved issues, with regards to commitments to releases of political prisoners, commitments on a bilateral cease-fire which will both be subjects of discussion during this round of talks, we commend the parties for doing exactly that, for working together,” Slattum said.
Chief government negotiator Silvestre Bello III said the government panel would seek to turn separate cease-fires declared by President Rodrigo Duterte and the guerrillas in August into a more durable negotiated truce.
But his rebel counterpart, Fidel Agcaoili, was less optimistic, saying “the prospect for forging a bilateral cease-fire agreement has grown dim.”
Agcaoili said the guerrillas have raised a number of complaints, including alleged government breaches of a 1998 accord on respecting human rights and another pact on the safety of guerrilla consultants.
Agcaoili said the complaints, including the failure to release nearly 400 detainees the rebels consider political prisoners, made extending a five-month cease-fire “untenable.”
The guerrillas also expressed concern over President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left thousands of drug suspects dead, and his decision to allow the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a he- roes’ cemetery in November.
Agcaoili said innocent people have been killed in Duterte’s crackdown “due to brutal, reckless and indiscriminate methods employed by the police in its anti-drug operations.”
He said Duterte should shift his priority to solving the larger problem of poverty through social and economic reforms, which are the main focus of this week’s round of talks.
Founded in 1968, the rebels’ Communist Party has held peace talks with six Philippine presidents, including Duterte, whose rise to power in June sparked rebel optimism because of his searing anti-U.S. rhetoric and populist propoor stance.
Battle setbacks, surrenders and infighting have weakened the rebel group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. A confidential Philippine government assessment obtained by AP says the number of guerrillas declined to 3,800 with more than 4,500 firearms in the first half of 2016, with about 700 of the country’s 42,000 villages affected by the insurgency.