Taking part in the GPH-NDFP formal peace negotiations

THE resumption of formal talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), after these collapsed in 2011, raises hopes that the 47-year-old communist rebellion will finally end, and so will the violence that has claimed the lives of thousands on each side and of those caught in the middle.

The release of NDFP members from prison so they could join the negotiations, the release of policemen deemed ‘prisoners of war’ by the New People’s Army, and the declaration of a sevenday unilateral ceasefire by the Communist Party of the Philippines and the reciprocal action by the government all point towards successful talks this time.

But lest we raise our expectations too high, let us remember that agreeing on a final peace pact will not be easy. Negotiations that began in 1986 during the Corazon Aquino government were followed by nearly three decades of talks that ended in failure. There were 20 signed agreements, more than 40 rounds of negotiations, and more than 1,300 released prisoners yet there has been no final peace agreement.

For the current round, up for discussion are four topics that are high on the NDFP agenda : socio-economic reforms; political and economic reforms; end of hostilities and disposition of forces; and amnesty for all detained political prisoners. Negotiations are expected to be tough. Still, the high regard the government and NDFP negotiators have expressed for each other and the warmth they have shown one another at the start of formal talks in Oslo indicate that negotiations will go far.

The public needs to closely monitor the talks and to rally for their successful conclusion. The communist rebellion has gone on for far too long and has cost too much in terms of lives and damage to property. Each one of us has to be involved as this concerns not only the parties to the conflict but the whole nation and its succeeding generations.