Duterte moves to start talks with exile

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he had invited a self-exiled communist rebel leader home for “make or break” peace talks and would let him leave the country afterwards, despite moves to declare him a terrorist.

Before becoming president, Duterte promised to revive a stuttering peace process to end nearly five decades of conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people.

But he abandoned talks in November, complaining of duplicity and rebel attacks.

On Thursday, Duterte said he had invited Jose Maria Sison, founder and leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, to return after three decades in exile to restart the stalled negotiations. “He has agreed, and I gave him a window of two months, very small,” he said.

He promised to let Sison return to the Netherlands, regardless of the outcome. Sison expressed readiness last week to return for talks.

Duterte has repeatedly threatened to abort the peace process completely, but appears unwilling to do so.

Sison was once Duterte’s university lecturer and the two are known for hurling colourful insults at each other.

The government has asked a court to declare Sison and hundreds of communist party members “terrorists”.

It is not clear if Duterte’s latest olive branch will affect that request.