Government, rebels to resume talks
MANILA — The Philippine government and communist rebels have agreed to resume peace talks and restore separate cease-fires after an escalation of deadly clashes, officials said Sunday.
Government and rebel negotiators will resume talks early next month and discuss the terms of a broader cease-fire, presidential adviser Jesus Dureza said. Norway, which has brokered the negotiations, hosted two days of informal talks in the Netherlands that led to a decision to resume the negotiations on ending one of Asia’s longest-running rebellions.
Just three days ago, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to unleash an all-out war against the New People’s Army guerrillas after they killed four policemen and wounded another in an ambush in southern Davao del Sur province.
Duterte did not mention the talks’ resumption in his speech at the annual graduation of cadets at the Philippine Military Academy on Sunday in northern Baguio city. He promised better and more weapons for soldiers and thanked “those who risked their lives and limbs to defend this country’s sovereignty as well as those who continue to offer their sweat and blood to fortify the pillars of a great nation that we are presently trying to build.”
The military welcomed news of the breakthrough but said it would await formal notice from government negotiators and Duterte’s instructions. “Pending this, all military operations will continue and remain at current state,” the military said in a statement.
The Maoist guerrillas said they would remain vigilant because of continuing military and police counterinsurgency operations but added they were optimistic with the talks’ resumption.
“Instead of putting the lives of millions of people in harm’s way, such as Duterte’s all-out-war declaration, better yet we try to settle our differences on the negotiating table,” said the rebels’ Melito Glor command.
The rebels and the government declared separate cease-fires last year as they resumed peace talks. That allowed the government to withdraw troops from battlefields to focus on an offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim extremist groups in the country’s south.