Sans cease-fire, amnesty, Oslo talks in ‘good start’

THE OFFICE of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said initial discussions on Tuesday (Aug. 23) between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) were “off to a good start” — with the two panels agreeing on “three major issues” before tackling the more complex objectives of an interim cease-fire and an amnesty for detained comrades of the NDFP.

A statement by the OPAPP on Wednesday quoted Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, concurrent government panel chair, as saying that the talks in Oslo, Norway, were “a frank and honest discussion among friends.”

“There were heated discussions, at times, which are normal during negotiations. In fact, we [ had] to call a break on several occasions to cool off. But the general atmosphere was cordial as the session was punctuated by laughter and light banter,” Mr. Bello also said in the statement.

Three issues that the government and NDFP panels agreed on were as follows:

• Affirmation of previouslysigned agreements: The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992, Breukelen Joint Statement of 1994, the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees ( JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. • Reconstitution of the JASIG list. • Accelerated process for negotiations, including the timeline for the completion of the remaining substantive agenda for the talks: socio- economic, political and economic reforms and the equally complex objectives of ending hostilities and the disposition of forces under a joint monitoring committee.

Mr. Bello said all agreements signed during peace negotiations from the time of President Corazon C. Aquino up to the present were re- affirmed “subject to enhancements that may be mutually agreed upon later by both panels.”

He noted that only two of the five issues up for discussion remain unresolved — the mode of interim cease-fire and an amnesty proclamation for the release of all political prisoners, subject to concurrence by Congress.

But these would be negotiated today, according to the OPAPP statement.

The negotiators also agreed to activate the Reciprocal Working Committee ( RWC) on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms — a goal that is hoped to be achieved “within six months” — as well as the Reciprocal Working Groups (RWG) on Political and Constitutional Reforms and End of Hostilities-Disposition of Forces.

They also agreed to reconstitute the list of rebel consultants who will be deemed “immune from arrest in order to allow them to participate in the peace process,” the statement said.

The NDFP said the list would include 54 “publicly-known’’ consultants and 87 guerrilla leaders with “assumed names.” —