NPA terminates truce, but talks continue
The local communists yesterday announced the termination of the unilateral ceasefire they declared on August 28, 2016, but vowed “continuing support for the peace negotiations” with the government.
A few hours after the termination, a soldier was killed while another was wounded when about 30 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels fired at the Scout Platoon of the 67th Infantry Brigade in Sitio Paliwason, Barangay Lambog, Manay, Davao Oriental.
The military said fighting is ongoing as of press time.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-Central Committee (CPP-CC) and the NPA-National Operations Command (NPA-NOC) cited two major reasons it decided to terminate the unilateral ceasefire declaration. They said the government failed to comply with its obligation to grant amnesty and release all political prison-
ers. They also accused the government of taking advantage of the unilateral ceasefire to encroach on the territory of the “people’s democratic government.”
In a statement, NPA spokesman Ka Oris said the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the political arm of the CPP-NPA, will give notice of the withdrawal of the unilateral ceasefire to the Philippine government (GRP) peace panel.
Gov’t steadfast Despite this development, the government is committed to advancing the peace process with the communist rebels and upholding its own ceasefire declaration.
“The President will continue to exercise strong political will to move forward with the peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDFP, despite the revocation of the unilateral ceasefire by the NPA,” Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
“Furthermore, the Department of National Defense (DND) will continue to observe the government’s unilateral ceasefire, at the same time enforce the campaign to protect civilians from harm and terrorism,” he added.
“We respect their decision. On the part of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), we will respectfully recommend to President Rodrigo R. Duterte that the government continues to maintain and uphold the unilateral ceasefire to sustain the peace in the communities where our people desire to live in peace. This will provide an enabling and conducive environment to the ongoing peace talks. At the same time, we will recommend that government forces continue to be relentless in their campaign to protect the civilians from harm and terrorism,” the OPAPP statement read.
Left offensive With the termination of the unilateral truce, the CPP-NPA ordered its forces “to take full initiative in planning, coordinating, and carrying out military campaigns and tactical offensives against the reactionary Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the various paramilitary units and death squads of the Duterte government, drug traffickers and operators of the drug trade, and large-scale gambling, private armies and private armed groups of warlords, local tyrants as well as spies.”
“They must counteract, frustrate and punish AFP-CAFGU-PNP interior patrol operations, AFP psywar operations under Oplan Kapayapaan, AFP units occupying barangays and communities and enemy armed offensives posing as anti-drug and anti-crime operations,” the statement added.
Under this condition, communist insurgents will be adopting what experts describe as a “talk-fight” stance in dealing with the government, a negotiating strategy first used by the North Vietnamese in its talks with the United States at the height of the Vietnam War.
The CPP-NPA charged that “the GRP has not complied with its obligation to amnesty and release all political prisoners under the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees as a matter of justice and in fulfillment of the promise of President (Rodrigo) Duterte.”
“The unilateral ceasefire declaration was issued on the mutual understanding with the GRP that such releases will take effect within 60 days of August 28. Such was the context why the GRP panel approached the NDFP toward the end of October seeking an extension of the CPP/NPA’s declaration with a promise that around 200 political prisoners were set to be released,” the CPP-NPA statement said.
The communist group pointed out that the “Duterte regime failed to fulfill such obligation even though the CPP obliged by extending the ceasefire declaration to more than 150 days.”
Duterte had actually made the first move in trying to convince the CPP-NPA-NDFP to return to the negotiation table, which was abandoned seven years ago, when he ordered the release of 21 political detainees acting as consultants and advisers in the August talks in Oslo.
But when the CPP-NPA-NDFP pressed for the release of more of their comrades, Duterte put his foot down and said he would only order the release of more political prisoners once he sees a document showing the communist group agreeing to a bilateral ceasefire with the government.
The CPP-NPA also charged that the government “has treacherously taken advantage of the unilateral declaration of interim ceasefire to encroach on the territory of the people’s democratic government.”
“Across 164 municipalities and 43 provinces, the GRP’s armed forces have occupied at least 500 barrios which are within the authority of the revolutionary government,” it said.
No NPA territory – DND But Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government does not “recognize any areas under NPA control nor are they allowed to roam around with their firearms intimidating people.”
“We emphasize that we do not recognize the NPA’s claims to areas which they believe are under their control and our forces are ready to defend themselves when attacked,” Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong added.
The CPP-NPA argued that “the suspension of military operations (SOMO) and suspension of police operations (SOPO) issued by the AFP and PNP as basis of the GRP’s unilateral declaration of interim ceasefire have served as license for its armed troops, police personnel, paramilitary units, and death squads to engage in hostile actions, provocations or movements, surveillance and other offensive operations that are labeled as ‘peace and development,’ ‘civil-military,’ ‘peace and order,’ ‘anti-drugs campaign,’ ‘medical missions,’ or ‘law enforcement’.”
The leftists said government forces “have subjected entire barrios to their armed presence and have committed widespread violations of human rights, such as occupation of people’s homes, barangay halls, day care centers and other civilian structures.” People have suffered threats, intimidations and harassments by AFP soldiers in their barrios. These “counter-insurgency” population and resource control have gravely affected the people’s farm productivity, commerce and overall livelihood.
Left accused of extortion
Responding to the CPP-NPA decision, Secretary Lorenzana said the group’s decision to terminate the unilateral ceasefire will not have any effect on the Armed Forces Philippines (AFP).
He also criticized the communist group, accusing it of not stopping to commit atrocities despite the existence of the unilateral ceasefire.
“Anyway, despite their declared ceasefire they have not stopped extorting under the guise of their so-called revolutionary taxation, went on recruiting, burning buses and equipment, ambushing and kidnapping soldiers,” Lorenzana said.
Reds still open to talks
Despite the scathing rebuke of the government’s peace initiatives, the CPP-NPA nevertheless kept the door open to negotiations.
“Even as we terminate the unilateral declaration of interim ceasefire, we continue to support the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations within the framework of The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992. In our experience and in the experience of other peoples, it is possible to negotiate while fighting until the substantive agreements are forged to address the roots of the armed conflict and lay the basis for a just and lasting peace,” the statement said.
But the CPP-NPA underscored that it “opposes the use of interim ceasefires as basis for a protracted or indefinite ceasefire without substantial benefit for the people and their revolutionary forces and for laying aside peace negotiations on substantive issues such as social, economic and political reforms.”
“Such is tantamount to the capitulation and pacification of the revolutionary people and forces,” the leftist group said. (With reports from Yas D. Ocampo, Francis T. Wakefield, and Jenny F. Manongdo)