COMMUNIST rebels across the country celebrated the successive release from detention of the first batch of peace consultants of the National Democratic Front (NDF) since Wednesday.
In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said it is set to issue over the next few days a unilateral declaration of ceasefire to the New People’s Army (NPA) to boost the peace negotiations.
it anticipated the release of the rest of it 22 NDF consultants so that they can participate in the scheduled resumption of peace talks in Oslo, Norway next week.
Reads its statement: “The CPP deeply appreciates efforts of the GRP President Duterte to comply with the obligations of the GRP under outstanding agreements with the NDFP in order to bolster the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations. The release of all NDFP peace consultants is a reaffirmation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) and other NDFP-GRP agreements.
“Even as the CPP welcomes the release of all NDFP consultants, it urges the Duterte regime to empty the GRP’s prisons of all political prisoners which number almost 550 nationwide, most of whom are peasants and workers. It can proclaim a policy of ending the dirty legal tactic of slapping trumped up criminal charges against activists which subject them to unjust and prolonged detention.”
The CPP said the release of all NDF peace consultants would boost several-fold the confidence of its forces in Duterte’s determination to work with the NDF in peace negotiations.
“The CPP considers the release of all NDFP consultants as an act of goodwill by GRP President Duterte,” it said.
The Communist Party said that in appreciation, it reiterates its full support for the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations “as a venue to discuss the roots of the armed conflict and forge agreements to resolve the urgent as well as strategic problems of the people in the socio-economic, political and cultural fields.”
The CPP said it also extends its full support to the NDF negotiating panel chaired by Luis Jalandoni and advised by CPP founding chairman and NDF senior political consultant Jose Ma. Sison.
To further boost peace negotiations, the CPP said it is set to issue over the next few days a unilateral declaration of ceasefire to the NPA.
“The CPP foresees continuing struggle and alliance with the Duterte regime as the Filipino people are confronted daily with problems of joblessness, landlessness, rising costs of living, low wages and income, militarization and so on.”
The CPP said it hopes that mutual efforts by the NDF and the the government would accelerate peace talks with unprecedented speed and surpass the amount of issues that would be covered and resolved.
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