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Monday, August 07, 2006
Communist group maintains 'undercover combatants': military
AN ANALYST of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Sunday the New People's Army (NPA) has "tens of thousands" of "part-time combatants" on top of at least 7,400 regular fighters engaging government forces in a protracted war that started about 37 years ago.
In a paper presented before a recent symposium organized by the AFP and the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), Jesuit priest Romeo Intengan said the communist movement call this type of combatants as "peasants" or "workers".
"The NPA, aside from having full-time or regular forces, has part-time forces in the form of people's militia and of self-defense forces," said Intengan, president of the think-tank Center for Strategic Studies.
"Aside from the 7,400 NPA regulars, there are tens of thousands of part-time combatants linked with the NPA, among these being the people's militia and the self-defense forces. They are on call by NPA and take part in combat," he added.
Intenan said the tapping of the part-time combatants is among the multi-faceted strategy of the communist movement that complicates the situation of human rights and humanitarian rights on the ground.
"There are very good reasons to consider them combatants or bearers of force under humanitarian law," said Intengan, adding however that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the NPA's political arm, will resist their classification as such.
Government forces last year raided an alleged rebel lair in Palo town in Leyte, killing 10 insurgents and captured 13 others. But militant groups said those killed and captured were mere farmers who were on a vigil.
Intengan said the CPP "will resist their classification as combatants or bearers of force, so that casualties among them in armed encounters can be called "peasants" or "workers" or the like, to the detriment of the public image and legitimacy of the government.
He also said the CPP, NPA, and the National Democratic Front (NDF)- which is representing the two communist groups in peace negotiations with government - "form a single politico-military complex pursuing armed overthrow of the government."
"The NPA and the NDF and their legal projections, in the form of multisectoral and sectoral legal mass organizations, party-list groups and other political formations, are all under the firm control of the CPP through cadres holding leading or decisive positions in these organizations," he said.
He also cited the "asymmetrical nature" of government forces and the communists. He said government troops are open targets even while they are on off-duty, noting that they are identifiable because they operate openly while NPAs "maintain their covert and clandestine nature."
"This situation of asymmetry, unless compensated for by excellent intelligence capability on the part of the government, could exasperate members of government forces and tempt them to carry out anti-insurgency measures that could be violative of human rights, such as violence against targets whose status in terms of bearing arms is uncertain," he said.
Intengan also mentioned about the NPAs recruitment and exploitation of minors for combat. He said that while is clearly against human rights, the NPA frequently practices this especially in "areas inhabited by indigenous people."
He said the communist group also brings non-combatants, including students, to combat zones for "exposure or immersion," thus "subjecting them to danger of injury in case an armed encounter takes place with government forces."
Intengan said the communists persist on doing this "because exposure or immersion of this kind is often effective in consolidating recruitment of prospective members or fighters for their movement."
He also said that the techniques and tactics being employed by military and police forces could be easily imitated. He hinted that that this is the reason why certain atrocities are being blamed on either the AFP and the PNP or both.
"The techniques, tactics, and procedures used (by the AFP and the PNP) are not clandestine and could be easily imitated by other groups who would want to make it appear that the AFP or the PNP are the authors of certain acts of violence," said the military priest.
"Could this be the explanation for certain mysterious killings or armed assaults? Who could be doing these? Extreme rightist elements? Politicians acting as agent provocateurs in order to project and increase political instability so that they will have better chances to accede to or seize state power?" he asked.
He said the communist movement is "organizationally complex, sophisticated, and efficient and effectively addressing them requires adequate understanding of their organizational dynamics, including their command and control system."
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Arroyo two months ago said she wanted security forces to cripple the insurgents in two years. She has authorized the release of P1 billion in additional counter-insurgency funds to the military and the police. (VR/Sunnex)
(August 7, 2006 issue)
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