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Sunday, December 22, 2002
Arroyo declares four-day truce with communists
MANILA -- President Arroyo on Saturday announced a four-day unilateral ceasefire with communist insurgents on December 24 and 25 and December 31 and January 1 as part of Christmas gestures.
"I hereby declare a suspension of offensive military operations against the NPA (New People's Army) on Christmas eve and Christmas day and New Year's eve and New Year's day," Arroyo said on the 67th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces.
Her declaration came despite threats by the communist insurgent NPA that it would not follow the traditional Christmas season ceasefire with the government.
However the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the political leadership of the NPA, swiftly rejected a reciprocal ceasefire, saying Arroyo's declaration was a "plain and simple deception".
The communists said in a statement that Arroyo was "hypocritically making use of the token ceasefire as a publicity gimmick," adding that their refusal to also declare a truce was a "defensive policy," against the military's operations in rural areas.
Military officials, however, said the President's four-day furlough for battle-weary soldiers would not allow military personnel deployed in the field to join their families when the Somo takes effect, making it a useless break.
Sources said the declared Somo was a compromise Malacaņang had to strike with soldiers to temper negative sentiments brewing within ranks of the military.
The President said she decided to give the "winning force" a break this Season as a reward for standing united "behind duty and professionalism." "So they deserve a rest from their combat missions," she said.
She also said the unilateral ceasefire would give both the soldiers and the NPAs time to celebrate what she described as "the most important day of peace on earth."
"Sa ngalan ng ating mga kababayan, maraming salamat, mga sundalo, at mapayapang Pasko sa piling ng iyong kamag-anak itong darating na Pasko at Bagong Taon,"
the President said.
However, military officials, who requested anonymity, said the President's four- day furlough is useless since it would not really accomplish the purpose by which the holiday vacation was meant for.
Sources said AFP Chief of Staff Dionisio Santiago wanted a longer break to give ample time for travel. Many soldiers in Mindanao, insiders said, whose families are in Luzon would need more than two days to be with their families.
"That is the reason why traditionally, the ceasefire takes at least one straight week, sometimes two weeks. What can we do with two short days?" military officials said.
The farthest these soldiers could go from the field, sources said, "is back to their barracks, not their families." "This is merely for purposes of public perception," sources said.
However, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes defended the President's decision, calling it "the better arrangement."
Apparently, Reyes virtually confirmed what military sources said that the four-day Somo was a compromise between what the President wanted and what the AFP was desired.
The President got the ire of both allies and critics for shutting the door on a ceasefire this season. She said she wanted the operations against the communist-terrorist group to be sustained.
Apart from that, the President has been saying that the NPAs usually take advantage of the ceasefire to regroup and replenish their wares.
But critics from both the administration and opposition chided her for breaking the tradition that most soldiers look forward at the end of the year.
The ceasefires, which began in 1986, have traditionally lasted for at least two weeks but this year, both sides expressed reluctance to observe a long truce as attacks by the rebels on civilian targets have increased.
The 9,000-strong NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a 33-year Maoist insurgency against Manila.
The NPA has been stepping up its attacks on civilian targets since the United States and some European governments placed the group in their list of "foreign terrorist organizations" earlier this year.
Talks between the government and the communists were called off last year after the NPA killed two legislators.(Joshua Dancel) |
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