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Friday, November 07, 2008
Ecumenical group pushes for gov’t-NDF talks
By Froilan Gallardo
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- A group of religious leaders reiterated Thursday the call for the Philippine government and National Democratic Front to resume their stalled peace talks and address the roots of armed conflict.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also called on Thursday for an end to all forms of armed rebellion, particularly insurgency in the country.
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Sister Cres Lucero of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines said there is no reason for both parties not to go back to the negotiating table even if the Philippine government and the NDF had presented their respective preconditions for the resumption of the peace talks.
Lucero said the NDF wants the Philippine government to initiate efforts to remove the terrorist label on its movement while the Arroyo administration want the communist guerillas to first agree to a ceasefire or lay down their arms before the talks resume.
"This could the basis of talking again," she said.
Lucero said their group, the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, met with members of the government peace panel and the NDF panel in Makati and Utrecht, Norway to discuss how to "jumpstart" the peace talks.
"In our meeting with the NDF officials in Utrecht, Norway, they have maintained their willingness to resume the talks," Lucero told reporters here. "But they also want the Philippine government to push for the removal of the terrorist label the United States and the European Union put on their organization."
Lucero said the NFD accused the Philippine government of prodding the United States government and the European Union to include it in the list of international terrorist groups.
"The Philippine government has repeatedly denied it had something to do with the terrorist labeling," she said.
Lucero said they asked the Royal Norwegian Government, the third-party host, if it could make representations with the European Union for the removal of the NDF from the list but its foreign ministry declined.
"Unless the Philippine government will take the lead, the Norwegian Government will not try to influence the European Union," she said.
Lucero said the Norwegian Royal Government, however, initiated moves early this year to gather the peace panels of the Philippine government and the NDF in a bid to revive the peace talks.
News reports said Philippine government officials and the communist rebels held three days of secret peace talks in Oslo, Norway in May this year but these ended without both sides issuing any statements.
"This conflict has to end because the people are simply tired of it," Lucero said. "But both sides must address the roots of the armed conflict."
Lucero said she hopes that the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform can be a vehicle to generate a groundswell of peace movements that would lobby for an end to four decades of communist insurgency.
"The call of civil society organizations is simple. There is a need to talk again and come up with a political settlement," said Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Iglesia Filipina Indepediente.
President Arroyo in her speech during the Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) in Zambales stressed the need to rid the country of communist rebels who impedes progress and development in some of the country’s rural areas.
“If we are to become a first world country in 20 years, we have to put a stop to their ideological nonsense once and for all. And the reasons why we have the local peace and security assembly is that, together with the citizens, we have to get rid of the insurgency now, by 2010,” the President said.
She said the new premise on the government’s peace efforts focuses not on negotiating with armed groups, but authentic dialogues with the people in the communities.
“These dialogues with the communities will be centered on ending all forms of armed rebellion in the country. By talking directly with the people, we aim to generate a national consensus against armed struggle as a means of achieving political and social change,” she added.
President Arroyo said disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) is the government’s framework in negotiating peace talks with any armed groups.
“DDR, as espoused by the communities, will be a notice to armed groups of their rejection of armed struggle; and a way of showing that the force of arms does not entitle them to representing our people,” she said.
The Chief Executive said “through these engagements, our people will necessarily make all armed groups accountable to the people and the government for all their actions.” (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (November 7, 2008 issue)
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