By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
17 July 2007
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) must address and resolve beforehand certain prejudicial questions raised by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in order to resume the formal talks in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. In this regard, the GRP must do the following:
1. It must stop the extrajudicial killings, abductions, tortures, mass displacement of more than one million people and other human rights violations perpetrated by the reactionary armed forces.
2. It must declare that it is against the “terrorist” blacklisting of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA) and the NDFP chief political consultant.
3. It must indemnify the victims of human rights violations during the Marcos fascist regime.
If the GRP wants to have a ceasefire during the peace negotiations, it must come to terms with the NDFP on the basis of the 10-point Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace proposed by the NDFP and must agree with the NDFP on how to accelerate the forging of comprehensive agreements on social, economic and political reforms in order to address the root causes of the armed conflict.
Through the Norwegian government, the NDFP Negotiating Panel has long informed the GRP that it is ready to engage in exploratory talks for the purpose of resolving the abovementioned prejudicial questions and agreeing on a ceasefire that does not mean the surrender and pacification of the revolutionary forces and people but on one that is based on clear binding principles and the adoption of a procedure for accelerating agreements on social, economic and political reforms.
Until now, the GRP has not made any serious response to the just and reasonable demands of the NDFP. What the NDFP hears from the GRP consists of psywar mouthed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and General Hermogenes Esperon. Through them, we get the message that the GRP merely wants to destroy the revolutionary movement of the people either through military force or through the surrender and pacification of the revolutionary forces and people.
The arrogant and insulting statements of the officials of the Arroyo regime, which are added to the rampant human rights violations, only serve to remind the broad masses of the people that the regime knows no bounds for oppressing and exploiting them and that they must intensify all forms of struggle for the realization of national liberation and democracy. ###
