By Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
18 March 2002
The Macapagal-Arroyo regime has practically scuttled the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations by announcing that it has “suspended” the formal negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP negotiating panels and expressing preference for “backchannel” talks with no other purpose but to demand the capitulation of the NDFP.
The regime is setting an ultimatum and threatening to escalate military offensives and US military intervention. It is telling the revolutionary forces to surrender or else face more vicious attacks than ever before.
Since coming to office, Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo has in fact continued the all-out war policy of her predecessor Estrada against the revolutionary movement, despite her protestations of desiring peace negotiations. She is in the clutches of the same generals headed by Gen. Angelo Reyes who pushed Estrada to adopt the all-out war policy.
She is a marionette of the US. And her US-assigned handler is defense secretary Angelo Reyes. She pretends to be for peace negotiations and yet she unleashes brutal campaigns of suppression. She is now trying to cast away all the agreements made in the peace negotiations and is deliberately provoking the NDFP to formally declare the termination of the peace negotiations.
The ultimatum and threat of Macapagal-Arroyo underscore the continuing all-out war policy pushed by Gen. Angelo Reyes from the time of Estrada to the present and challenge the revolutionary movement to intensify the people’s war.
The office of the presidential adviser on the peace process has proven to be nothing but a pretentious psywar office of the reactionary armed forces. The GRP negotiating panel chaired by Silvestre Bello III is being used by the military as a bunch of dispensable psywar assets.
The NDFP will neither be intimidated nor deceived by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime, especially because the crisis conditions of the world capitalist system and the domestic ruling system of big compradors and landlords are exceedingly favorable for advancing the revolutionary movement.
As proven during the time of the Marcos fascist dictatorship, no amount of repression and US military intervention can intimidate the revolutionary forces and the people. On the contrary, oppression engenders revolutionary resistance and growth of the revolutionary movement. #
