Philippine leftist group says agreements with gov’t must be respected
MANILA, May 3 — The joint agreements forged during the over 20 years
of negotiations between the leftist rebels and the Philippine
government should continue to be in effect and must be respected by both
sides until there is formal termination of the peace negotiations,
rebel group said Friday.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army- National
Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) said that the joint pacts include the
Hague Joint Declaration of 1990, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of 1998, and the
Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees.
The group said that other critical agreements “that were forged
through difficult negotiations and which serve as hallmarks of the
determination of the NDF and past Philippine governments to work through
differences and unite on matters of crucial importance to the Filipino
people” should also be respected.
The Aquino administration recently declared that it would no longer
pursue the 27-year-long formal peace talks or regular track with the
leftist rebels since they were going nowhere. The special track of
negotiations with the insurgents also bogged down last February.
“In light of the recent bellicose statements of the GPH ( government
of the Philippines) effectively terminating the NDFP- GPH peace
negotiations, the CPP and the NDF await a formal notification from the
GPH terminating the formal peace negotiations,” said the leftist rebel
group.
It said that peace negotiations are a two-sided interactive process
and to end it, one side must formally inform the other that it is no
longer interested in the talks.
The CPP-NPA-NDF has been waging war against the government for over four decades.
Comments