Philippine communist guerrillas will observe a seven-day truce from August 21 to bolster upcoming peace talks hosted by Norway, the rebels said, urging the Manila government to also order a ceasefire. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has restored the effects of the unilateral ceasefire with the communist rebels after the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines declared a seven-day ceasefire following the government’s decision to release detained communist leaders.
The announcement came ahead of the resumption of peace negotiations with the CPP-National Democratic Front on August 22 set in Oslo, Norway.
At least 17 rebel leaders, including Wilma and Benito Tiamzon, are to attend the Oslo peace talks.
Presidential adviser for the peace process Jesus Dureza made the announcement on the restoration of the unilateral ceasefire with the CPP-NDF and the New People’s Army on Saturday, Aug. 20.
“I am pleased to announce that President Rodrigo Duterte has restored the effects of the unilateral ceasefire with the CPP/ NPA/NDF effective 12 midnight tonight, 21 August 2016,” Dureza said in a statement.
“The duration of the ceasefire will last for as long as necessary to bring peace in the land and also in order to provide an enabling environment for the success of the peace negotiations that will start in Oslo, Norway on August 22.”
-Walking the extra mile for peace-
Malacanang said that this showed that the President is willing to “walk the extra mile for peace.”
“The President has already walked an extra mile for peace. He is glad that the CPP/NPA/NDF showed a similar gesture of goodwill as a sign of sincerity to the peace process days prior to our talks in Oslo, Norway,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.
“We therefore feel optimistic that the mutual efforts of both sides would lead to fruitful negotiations that could pave the way for substantive discussions in the hope of putting an end to one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies,” he added.
The President during his State of the Nation Address last July 25 first issued the unilateral ceasefire to immediately somehow stop violence and bring peace to the communities and the people.
However, six days after, the President lifted it on July 30 due to the failure of the CPP/NPA/NDF to timely reciprocate with their own. The lifting of the ceasefire followed a rebel ambush that killed a government militia member and wounded four others
“Today (August 20), the President restores the effects of that ceasefire declaration precisely at this strategic time when we are all at the onset of the formal resumption of peace talks that had previously stalled for the last four years,” Dureza announced.
The Philippine government also said that the operational guidelines of the said ceasefire declaration for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other security units of the government are also hereby restored.
“Our citizens deserve no less. They wish to live peaceful lives bereft of the costs and tragic consequences of conflict and violence,” Dureza said.
In the statement of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, it said that the enabling environment brought about by the ceasefire “will hopefully go a long way in bringing about an expeditious and early resolution to our differences and aspirations that have long divided us as people.”
Dureza explained that the President has caused the unprecedented and historical release from detention of 20 prisoners who are needed in peace negotiations
“As we speak, there is continuing effort to make available in the Oslo peace talks resumption as many of them as possible,” he said.
“I say again: the Duterte government will walk the extra mile for peace,” he added.
The CPP-NDF on Friday night declared a unilateral ceasefire with the government that would take effect until Aug. 27 to “celebrate and bolster” the resumption of peace negotiations.
In May, then incoming president Duterte had promised to free communist political prisoners if the representatives of CPP-NDF would agree to convene for peace talks.
In his SONA, he also declared that he would want the “peace of the living” to end decades-old war with the communist insurgents whom he said he regarded as friends.
In 2013, then President Benigno Aquino III refused to meet demands for the unconditional release of communists which prompted the end of the peace talks with the communist leaders.
The government estimates the 47-year-old rebellion has claimed 30,000 lives and impoverished vast swathes of the South East Asian nation.
Dureza said the government expects to reach an “interim negotiated ceasefire” as soon as possible to put in place mechanisms to avoid renewed conflict, something the unilateral truce declarations do not provide.
Although the communists said their own ceasefire would only last until August 27, a rebel statement said they were willing to discuss a longer ceasefire with Manila.
The rebel army is believed to have fewer than 4,000 gunmen left, down from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s, when a bloodless “People Power” revolt ended the 20-year dictatorship of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.
But the movement retains support among the poor in rural areas, and its forces regularly kill police or troops while extorting money from local businesses.
Duterte had enjoyed relatively good ties with guerrillas operating around Davao, the southern city which he led as mayor for more than 20 years.
A self-described socialist, the 71-year-old has since appointed two left-leaning personalities to his cabinet and even initially vowed to form a coalition government with the rebels should the peace talks succeed. (with a report from Agence France Press)
