(Eagle News) — Communist Party of the Philippines founding chair Jose Maria Sison on Thursday, June 22, accused the government of being “inconsistent and self-contradictory.”
Sison made the statement after the government announced a suspension of backchannel talks with them, pending a public consultation and a review of pacts reached by both sides during the negotiations.
“It seems to wish that the gains and agreements made in the back channel talks be preserved but it has informed the (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) that Duterte will review everything (process and agreements) since decades ago in 3 months. It is highly probable that he would come up with more demands unacceptable to the NDFP or he would outrightly continue his unrevoked termination of the peace negotiations through Proclamation 360,” Sison said, referring to the order issued by the President last year that officially declared the peace talks canceled.
According to Sison, in the next three months, Duterte’s “military, police and paramilitary forces will intensify their offensives and of course the revolutionary forces have to defend themselves and launch their own offensives.”
He said this was the reason why there was “no ceasefire in the next three months.”
“Duterte wants to launch his military offensives first and find out the results,” he said.
“Duterte continues to kill the peace negotiations. While he does this, the NDFP can always stand for peace negotiations not necessarily with the Duterte regime of unbridled terror and greed. The broad united front of patriotic and progressive forces and the people´s war are advancing and can oust the Duterte regime in due time,” he said.