Preconditioning the resumption of formal talks with capitulation is completely absurd

by Prof. JM Sison, NDFP Sunday, Jul. 09, 2006 at 1:01 PM



The Hague Joint Declaration stipulates that no precondition from any side shall negate the inherent character and purpose of peace negotiations. The Arroyo regime’s demand for capitulation and pacification of the revolutionary forces ignores the roots of the armed conflict and the people’s demands for basic reforms. It runs counter to The Hague Joint Declaration.

It is completely absurd for Gloria M. Arroyo and her subalterns to precondition the resumption of formal talks in GRP-NDFP peace negotiations with the capitulation of the NDFP under the guise of a permanent or prolonged ceasefire that is not based on any agreement on social, economic and political reforms satisfactory to the people and the revolutionary forces.

The Hague Joint Declaration stipulates that no precondition from any side shall negate the inherent character and purpose of peace negotiations. The Arroyo regime’s demand for capitulation and pacification of the revolutionary forces ignores the roots of the armed conflict and the people’s demands for basic reforms. It runs counter to The Hague Joint Declaration.

The NDFP Negotiating Panel has already put forward the draft of a 10-point Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace for the purpose of addressing the roots of the armed conflict in general terms and laying the basis for a ceasefire that can take place while detailed agreements are still being negotiated in accordance with The Hague Joint Declaration and other agreements.

Attached hereto is the draft of said concise agreement issued by the NDFP National Council on 27 August 2005. It asserts the national and democratic rights and interests of the Filipino people. It is diametrically opposed to the sham final peace agreement proposed by the GRP, focusing on the surrender of arms and the dissolution of the revolutionary forces and turning a blind eye to the conditions of oppression and exploitation.

The central leadership of the revolutionary movement in the Philippines has authorized only the NDFP Panel headed by Luis Jalandoni to negotiate with the GRP. It is not going to authorize any other entity to engage in any localized talks with the Arroyo regime. Every where the revolutionary forces and people uphold their revolutionary unity and principles against the rotten ruling system and are ever vigilant towards the treacherous character of the Arroyo regime and the barbarities under the regime’s all-out war policy.

The Arroyo regime has brazenly violated the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by perpetrating the following: the extrajudicial killing of political consultant Sotero Llamas, the repeated attempts to assassinate Atty. Romeo T. Capulong and the arbitrary arrest and detention of at least four regional political consultants in the peace negotiations.

The Arroyo regime is always boasting about its military prowess and its pipedream of destroying the revolutionary movement. The general public can visit http://www.philippinerevolution.net to find out how the revolutionary movement is waging various forms of struggle to defend and advance the national and democratic rights and interests of the people, especially the workers, peasants and the middle social strata. ###



Attachment:

NDFP PROPOSES CONCISE AGREEMENT TO END CIVIL WAR AND ACHIEVE JUST PEACE IMMEDIATELY



By The National Council
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
27 August 2005



The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) is hereby proposing a Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace (CAIJP) to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), be it the incumbent regime or the new one that may arise soon. Every point in this proposal is demanded by the people and is for their benefit.



The civil war ends and a just peace begins as soon as the GRP co-signs this 10-point concise but comprehensive peace agreement with the NDFP. Alliance and truce become the modus vivendi of the GRP and the NDFP.



The NDFP rejects the proposal of the GRP for a sham peace agreement which requires the revolutionary forces of the NDFP to surrender to the GRP in exchange for empty promises or to engage in a ceasefire agreement for obscuring and freezing the people’s demands for major reforms.



The ten points of the peace agreement of the NDFP are as follows:



1. Unite the Filipino people through a broad alliance of patriotic and progressive forces and a clean and honest coalition government for genuine national independence and democracy against any foreign domination or control and against subservience.



2. Empower the toiling masses of workers and peasants by respecting their democratic rights and providing for their significant representation in organs of the coalition government and for assistance to the organizations, programs and projects of the toiling masses.



3. Uphold economic sovereignty, carry out Filipino-owned national industrialization and land reform and oppose imperialist plunder and bureaucratic and military corruption in order to develop the national economy.



4. Cancel the foreign debt and reduce the appropriations for the military and other armed organizations of the GRP in order to provide adequate resources and savings for economic development, improvement of the means of livelihood, the alleviation of poverty, the realization of gender equality, promotion of children’s rights and welfare and healthy environment.



5. Promote and support a patriotic, scientific and pro-people culture through the educational system, mass media and mass organizations, cherish the cultural heritage of the Filipino nation and all the ethno-linguistic communities in the country.



6. Recognize the right to self-determination and autonomy of national minorities, ensure proportionate representation in organs of the coalition government and institutions and provide for affirmative action to countervail longrunning discrimination and wrongs.



7. Investigate and try government officials who are liable for treason, corruption and human rights violations.



8. Carry out a truly independent foreign policy for world peace and economic development, oppose imperialist acts of plunder and foreign aggression and intervention, and prevent the basing and stationing of foreign troops and weapons of mass destruction in the country.



9. Maintain normal trade and diplomatic relations with all countries and develop the closest of relations with other ASEAN countries, China, South and North Korea, Japan and Russia, emphasizing equable exchange of goods, acquiring goods for industrialization and guaranteeing energy supply.



10. Inaugurate a truce between the warring forces of the GRP and NDFP for the purpose of alliance and other constructive purposes as stated above.



The above ten points are substantive general statements of principles and policies in the national and democratic interest of the Filipino people. We challenge and urge the GRP to discuss these points and agree on them with the NDFP immediately.



Our proposal is responsive to the demands of the broad masses of the people for basic reforms. Only the rabid puppets, oppressors, plunderers and brutal violators of human rights are opposed to the ten points.



The civil war between the GRP and the NDFP shall cease and a just peace shall ensue within the very day that the GRP and NDFP co-sign the proposed Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace.



Otherwise the Filipino people and revolutionary forces are more than ever justified to continue the new democratic revolution through people’s war, even as efforts may be exerted to pursue the peace negotiations within the framework of The Hague Joint Declaration.





Issued on behalf of the NDFP National Council



Luis G. Jalandoni
Member, National Executive Committee
Chairperson, Negotiating Panel
National Democratic Front of the Philippines