PHILIPPINES:Gonzales to Reds: Truce or terror tag? (tags)
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who assumed his post yesterday as officer-in-charge of the defense department prior to the installation of the permanent defense secretary, warned communist rebels that they would be identified as terrorists once the anti-terror law or the Human Security Act of 2007 takes effect this month. Gonzales said the New People’s Army (NPA), however, could avoid the terrorist tag if the rebels declare a ceasefire. “If the NPA rebels refuse to implement a ceasefire, they will be branded as terrorist like the Abu Sayyaf, Rajah Solaiman Group and the Jemaah Islamiyah,” Gonzales told reporters during turnover rites at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, attended by outgoing Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.