Lift terror tag, we talk' --NDF (tags)
Communist rebels are willing to resume peace talks, but only if the government initiates the dropping of the terror tag on the revolutionary movement, exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Jose Ma. Sison said yesterday. Sison said they would only return to the negotiating table when the government moves to have the CPP and the New People’s Army (NPA) stricken off the lists of foreign terrorist organizations drawn up by the United States and the European Union. Sison said the government must also show it is sincere about stopping the military from carrying out extrajudicial killings, while also indemnifying victims of human rights violations.
Talks with MILF to resume after elections (tags)
Stalled peace talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are to resume after the May 14 elections. Both sides have agreed to work toward a resumption of the talks, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement Thursday. ---BACKED by howitzer and mortar fire, elite Army troops on Thursday seized a makeshift camp of the Moro National Liberation Front in Sulu where nearly 100 Abu Sayyaf extremists were believed to be hiding.
War in Mindanao :Palace, AFP reject OIC call for ceasefire in Sulu (tags)
Manila-- Malacañang is giving full support to the military offensive against renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces in Sulu, which entered its fourth day of fierce fighting yesterday. While the government acknowledges the appeal of the 47-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to disengage forces, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there must be an assurance against further attacks from the renegade forces. Nearly 8,500 families ( 40,000 people)have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies. The mass evacuations are a bitter development for conflict-scarred residents, who had hoped Jolo was becoming a more stable place after a long-running military campaign to rid the island of scores of Islamic militants.
HOUSE BACKS DOWN ON CON-ASS (tags)
---Faced with threats of massive protests against the planned constituent assembly (Con-Ass), President Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives said on Saturday that they would settle for a constitutional convention (Con-con).