From MindaNews (Nov 4): Bishops support calls for resumption of GPH-NDF peace talks
Church leaders and a peace movement here are supporting the call for resumption of peace talks between the government (GPH) and the National Democratic Front (NDF). Bishop Modesto Villasanta, convenor of Exodus for Justice and Peace, told MindaNews in a telephone interview Sunday that he supports the call for resumption of the talks, especially on the socio-economic reforms that will be the “meat” of the peace process as it would include discussions, among others, on land reform and distribution, and national industrialization. Villasanta’s comment came a day after Bishop Delfin Callao of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, co-convenor of Sowing Seeds for Peace, that they hope the talks peace talks will resume and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). “We hope for the resumption of the peace talks, for the full and sincere implementation of the CARHIHL which until now has been repeatedly violated every so often especially in the context of worsening state of impunity in Mindanao,” Callao said....
Sowing the Seeds for Peace is a multi-sectoral movement of advocates for peace and justice pushing for the “sustained and sincere “ conduct of the GPH-NDF peace negotiations. The peace movement said the NDF asked the group’s help to educate the public on the benefits of the CARHRIHL, which “could be a powerful tool in defense of the people’s rights.” In a forum here last Saturday, human rights lawyer Edre Olalia, NDF legal consultant, said the economic crisis “will necessitate that the NDFP and GPH will have to discuss these problems and find solutions. The armed conflict will always be there. The solutions to the roots of the armed conflict are always an urgent matter. The question is timing,” he said.
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/11/04/bishops-support-calls-for-resumption-of-gph-ndf-peace-talks/
There are a number of clergy in the Philippines, especially among those who have "opted for the poor" (Liberation Theology) that tend to sympathize with the NDF/NPA. Exodus for Justice & Peace and Sowing Seeds for Peace appear to be two such organizations. As an added note, Exodus for Justice & Peace has opposed the conduct of U.S. military exercises in the southern Philippines and some of its members have engaged in anti-U.S. military protest/propaganda activities.
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