Govt won’t push peace with Reds

From the Manila Standard Today (Mar 15): Govt won’t push peace with Reds

Government chief negotiator Alexander Padilla said on Thursday that the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front have bogged down, adding that it was a “waste of time” to negotiate with the communist group.

“I don’t think we should waste our time (negotiating with the CPP-NDF). They always find ways and means to look for an issue,” Padilla said.

“Effectively they have scuttled the talks under the special track. All the more that we cannot expect the regular track to resume,” he added.

On Wednesday, President Benigno Aquino III said that the government had no plans of meeting CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison any time soon.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said there was never a plan for a dialog with the NDF because “there was no meeting of the minds.”

According to a report of the NDFP National Council, the meeting between Mr. Aquino and Sison was proposed by presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas during informal talks in Utrecht late 2012 and was supposed to happen early this year in Hanoi.

NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni had said what was supposed to be a historic meeting will no longer push through because of the “duplicity” of the government.
But Lacierda said this was only the “spin” of the NDF, adding that the communist group had themselves to blame for making impossible demands.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/03/15/govt-wont-push-peace-with-reds/