Norway reaffirms long-term commitment to peace building in the PHL

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 15): Norway reaffirms long-term commitment to peace building in the PHL

Norwegian Special Envoy to the peace process Elisabeth Slattum confirmed Norway’s long term commitment toward peace-building in the Philippines.

“Peace processes are marathons, not sprints. We need to patiently work towards a political settlement of the conflict, and drawing lessons and experiences from other peace processes such as the Colombian can contribute to creative thinking leading to progress in the GPH-NDFP (Government of the Philippines and National Democratic Front of the Philippines),”said Slattum.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in the Philippines hosted a forum titled “War and Peace in the Philippines and Colombia: Pathways to a Political Settlement” in efforts to provide lessons from the Colombian experience to the Philippines struggling with a communist insurgency for nearly 50 years.

Norway and Cuba are the third party facilitators of the peace talks between the Colombian government and the Marxist Rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército Pueblo (FARC-EP), and a final agreement between the two parties is envisioned this year.

Norwegian Special Envoy to the Peace Process in Colombia Ambassador Dag Nylander shared the “distinctive Norwegian approach” in peace negotiations.

Norwegian approach: “Building trust and confidence”

Nylander underscored the importance of dialogue in order to build trust and confidence of both parties.

“If we have their trust and confidence, we are in a far better position to support the process and foster a peaceful solution,” Nylander said.

“Talking to the parties in the conflict is essential in order to develop an understanding of the conflict and of the various positions of the key stakeholders,” he added.

Furthermore, Nylander added that having a long-term perspective in all

“We have to stay on course even if the course is long and daunting,” Nylander said, complementing Slattum’s statement regarding the peace process.

In the Philippines, international nongovernment organizations such as International Alert are calling for a ceasefire from now up to the May local and national elections and urging the presidential aspirants to make the resumption of negotiations a priority.

Furthermore, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) remains open to the NDFP to recommence for peace negotiations.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=847043