Youth group Anakbayan over the weekend expressed optimism
over the preliminary talks between the Philippine government and the National
Democratic Front (NDF) slated to begin on Tuesday in Oslo
Both parties are set to negotiate on three preliminary
agreements, which include the honoring of all previous GPH-NDF agreements, the
release of all political prisoners, and the possibility of a joint ceasefire in
the duration of the formal peace negotiations.
“The youth has high hopes for the resumption of the peace
negotiation between the Philippine government and the NDF. In the same breath,
we laud incoming President Rodrigo Duterte for firmly believing that the
pursuit of peace is never an exercise in futility,” said Anakbayan Secretary
General Einstein Recedes.
The youth leader said that the negotiations should focus on
addressing the factors contributing to internal armed conflicts in the country.
“There is no better path forward than to continue
negotiations with the NDF. We support the call to honor previous agreements
with the NDF including the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and
Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) – which were hard-earned fruits of past
negotiations,” Recedes said.
The youth leader added that the peace negotiations will also
prove to be an avenue for the people to rightly demand for far-reaching
socio-economic reforms.
“On the part of the youth, we encourage both sides to
include in the peace negotiations concrete efforts to end the neoliberal
attacks on education and achieving free public education for all levels,”
Recedes said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=894174
Anakbayan (Sons and Daughters of the People)is Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) youth oriented front organization.
ReplyDeleteAccording the group's Website (http://www.anakbayan.org/):
"Anakbayan is the comprehensive, national democratic mass organization of the Filipino youth.
Established on the 30th of November 1998–the anniversary of Andres’ Bonifacio and pre-Martial Law organization, Kabataang Makabayan–it seeks to unite the youths from different sectors of society to advance the cause of national democracy: workers, peasants, fisherfolk, urban poor, students, out-of-school youth, women, professionals, migrants, Moros, Christians, etc.
It is open to all Filipino youths (ages 13-35 yrs. old) as long as they are willing to actively uphold the Program of the Organization.
Anakbayan holds the belief that Philippine society today is not truly free nor democratic. It is under the control of U.S imperialism, along with local landlords, big capitalists, and corrupt gov’t officials. The National Democratic Struggle seeks to realize true national liberation for the country and the realization of the democratic rights of the people."
Anakbayan is member of the main CPP multisectoral umbrella front group the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.