President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of unilateral
ceasefire with the communist rebels during his State of the Nation Address
(SONA) Monday brought optimism among militant groups in Negros Occidental led
by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Negros .
“This is what we were waiting from the President’s SONA,”
Christian Tuayon, secretary general of Bayan-Negros, told the Philippines News
Agency in an interview.
The President’s declaration of unilateral ceasefire with the
Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front
(CPP-NPA-NDF) was welcomed by NDF chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison.
Tuayon said a unilateral ceasefire is part of the
confident-building measures of the government to show sincerity in the
resumption of peace negotiation.
He added that the peace talks will spark the end of armed
conflict especially when it is covered by the substantive agenda of
socio-economic reform.
It is just proper for the government to suspend military
operations to prevent bloodshed while peace negotiation is ongoing, he further
said.
Tuayon, who was among the militant leaders who met with
Duterte in Malacañang after his inauguration last June 30, joined about 2,500
members of local progressive groups who held a nationally-coordinated “Rally
for Peace” at the Bacolod plaza last Monday.
In declaring the ceasefire, President Duterte ordered the
troops to immediately stop violence on the ground, restore peace in the
communities, and provide enabling environment conducive to the resumption of
the peace talks.
“To the CPP-NPA-NDF, let us end these decades of ambuscades
and skirmishes. We are going nowhere. And it is getting bloodier by the day,”
the President said.
Mr. Duterte said in his SONA that his administration will
strive to have a permanent and lasting peace before his term ends.
“That is my goal, that is my dream,” the President added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=908422
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.