Philippine Maoist leader wants to keep armed unit

From the Gulf Today (Sep 26): Philippine Maoist leader wants to keep armed unit

MANILA: The chief Communist rebel negotiator said they intend to retain their armed component the New People’s Army (NPA) instead of surrendering their arms once a peace treaty is signed with the government.

Luis Jalandoni, a former priest and the head of the National Democratic Front (NDF), pointed out the NPA members could be used to protect farmers and communities as well as serve as guards to protect the forests.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the NPA will no longer fight, so what will we do?” Jalandoni told a media briefing in Davao City, referring to the possible signing of a peace pact with the government.

“The NPA,” he said, “can then be used to protect communities and farmers and can even serve as guards to protect forests.”

On Sunday, Malacanang Palace through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, has yet to react to Jalandoni’s statement.

The NDF is the political arm representing the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed component the NPA in the resumption of their peace talks with the government in Oslo, Norway which has been brokering the negotiations.

On the other hand, the CPP and the NPA have been waging a Maoist-style insurgency against the government for more than 45 years, considered the longest in Asia and the Pacific.

On Thursday night, President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte disclosed he discussed with Jalandoni over dinner in a Davao City hotel the ongoing peace negotiations following reports that government and Maoist negotiators have been meeting in Manila to hasten the peace process.

Duterte did not reveal details of his talks with Jalandoni but said he would leave it up to the government and rebel negotiators on how to go about the formal negotiations that resumed in Oslo, Norway in August.

The two panels are to resume the second round of formal talks in Oslo from Oct.6 to 10 but former congressman Hernani Braganza, a member of the government panel, earlier disclosed they have been meeting the Maoist representatives in Manila to help hasten the negotiations.

Braganza disclosed that one of the issues they tackled in Manila was the possibility of extending the unilateral ceasefire declared while their representatives are talking peace in Oslo.

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