Eastern Visayas rebs again extend 'Yolanda' truce to mid-January, slam govt refusal to recriprocate

From InterAksyon (Nov 29): Eastern Visayas rebs again extend 'Yolanda' truce to mid-January, slam govt refusal to recriprocate

Communist rebels in Eastern Visayas have again extended an already lengthy truce they declared in areas devastated by super typhoon “Yolanda” and slammed the government and military for refusing to reciprocate the move.

The Communist Party of the Philippines earlier declared a unilateral ceasefire in stricken areas from November 8, the day “Yolanda” struck, to November 24 but soon after extended this to Christmas Eve.

However, the rebels in Eastern Visayas decided to extend the already lengthy truce to January 2 to allow their forces to “care for and lead the masses in overcoming” the “unparalleled calamity.”

Fr. Santiago Salas, spokesman of the National Democratic Front in the region, said in a statement dated Thursday that they had extended their ceasefire even further, “up to mid-January 2014.”

The government, however, has not declared a similar cessation of hostilities and suggested instead an indefinite ceasefire, which the rebels have rejected. The military has been more candid in rejecting a truce, with Eastern Visayas military commander Major General Jet Velarmino saying, “We did not make a declaration of ceasefire even after the typhoon. They (rebels) are enemies of the state.

Salas called the refusal to reciprocate the truce “despicable” and said it cast doubt on the government’s avowed commitment to lasting peace.

“If the Aquino government cannot bring itself to call even a limited ceasefire in the name of humanity, how much more a just and lasting peace?” he asked.

Rebuking Velarmino, Salas said: “We may be enemies of the state, but we are the friends of the people, their interests come first. On the other hand, what else can we call the Aquino government and its military, except as enemies of the people for refusing a ceasefire that would facilitate aid to the Typhoon Yolanda victims?”

The rebel spokesman said the military had “showed no compunction in continuing their offensives against the New People’s Army even while the region was still reeling from the typhoon’s aftermath,” with troops of the 8th Infantry Division “still on combat operations under Oplan Bayanihan in the central parts of Samar island.”
“Aside from search and destroy missions, they are also harassing villagers suspected of supporting the NPA,” Salas claimed.

“Is the Aquino government refusing a reciprocal ceasefire because it is not serious about long-term reconstruction in Eastern Visayas?” Salas asked, as he criticized the government’s relief and rehabilitation efforts.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/75844/eastern-visayas-rebs-again-extend-yolanda-truce-to-mid-january-slam-govt-refusal-to-recriprocate