From The Standard (Jan 10): Bayan to AFP: Disclose contents of new Oplan
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense should disclose the actual contents of their new campaign plan, Development Support and Security Plan Kapayapaan, launched last week at a top level command conference, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said on Tuesday.
If it is a sequel to Oplan Bayanihan, claiming to put primacy on the peace negotiations and so-called non-combat “development” work, but continuing the militarization of communities, then it is not new nor will it succeed, Renato M. Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general said.
Reyes said: “Will DSSP Kapayapaan cause the pullout of troops from lumad and other occupied areas? Will this cause the suspension of military operations masquerading as non-combat, development operations in civilian communities?
“Will this end the “IP-centric” approach adopted by Oplan Bayanihan that has resulted in human rights violations in indigenous communities? Will this make the AFP stop targeting legal activists, whether through trumped-up charges or by extrajudicial killings?
“Will the AFP disband paramilitary groups especially those most notorious for rights abuses such as massacres?”
“If the answer to all these questions is No, then we are in for more of the same. Maybe even worse,” Reyes said.
Reyes said Oplan Bayanihan of Aquino also claimed to recognize the primacy of the peace process but instead unleashed war on the people.
“It was an utter failure as the peace talks were stalled while the AFP failed to stop the advance of the revolutionary forces.”
He added it was “this reality that served as the basis for the Duterte administration to enter into peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,” Reyes said.
According to Reyes, the AFP should upload and make available the new DSSP Kapayapaan to allow its scrutiny by all stakeholders and interested parties, including human rights groups, peace advocates, and members of Congress.
Kapayapaan’s predecessor Oplan Bayanihan was made available to the public by the previous regime and can be found at the AFP’s website.
Reyes claimed people in the countryside continued to call for the pull-out of AFP troops operating in civilian communities.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/news/-main-stories/top-stories/226417/bayan-to-afp-disclose-contents-of-new-oplan.html
Unless the AFP Development Support and Security Plan Kapayapaan capitulates to every communist demand, it will be opposed by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its associated front organizations. I would expect CPP fronts to mount extensive anti- "Kapayapaan" propaganda activities in an attempt to discredit the OPLAN just as they have done to all the military OPLANs that have preceded this one.
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