Government panel to fly to Norway for CPP talks

MANILA, Philippines – Government negotiators will fly to Oslo in Norway next month to resume talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which have been stalled for four years.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Jesus Dureza said yesterday the government panel would be headed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Dureza said it may take some time before CPP founder Jose Maria Sison can return to the Philippines.

“Let us not hurry  because there are still some things to be resolved,” Dureza said.

He added that  if Sison “feels that it’s time for him to go back to the Philippines, then he is already a strong partner for our peace efforts.”

“Definitely, the Philippine government will do its best to assist him in that direction,” Dureza said.

The peace talks were stalled during the Aquino administration after government negotiators said the rebel group insisted on some preconditions before agreeing to negotiate.

Both parties met in Norway in February 2011, but were not able to agree on issues that include the release of detained communist insurgents and the declaration of a ceasefire. The peace talks have not moved since. 

Dureza said even if the US has tagged the CPP as a terrorist group, he remains confident that it will not stand in the way of the peace efforts.

“The third party countries, I’m sure they will also provide a way in such that they will not be stumbling blocks but (rather) they will be assisting us in our efforts to bring peace to the land,” he stressed. 

He also said that the negotiation is between the Philippine government and the CPP-NPA-NDF (New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) and not between Manila and the US government or other nations. 

“So, if at the end of the day, there will be a consensus between the Philippine government and the leadership of the CPP-NPA-NDF, then definitely, the Philippine government will take a position in accordance with what we agree on,” Dureza said.

As for the Muslim rebel groups, he said the government is still in the process of creating a roadmap that may provide a clear direction on unifying the peace efforts with the Muslims and the indigenous people.