Reds accuse gov’t of badfaith in peace talks

TARLAC CITY — Communist rebels have accused the government of "bad faith" in the on-and-off peace talks and of kowtowing to the US government.

Ruth de Leon, National Democratic Front (NDF) spokeswoman, said the Arroyo administration has been "collaborating" with the US government to "scuttle" the talks "under the pretext of anti-terrorism" in violation of a number of agreements with the rebels.

"The (government) has exposed itself as negotiating in bad faith by refusing to comply with the agreements that it has signed with the NDF, and by colluding with the US to attack the revolutionary forces and members of the NDF negotiating panel," she said.

De Leon said the NDF, political umbrella of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has "ample evidence" that the US and Philippine government "colluded" in the "terrorist" listing of the

CPP, NPA and exiled communist leader Jose Ma. Sison to pressure the rebels to capitulate and to justify the escalation of US military intervention in the Philippines.

Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes lobbied in Washington for the "terrorist" listing in 2001, when he was secretary of national defense, she added.

De Leon said Malacañang through the new government peace panel, headed by former labor secretary Nieves Confesor, has been "trying to precondition the negotiations with a demand for a prolonged ceasefire."

The NDF’s demand was for the government to comply with its bilateral and joint agreements, not to make any precondition to the peace talks, she added.

De Leon said in 2002, the late foreign affairs secretary Blas Ople led a high-level mission to Brussels in Belgium to convince the European Union to also consider the rebel movement as "terrorist."

Following the EU decision, Dutch authorities suspended Sison’s privileges as a "political refugee," although he has been living in exile in the Netherlands for a long time, she added.

Sison may likely seek political refuge in Norway, which has been hosting and facilitating the peace talks, if Dutch authorities decide to expel him, De Leon said.

Norway is not a member of the EU.

Meanwhile, the CPP denied yesterday a claim of the Armed Forces that New People’s Army guerrillas are now in Metro Manila to take part in massive anti-government demonstrations.

CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal said the AFP statement constitutes a threat by the Arroyo administration to clamp down on mass actions.

"(It is) baseless, irresponsible and extremely unintelligent," he said.

Rosal said using the NPA bogey is "a narrow-minded attempt" to justify the government’s "iron-fist policy" against mass actions as in the violent dispersal of a demonstration in front of the Malate Church in Manila on April 7.

"The Arroyo regime is doing a Marcos in using the NPA bogey and threatening to use police and military violence against rallies to scare the people away from joining street demonstrations," he said.

"Through such an AFP briefing, the Arroyo regime hopes to draw away the people’s attention from the basic issues of price increases, low wages, new taxes, political repression and blind puppetry to US dictates. — Benjie Villa, Arnell Ozaeta