Reds get safe conduct pass

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Avelino Razon Jr. announced yesterday the lifting of the suspension of the safe conduct pass for communist leaders beginning today in preparation for the resumption of formal peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front in Oslo, Norway next month.

Razon announced the revival of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees or JASIG in a speech during the opening of the Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Program (CPPB) partners’ meeting at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

“These positive developments should inspire us even more to work together for our shared cause of a just peace,” Razon said.

“I am very glad that today’s meeting comes at a time when the peace process with the rebel groups is once again starting to pick up,” Razon said.

He said JASIG was shelved following the collapse of the peace negotiations with the NDF in 2005 after its armed wing the New People’s Army was tagged as a terror group by the United States and other Western countries.

President Arroyo refused communist demands that she ask western governments to cancel the rebels’ designation as terrorists.

Razon said the communist insurgency, one of the longest running in the world, has left thousands dead and hampered the country’s economic development.

“Prospects for a return to the peace negotiating table are very good,” Razon said.

He said a breakthrough was made last June 15 when a government peace panel conducted informal consultations with the NDF in Oslo with the help of the Norwegian government.

“I view the CPPB program, along with other peace-building efforts, as an effective mechanism in providing and nurturing an environment conducive to the peace negotiations in particular and an inclusive peace process in general, as it facilitates the mainstreaming of the peace and human security lens in national and local governance processes, capacitates peace actors at various levels in peace-building and conflict prevention, and empowers communities through catalytic projects,” Razon said.

“The CPPB, through its policy development component, will be instrumental in shaping the national peace agenda that will inform the next peace and development planning cycle under a new administration,” he said.

A senior Razon aide said the official may meet with communist negotiator Luis Jalandoni before the resumption of the peace negotiations.

Jalandoni is among the 96 NDF negotiators and consultants who would be immune from arrest under JASIG.

The rebel leader arrived in Manila earlier this week from his Dutch exile.

“The list covers 96 names, including Jalandoni and other consultants and peace negotiators of the insurgents,” Razon said.

He said arrest warrants against them would be lifted today and for the entire duration of the talks.

“They are free from arrest (during) peace talks,” Razon said. However, they can still be arrested if they commit common crimes like robbery or murder, or offenses not covered by JASIG.

The NPA, whose membership ballooned to more than 26,000 in the mid-1980s, has dwindled to 5,000 armed members, according to military estimates.

Norway had previously hosted the negotiations until they were suspended four years ago. Many of the communists’ top leaders, including Jalandoni, live in exile in the Netherlands.

Their designation as “terrorists” on international lists led to the freezing of their assets and bank accounts, including those held by Jose Maria Sison, the group’s exiled leader who is based in the Dutch city of Utrecht.

Free detainees

Human rights group Karapatan hailed the lifting of the suspension of JASIG and said detained NDF consultants should be released.

“We welcome the announcement of both parties of their readiness to return to the negotiating table to pursue a just and lasting peace,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary-general of Karapatan, said.

Aside from the revival of JASIG, she said the government should further show good faith by releasing some political detainees.

She cited the case of one Elizabeth Principe who remains in detention days after the dismissal of the case against her by a regional trial court in Bambang, Nueva Ecija.

“However, while there are ongoing measures to supposedly facilitate the release of some (of) the consultants, we are concerned that Elizabeth Principe is not yet released from the Camp Crame Custodial Center, despite the dismissal by the courts of all the charges against her,” she said.

Karapatan said Principe, a rural health worker and an NDF consultant, was “abducted” in Nov. 28, 2007. She was presented to the media three days later as “a high-ranking member of the New People’s Army.”

Karapatan said other NDF consultants in detention are Randall Echanis, Angelina Ipong, Eduardo Sarmiento, Emeterio Antalan, Glicerio Pernia, Eduardo Serrano, Randy Felix Malayao, Jaime Soledad and Edgardo Friginal.

Karapatan also called for the dismissal of the “fabricated charges” against NDF consultants Vic Ladlad and Rafael Baylosis.

“The government must immediately release Principe, all detained NDF consultants and staff, and all JASIG-protected individuals as a confidence-building measure for the peace negotiations,” Enriquez pointed out.

“The Arroyo government should show its sincerity for the peace process by releasing these detained personnel so that the negotiations for a just and lasting peace can resume,” she added. – With Katherine Adraneda