Government suspends backchannel talks with Reds

MANILA, Philippines — A week after cancelling formal negotiations originally slated for June 28, the government suspended backchannel talks with communist rebels to allow a three-month review of all agreements related to previous peace negotiations, government peace panel member Hernani Braganza said yesterday.

Braganza, who led the government team in the backchanneling talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Utrecht, the Netherlands, conveyed the government’s decision to suspend all talks while the review is ongoing.

President Duterte had ordered the suspension of the peace talks with the NDF, citing the need for more consultations with stakeholders. The NDF is the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Braganza said the suspension does not preclude communications between the two parties if necessary.

“During the meeting, the NDF representatives expressed willingness to keep an open mind on the President’s decision and wait for the outcome of the government’s review before proceeding with any peace conversation with government,” Braganza said.

Braganza said the NDF also reiterated its commitment to all signed agreements, including those involving the planned visit of Sison to the Philippines for a meeting with the President. 

“In turn, we extended the government panel’s appreciation to the NDF’s open-mindedness in coming to terms with President Duterte’s decision,” he said.

Braganza said upon instructions of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza and government peace panel chairman Silvestre Bello III, a government team flew to Utrecht to formally communicate to the NDF the decision of President Duterte to reschedule the proposed resumption of government’s peace negotiations with communist guerrillas.

Third party facilitators from Norway led by special envoy for peace Idun Tvedt witnessed the meeting. The NDF panel is led by Fidel Agcaoili.

The government team also relayed to the NDF the decision of Dureza to utilize the three-month review period to consult stakeholders and the general public about the negotiations and the substantive issues involved.

The NDF leaders, for their part, expressed intention to conduct their own separate actions and activities to protect the gains achieved in the backchannel talks between the two panels.

“They are favorably considering the invitation extended by Secretary Dureza and Secretary Bello for NDF representatives to join the public consultations on the peace negotiation,” Braganza said.

He said the NDF side will conduct consultations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) to review the remaining outstanding issues in the sections on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ARRD) and National Industrialization and Economic Development (NIED).

“It will also hold unilateral consultations with its working group on Political and Constitutional Reforms (PCR).

Finally, the two sides expressed their commitment to protect and preserve the gains that had been achieved in the four rounds of informal talks that produced documents containing important agreements to move the process forward,” Braganza said.

The agreements Duterte wanted to review included the Interim Peace Agreement (IPA), CASER and the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms.

Braganza also said the government and the NDF agreed in Utrecht to continue talking peace and address issues that could derail its success.

“The (government) representatives sought to explain to the NDF the decision of the government to postpone the mutually approved schedule of the formal meetings in the peace negotiations to take place in Oslo, Norway on June 28-30, 2018,” Braganza said.

He said the June 18 meeting was delayed as the government panel had to seek clarification of presidential spokesman Harry Roque’s announcement that Norway was no longer a third party facilitator.

“With the role of the third party facilitator clarified, the meeting began in the afternoon of the first day,” Braganza said. – With Artemio Dumlao