Joma Sison: No more peace talks with Duterte administration
MANILA, Philippines — Communist rebels would rather join movements to oust President Rodrigo Duterte than push through with the stalled peace negotiations, National Democratic Front of the Philippines political adviser Jose Maria "Joma" Sison said.
In a statement released Thursday, Sison said that the NDFP, which represents the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army, can no longer negotiate with an administration headed by Duterte.
"So long as he heads the [government of the Philippines], the Filipino people, especially the oppressed and exploited, cannot expect any benefit from negotiating with the Duterte regime," Sison, founder of the CPP, said.
He added that it would be easier for the communist group to prepare for peace negotiations with the administration after Duterte's.
Drafts of agreements in negotiations under the Duterte administration could be carried over to talks with the new administration, Sison said.
"The agreements and drafts already produced in the GRP-NDFP peace talks can be used by peace advocates and people's organizations for information and education campaigns among the people and for consultations with them," the NDF founding chair said.
Duterte admin isolated, Sison claims
Sison noted that the New People's Army has been fighting the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police while movements to oust Duterte have been growing.
"Despite claims of everlasting popularity, the Duterte regime is already isolated and hated by the people because of its brutality, corruption, involvement in the drug traffic, the rising prices of basic goods and services, continuance of contractualization, rising unemployment and low/inadequate incomes, the treasonous and sell-out of Philippine territory and sovereign rights to China, disrespect for religious beliefs of Catholics and Christians, and so on," Sison said.
Duterte and his policies remain popular according to surveys and to his administration's spokespersons.
Sison also accused the Duterte administration of "practically debilitating and destroying itself" through its attempts to bring down the NPA all over the country.
The deployment of military and police forces for offensives against the rebels have been costly, overxtended and overstraining, Sison said.
Furthermore, the government has been responsible for repeatedly terminating peace negotiations.
"It is indubitably responsible for the termination of peace negotiations, It is therefore just for the revolutionary forces and the people to wage people's war for national liberation and democracy," Sison said.
Sison's statement comes weeks before the government is scheduled to hold public consultations on draft agreements with communist rebels. The resumption of peace talks, originally scheduled for the end of June, have been pushed back for the public consultations.
The NDFP said negotiating panels had already signed a stand-down order to pave way for the talks when Duterte decided to cancel the resumption of peace negotiations.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has also said that Duterte will use the time to review previous agreements that the government has signed with the rebels.
Duterte said earlier this week that the government is ready to crush the communist rebels after the cancellation of peace negotiations.
The president, who previously claimed to be a socialist, had revived talks with the CPP-NPA-NDFP. The negotiations had bogged down and were eventually scrapped during the Aquino administration over disagreements on immunity from arrest for NDFP peace consultants whom the government arrested as rebels.
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