Sison accuses Duterte of not being serious on peace talks
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison has accused President Rodrigo Duterte of not being serious in the peace talks after he unilaterally canceled the supposed resumption of the formal negotiations later this month.
But Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the government respects Sison's opinion as he insisted the decision was reached for the administration to have more time to get public support in the peace process.
"It is starkly clear that the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) under Duterte is not interested in serious peace negotiations with the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines)," said Sison, also chief political consultant of the NDFP, political wing of the CPP-New People's Army.
He said it was both "disappointing and frustrating" that the Duterte government has unilaterally canceled the scheduled start of the stand-down ceasefire on June 21 and the resumption of formal talks in Oslo, Norway on June 28.
He urged the government and the NDFP negotiating panels to release to the public the written and signed agreement of June 9 and 10 on the supposed scheduled events.
Sison claimed that the government was only interested in obtaining the NDFP capitulation under the guise of an indefinite ceasefire agreements and breaking the provision in the Joint Agreement on the Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which requires formal negotiations in a foreign neutral venue.
"Because the GRP under Duterte is obviously not interested in serious peace negotiations, the revolutionary forces and the people have no choice but to single-mindedly wage people’s war to achieve the national and social liberation of the Filipino people," he said.
Dureza, in a text message to the Daily Manila Shimbun, reiterated why the Duterte administration has decided not to push through with the formal talks after the back-channel talks.
"He (Sison) is entitled to his own opinion and we respect it. Our purpose in seeking more time is precisely to strengthen and protect the gains achieved so far by both panels in the back-channel talks. It can win public goodwill for the forthcoming resumption of talks," he said.
Dureza said the administration even intends to invite the Maoist leaders to join the government's resource persons in the "efforts to win further support."
But Dureza admitted that there was no specific plan how to seek people's support on the peace process.
"We have no specifics yet except broad strokes in that direction...but ideally if both panels or their reps come together and engage the public, a lot of public goodwill can be earned," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS
