{UAH} Reds to declare ceasefire before the end of March
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Reds to declare ceasefire before the end of March
BAGUIO CITY – Communist guerillas are poised to silence their guns before the month ends.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Saturday noon said it is set to issue a unilateral declaration of interim ceasefire not later than March 31 in anticipation and support of the fourth round of peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) set from April 2 to 6 in The Netherlands.
The announcement came after Friday's release of two prisoners-of-war (POWs) in Mati, Davao Oriental by the New People's Army (NPA) rebels.
The CPP said it is looking forward to a similar unilateral ceasefire declaration by the government, as mutually agreed upon during backchannel talks from March 10 to 11.
The group urged President Rodrigo Duterte "to order the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to slow down its ongoing all-out offensive military operations and aerial bombing and shelling campaigns against rural barangays, to help create a favorable atmosphere for the mutual ceasefire."
They added that they anticipate the government to release 19 elderly and sick political prisoners, as well as four detained NDFP consultants and another recently rearrested.
The efforts of the NDFP and GRP to continue with peace negotiations and accelerate negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR) urged the communist movement to declare a unilateral ceasefire.
"There is pressing need to complete these agreements especially in the face of mounting mass actions by workers, peasants and other oppressed sectors calling for genuine land reform, higher wages, job security, decent housing and increased social spending," the CPP said in a press statement.
"Through peace negotiations, the Duterte government and the NDFP can unite on addressing the pressing socio-economic problems confronting the Filipino people amid the worsening crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal system and the global capitalist system," the group added.
Confidence-building
The CPP said the release of the two POWs on Friday was carried out as confidence-building measures to help boost peace negotiations. Militiamen Rene Doller and Carl Mark Nucos were captured by the NPA last February 14 in Lupon, Davao Oriental.
At least four other POWs are set to be released by the NPA in Surigao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon. Their releases, however, are being hampered by the ongoing military and police operations.
The CPP urged the local commands of the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) "to stand down and coordinate with third-party facilitators to pave the way for the releases."
The CPP denounced the military for the aerial bombings and shelling, which according to the group, "have caused widespread damage and fear among the peasant masses."
"In the face of the AFP's all-out offensives and aerial bombing campaigns, (we are) compelled to carry out tactical offensives and active defense actions in order to defend the peasant masses," the group said.
It cited the most recent bombing incidents carried out by the AFP last Wednesday when jet fighters reportedly dropped at least six bombs in the vicinity of Barangay Olave, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte.
One of the bombs exploded next to a school while classes were ongoing, endangering the lives of students, teachers and residents nearby.
The CPP said that the military also allegedly arrested two civilians from Butuan City - Roland Abandola, 26 and Max Lagumba, 30 - whom they chanced upon the footpath of Barangay Olave.
Aerial bombings were also reported in Malibcong, Abra last March 16 and Datu Salibo, Maguindanao last week, which forced at least 3,000 families to flee their homes, human rights groups claimed.
There were also reports of bombings against peasant communities in Laak, Compostela Valley; Bansalan, Davao del Sur; Asuncion, Davao del Norte; Fatima, Davao City and Alabel, Sarangani last month.
The CPP also denied that the NPAs occupied a barangay in Antipas town in Cotabato last Thursday. Based on report, the guerillas looted houses and robbed villagers of money, farm animals and grains in their barns before ordering them to leave at gun point.
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