Sison, Jalandoni due in RP for talks

They’re coming home to give peace a chance.

Exiled communist leaders Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni will return home on April 18 in response to President Arroyo’s appeal to end the 32-year Maoist insurgency.

However, chief government negotiator Silvestre Bello III told reporters yesterday Sison and Jalandoni insist that peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) be held in Brussels, Belgium.

Bello said that while in the Philippines, Sison and Jalandoni will use their safe-conduct passes to go around the country to confer with their comrades.

Bello met with Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, at the communist leader’s home-in-exile in Utrecht, Netherlands last week.

Mrs. Arroyo announced in a press conference at Malacañang yesterday that government negotiators will resume peace talks with communist rebels on April 27.

"I’ve approved... the resumption of formal peace negotiations on April 27, 2001," she said. "I invite the NDF leaders abroad to join us here in the cause of peace, political stability and socio-economic progress."

In a radio interview the other day, Sison said Executive Secretary Renato de Villa was responsible for the "militarist" stand of the Arroyo administration towards the communist rebel movement.

Sison said the government, especially "the militarist clique headed by De Villa" was responsible for the death of police Chief Inspector Abelardo Martin during a firefight between Army Scout Rangers and NPA guerrillas in the mountains of Quezon last week.

"The tragic event was completely unnecessary and avoidable," he said. "Since the overthrow of Estrada, the (NDF) was already ready to release police Major Martin and Philippine Army intelligence (officer) Maj. Noel Buan."

Sison said the skirmish that led to Martin’s death was not a "chance encounter" as the Armed Forces was trying to make the public believe.

On the other hand, acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who is a retired general, told reporters yesterday the two sides would sign an agreement on security and immunity guarantees.

"I hope, neither will dig in or harden positions," he said. "My sense is this will be fast because the atmosphere (for the talks) is good. They feel there is a common cause with the administration in uplifting the plight of our people."

Ermita said over radio that under an agreement on immunity and security guarantees, rebel leaders will get safe conduct passes on their return from exile.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo has approved the grant of security and immunity guarantees to guerrilla negotiators and their bodyguards to shield them from arrests during the peace talks.

However, Mrs. Arroyo told reporters yesterday the invitation to communist leaders was "subject to certain conditions," especially the case of Sison who has pending court cases against him.

"All of these matters, we will talk about certain conditions under which they (NDF leaders abroad) can come home and these are all subject matter of back-channeling of the peace process," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the venue of the talks had yet to be decided and her approval for their resumption was "subject to the condition that the matter of the venue will be further studied and evaluated."

Mrs. Arroyo also appealed to the NDF leaders to work out the immediate release of Army Maj. Noel Buan who has been a captive of New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Southern Tagalog for nearly two years now.

"I’m glad that both parties have agreed to continue to undertake confidence-building measures to enhance the atmosphere for the resumption of peace negotiations and I welcome the commitment of the NDF to release as soon as possible Army Maj. Noel Buan," she said.

In an official statement yesterday, Jalandoni said the NPA would only stop its offensive actions after the NDF had received notice that Mrs. Arroyo had ordered a suspension of military operations.

"We note that there is yet no (suspension of military operations) order at the level of the chief of staff of the AFP," read the statement.

Jalandoni, who heads the NDF negotiating panel, said they also want the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to halt their offensive against the NPA.

Jalandoni said government troops in Calabarzon and the Mindoro provinces must also be confined to their barracks during the suspension of military operations.

"The suspension of offensive military and police operations can be ensured only by the withdrawal of forces and adoption of (a) defensive position (by government troops)," he said.

Jalandoni said police forces should be withdrawn from "provinces and municipalities" to their "headquarters and stations" in places where the ceasefire is in effect.

"It is best that the concerned offices of the (government) issue the orders in accordance with the above points," he said. – Marichu Villanueva, Benjie Villa