MILF welcomes NDFs ‘coalition’ pact with government

MARAWI CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) welcomed yesterday a 10-point agenda proposed by communist rebels for a coalition government comprised of "significant representations" from peasants and workers as part of a peace pact with the government.

Mohaqer Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said: "This is a welcome development because this signals that the NDF is considering returning to the negotiating table even if this was canceled last month."

In a statement, the National Democratic Front, (NDF), political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said a civil war can be averted and lasting peace achieved if a coalition government is formed, the country’s foreign debt canceled, appropriations for the military reduced, and the investigation and prosecution of government officials liable for treason, corruption and human rights violations continue.

Luis Jalandoni, NDF negotiating panel chairman and member of its National Executive Committee, said in a statement from Utrecht, Netherlands that their proposed 10-point peace agreement, Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace (CAIJP) is a "sure-fire formula" to end the specter of a civil war.

"Every point in this proposal is demanded by the people and is for their benefit," he said.

Jalandoni said that the NDF rejects the government’s proposal for a "sham" peace agreement that requires the rebels to surrender in exchange for what he termed as "empty promises" or to engage in a ceasefire agreement for obscuring and freezing the people’s demand for major reforms.

The NDF’s 10-point agreement is as follows:

• Unite the Filipino people through a broad alliance of patriotic and progressive forces and a clean and honest coalition government for genuine national independence and democracy against any foreign domination or control and against subservience;

• Empower the masses of workers and peasants by respecting their democratic rights and providing for representation in the coalition government;

• Uphold economic sovereignty, carry out Filipino-owned national industrialization and land reform and oppose imperialist plunder and bureaucratic and military corruption;

• Cancel the foreign debt and reduce the appropriations for the military and other armed organizations;

• Promote and support a patriotic, scientific and pro-people culture through the educational system, mass media and mass organizations, cherish the cultural heritage of the Filipino nation and all the ethno-linguistic communities in the country;

• Recognize the right to self-determination and autonomy of national minorities;

• Investigate and try government officials who are liable for treason, corruption and human rights violation;

• Carry out a truly independent foreign policy for world peace and economic development;

• Maintain normal trade and diplomatic relations with all countries and;

• Inaugurate a truce between the warring forces of the GRP and the NDFP for the purpose of alliance and other constructive purposes.

Jalandoni said the proposed peace agreement comprises "substantive general statements of principles and policies in the national and democratic interest of the Filipino people."

"Our proposal is responsive to the demands of the broad masses of the people for basic reforms," he said. "Only the rabid puppets, oppressors, plunderers and brutal violators of human rights are opposed to the 10 points."

If the peace agreement is not acceptable to the government, the rebels are "more than ever justified to continue the new democratic revolution through a people’s war," Jalandoni said. — Lino de la Cruz, Manny Galvez