AFP dares Reds to prove sincerity in peace talks by stopping landmine use

MANILA, Philippines - The military yesterday urged communist rebels to prove their sincerity in the peace talks by stopping the use of landmines in their combat operations.

As this developed, a multinational risk consultancy firm said that the Armed Forces cannot defeat the New People’s Army (NPA) in its strongholds and cannot contain the rebels’ extortion activities that target investors.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the continuous use of explosives banned by international conventions constitutes an act of “bad faith.”

“They (rebels) continue to violate the agreement so we call on their leaders to implement what has been agreed. This shows bad faith,” Mabanta said.

The AFP spokesman was referring to the 1997 Ottawa Convention and the amended Geneva Convention in 1998 which prohibited the use of landmines.

“In accordance with these agreements, the Armed Forces pulled out landmines immediately,” Mabanta said.

Mabanta admitted that the landmines comprise “a major thorn” on their operations against the NPA. He, however, is hopeful that the issue would not adversely affect the talks.

The NPA has claimed that it does not violate international war rules since it uses command-detonated explosives, not pressure-triggered landmines, to neutralize state troops.

The AFP issued the statement on the landmines after state negotiators and the National Democratic Front (NDF) concluded informal talks in Oslo, Norway.

The two parties agreed to hold formal negotiations on Feb. 15 to 21 and to work for a ceasefire on the ground during the seven-day talks.

The government and the NDF also agreed to work for the release of detained NDF consultants who are covered by the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

Under the JASIG, consultants, officials, and members of NDF who are involved in peace negotiations enjoy immunity from arrest.

Both panels are also expected to reaffirm all signed agreements; reconvene a committee that oversees the compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, and confidence-building measures.

A militia man and a soldier died on Tuesday after the NPA detonated an improvised explosive during a 30-minute clash in Paquibato district, Davao City.

The incident happened a month after 10 soldiers and a nine-year-old boy were killed in a landmine attack staged by rebels in Las Navas, Northern Samar.

The communists have been waging a protracted Maoist insurgency for more than four decades, which has left more than 40,000 people dead.

The government had tried to hold negotiations with the rebels but these efforts failed in 2004 after the United States and the European Union placed them on their list of terror groups.

Negotiations between the government and the communists were supposed to resume in Oslo, Norway in 2009. The talks, however, collapsed after the government rejected a demand to free alleged consultants of the NDF who are facing criminal charges.

No difference

Meantime, in a report dated Jan. 10, the Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PSA) said it appears that the Aquino administration’s response against the NPA’s extortion activities is no different from that of its predecessor.

It noted that the government had ordered the military to tighten security in NPA-affected areas in Mindanao and affirmed the use of militia units as force multipliers for troops outside Metro Manila.

“Aquino’s moves ignore the reality that the AFP cannot defeat the NPA in its strongholds nor can the military provide adequate protection to mining, power, or rural agribusinesses,” said PSA, which has offices in Manila, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Milwaukee and Sydney.

“Looking at the bigger picture, the government’s inability to curb or contain NPA extortion lends itself to the impression, both domestically and globally, that it is simply unable to establish rule of law, particularly in Mindanao,” it added.

The report said communist insurgency is “most formidable” in the mineral-rich regions of southern Mindanao, Caraga and Central Mindanao.

PSA said the NPA continues to pose threat to mining firms and that the government’s efforts to secure such ventures have been mostly “reactive.”

“There is no denying that the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA continues to pose a real and legitimate security threat to mining firms in the Philippines and the AFP does not have the capacity to protect them,” PSA said.