An open letter for the armed National Democrats
On March 16 we commemorated the 16th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF).
We hailed the agreement as a significant milestone in the comprehensive peace process and hoped that an era of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace will reign soon.
For a lot of reasons, valid or otherwise, the peace that we all seek has eluded us perhaps because both the government and you have taken it upon yourselves to define the comprehensive peace process without people’s participation.
The recent attack of a police station in Matanao, Davao del Sur that cost the lives of two policemen and seven soldiers who all come from poor families that will inevitably suffer the loss of their bread winners attributed to you is, to say the least, heartbreaking.
What are you trying to prove? That you still represent the masses to which those who died in the attack belong?
Apparently, you no longer do.
For if you do, we would not have reached 86.86% of our cumulative target of 10 million YES FOR PEACE signatures albeit our move to call for the following has remained silent:
1. Permanent ceasefire between the government and armed groups;
2. Peace talks anywhere in the Philippines instead of abroad: and
3. Collective involvement and participation (Bayanihan) of the Filipino people for the full implementation of programs and projects in agreements entered into and still to be entered into between the government and armed groups.
Can we request you to make public — through whatever forms of mass media at your disposal — your reply to the calls stated above.
Please note that while we may agree with many of your calls for social transformation, we certainly disagree with armed struggle as the means to attain our collective dream of upholding the national interest through democratic means.
YES FOR PEACE! — ERNESTO ANGELES ALCANZARE, Lead Organizer, YES FOR PEACE — Bayanihan para sa Kapayapaan, Kaunlaran at Kasaganahan
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