In an interview over government radio station, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said the Arroyo administration maintains its stand against the demand of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that its military arm New People’s Army (NPA) be removed from the United States’ list of terrorist organizations.

"If their conditions are in accordance with the Constitution, the President is willing to do everything to achieve lasting peace and order," Golez said.

"On the part of the CPP-NPA, we hope that they would not demand the impossible," he added.

The National Democratic Front (NDF), political arm of the CPP-NPA, held meetings with the government’s negotiating panel in Norway as a prelude to the possible resumption of the peace talks.

The peace talks stalled in 2005 over a demand by the communist rebels that the government lobby before the US government for the delisting of the NPA from the list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).

The government has refused the demand and focused on peace negotiations with local rebel leaders instead of with their exiled leaders.

Mrs. Arroyo had also granted amnesty to communist rebels who wish to renounce the communist movement and return to the fold of the law.

Golez said the government’s representatives in the meetings with the communist rebels in Norway will report details of the meeting to the Cabinet to determine how to proceed with the proposed formlal resumption of the peace talks. (David Cagahastian)

NDF lists 13 impediments to peace talks

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) has thanked the Norwegian government for facilitating informal peace talks between the revolutionary coalition of 14 underground organizations and representatives of the Arroyo regime.

Luis G. Jalandoni, chairman of the NDF negotiating panel, said the Norwegian government made the meet possible.

Oslo has been acting as the third party facilitator for the talks, which had been snagged by suspensions and what the NDF claims is the failure of the Arroyo government to abide by commitments spelled out in previous accords.

"The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) is thankful to the Royal Norwegian Government, Third Party Facilitator to the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, for making possible the informal meeting between the GRP and the NDF for the purpose of finding ways of resuming the formal meetings of the negotiating panels in GRP-NDF peace negotiations in accordance with The Hague Joint Declaration," Jalandoni said.

"We are pleased with the opportunity provided by this informal meeting to exchange views with regard to the impediments that must be overcome for the formal meetings to resume. The informal talks were held from May 13 to 15 in Norway," he added.

"The NDF delegation expressed its strong desire for the resumption of the formal meetings and took pains to persuade the GRP delegation to do away with said impediments. It is unfortunate that the GRP delegation did not bring any idea towards the resolution of any problem that impedes the resumption of the formal meetings," he said.

"We presented 13 impediments that must be overcome for the resumption of the formal meetings in the peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDF. We stressed that overcoming these impediments is not a precondition but an obligation of the Arroyo government to comply with the agreements it has signed with the NDF," Jalandoni said.

He said these impediments include: the US terrorist listing of the NDF chief political consultant, Prof. Jose Maria Sison, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA); the illegal "suspension" of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG); Oplan Bantay Laya I and II and the consequent gross and systematic violations of human rights; the persecution, murder, arrest and enforced disappearance of NDF consultants; the demand for capitulation of the NDF to the GRP in the guise of prolonged ceasefire before addressing the fundamental problems of Philippine society and the roots of the armed conflict, and the failure to indemnify the victims of human rights violations under the Marcos regime.