Peace talks depend on CPP's sincerity, NSC says

THE National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday said it was fully supportive of the ongoing exploratory peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

NSC Assistant Director General and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the communist movement and its allies must prove their sincerity in completely abandoning the armed struggle against the government.

He issued the statement after NDF negotiating panel chairman Julieta de Lima-Sison claimed that the government was making contradictory signals on the issue.

NSC Assistant Director General and spokesman Jonathan Malaya

«Ms. Julieta de Lima-Sison of the National Democratic Front is mistaken. The government is not making 'contradictory signals' about this issue. We support the exploratory peace talks provided that the CPP-NPA-NDF does not impose their usual preconditions and come to the table with sincerity and a genuine desire to end the more than 50-year-old Communist insurgency that has brought so much pain and suffering to the Filipino people,» Malaya said.

He said it was the CPP-NPA-NDF that had made «contradictory statements» about ending the armed struggle.

This was after the CPP-NPA launched its 3rd Rectification Movement last December, aimed at advancing its revolutionary armed struggle, despite signing the Oslo Joint Communiqué in November last year.

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Under the Oslo Joint Communiqué, the Philippine government and the NDF agreed to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict, which would pave the way for the transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

«Instead of preparing for the NPA's transformation provided in the Oslo Joint Communiqué, the CPP instead called for a rectification movement doubling down on its commitment to carry forward the armed struggle, which it euphemistically calls the 'national democratic revolution' towards 'complete victory,'» Malaya said.

While the NSC is hopeful and optimistic about the exploratory talks, Malaya said the government cannot just turn a blind eye to the CPP's renewed call for armed struggle.

«They should settle this issue among themselves once and for all. While we support the exploratory