Press Statement
3 November 2002

GRP HAS GRIEVOUSLY VIOLATED AGREEMENTS
AND TERMINATED PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH NDFP

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has grievously violated all major agreements in its peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). These agreements include The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Thus, the GRP has unilaterally terminated its peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

1. The GRP grossly violates The Hague Joint Declaration by setting the capitulation of the NDFP as precondition for the resumption of the peace negotiations and by seeking to impose on the NDFP a “final peace agreement” that GRP militarists and bureaucrats have unilaterally drafted. The GRP is utterly malicious when it mendaciously claims that its door is open to formal negotiations but in fact demands the prior capitulation of the NDFP. Also, the constant rumors of “backdoor” talks are being generated by the GRP to mislead and confuse people.

2. The GRP brazenly violates the JASIG by conniving with the imperialist governments of the US and European Union in criminalizing as “terrorists” without due process such principal organizations of the NDFP as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) and the NDFP chief political consultant, and by putting the entire NDFP, its negotiators, consultants, staffers and supporters under duress. With the assistance of the imperialist governments, the GRP has practically scrapped the JASIG and is threatening to criminalize the NDFP as “terrorist” and cause the restriction of movement, imprisonment and dispossession of anyone associated with the NDFP.

3. The GRP flagrantly violates the CAHRIHL by perpetrating the most vicious acts of state terrorism or gross human rights violations on a wide scale and thereby exposes its complete contempt for the peace negotiations. The GRP and the imperialist governments label the revolutionary forces as “terrorist” but make no mention of the atrocities and depredations of state terrorism.

The revolutionary organs of leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the people’s democratic government do not have to formally declare the termination of their part in the peace negotiations with the GRP. They can simply express recognition of the prior fact that the GRP has grievously violated the aforementioned agreements and has in fact and effect unilaterally terminated its peace negotiations with the NDFP.

Henceforth, it is just and reasonable for the NDFP to demand that the GRP apologize for the aforesaid violations, set these aright and make amends for them before there can be any resumption of peace negotiations. It is also necessary and wise for the NDFP to demand that the GRP prove its seriousness in peace negotiations by renouncing its puppetry to US imperialism and its policy of state terrorism.

However, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime is manifestly no longer interested in resuming the peace negotiations in accordance with The Hague Joint Declaration. It has already declared an all-out war policy in conjunction with the US designation of the revolutionary forces as “terrorists”.

Under the super-terrorist policy of the US, the Macapagal-Arroyo puppet regime has decided to undertake the bloody repression of the revolutionary forces and the legal democratic forces. We cannot expect any GRP-NDFP negotiations to happen in Europe or anywhere else while the US-directed Macapagal-Arroyo ruling clique is still in power and the US and European imperialists demonize the revolutionary forces as “terrorist.”

As the CPP national information officer has made known to the public, the revolutionary forces and people are well prepared to counter the escalating brutal campaigns of suppression carried out by the military, police, paramilitary, deputized private armies and vigilante groups of the GRP.

The US and puppet regime of Arroyo are hell bent on destroying the revolutionary movement and permanently chaining the people to the exploitative and oppressive ruling system of the big compradors and landlords.

But the broad masses of the people are rising against the daily worsening conditions of oppression and exploitation. They are poised to put an end to the Arroyo regime, together with its retinue of crooks, professional butchers and the most unprincipled renegades. In fighting one enemy regime after another, the people accumulate the strength to ultimately put an end to US domination and the domestic ruling system. #