Calls for Peace

Petitions calling for the resumption of formal peace talks between government and National Democratic Front (NDF) are going round universities, business and NGO offices and religious congregations, with the signatories including the vice president, several congressmen, heads of Protestant churches, literary bigwigs, NGO leaders and members of media.

BY ROWENA CARRANZA
Bulatlat.com

One of the petitions was initiated by the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP), the umbrella of all Protestant churches in the country, and the Philippine Peace Center (PPC), an NGO that addresses issues related to peace. Its signatories include Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Representatives Florencio Abad, Apolinario Lozada, Butch Aquino, Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza, NCCP chairman Rev. Domingo Diel Jr., United Church of Christ of the Philippines chairman Rev. Rebecca Tiston, NCCP general secretary Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Durendes, Bayan secretary-general Teddy Casiño and Plunderwatch convenor Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Arauloo.

“We are advocates of genuine peace, lasting peace based on freedom, democracy and social justice,” the petition read. “We want the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to resume and proceed in earnest. We strongly call on the GRP and NDFP to immediately resume formal talks on the basis of the The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992 and other past agreements that have proven to be workable and mutually acceptable.”

The petitioned deplored “the trend to abandon peace negotiations in favor of purely military solutions.” It said that the government’s “all-out war” and the United States’ (U.S.) war on terror both jeopardize the talks.

Prevalent sentiment

The other petition, which circulated and started gathering signatures more than a month ago, has UP professor and national artist Bienvenido Lumbera, International Christian University of Tokyo professor Temario Rivera, Julie Po of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), Jessica Reyes Cantos of the Action for Economic Reforms (AER) and seven others as initiators.

As of Sept. 20, the signatories have reached 553. Commented one of the persons taking the petition around, “It’s amazing. The signatories themselves gather additional names… Talagang malawak ang ganitong sentimyento sa ating lipunan (The sentiment expressed in the petition is indeed widespread).”

Among its signatories are: national artists Nick Joacquin and F. Sionil.Jose; writers Rene O. Villanueva, Jose “Pete” Lacaba, Fidel Rillo, Virgilio Almario, Dr. Epifanio San Juan Jr., Ma. Josephine Barrios, Chris M. Millado; former Dean of UP College of Mass Communication Luis Teodoro, journalists Lyn Resurreccion, Manuel L. Quezon III, Lorna Kalaw Tirol, Vic Tirol, Virgilio "Vet" Vitug; book publisher Karina Bolasco; showbiz personalities Marilou Diaz Abaya, Bibeth Orteza, Jim Paredes, Susan Fernandez;

IBON Foundation Research Director Antonio Tujan; UP’s AVP for Academic Affairs Jose Maria Balmaceda, Asian Center Dean Armando Malay Jr., College of Social Work and Community Development Dean Angelito G. Manalili, Anthropology Dept. head Dr. Michael L. Tan, Sociology Dept. head Laura Samson; Ateneo’s Philosophy Dept. head Dr. Rainier A. Ibana, Math Dept. head Dr. Felix P. Muga; St. Scholastica–Marikina Directress Sr. Ma. Rebecca Maglalong, OSB, St. Andrew's Theological Seminary Dean The Very Reverend Tomas Madela;

Bayan Muna Representatives Ocampo, Beltran and Maza; Former Agrarian Reform secretary Horacio Morales; former Human Rights Commissioner Mercy Contreras-Danenberg, and former Cordillera congressman William F. Claver.

Most of the signatories however were members of the academe, NGO community and religious sector.  A few were from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Cameroon, Australia, South Africa, Belgium and UK.

Rejecting U.S. meddling

Aside from enjoining the two parties to go back to the negotiating table, the petition scored the U.S. for interfering.

“We reject any interference by any foreign power that prevents or hinders the resumption of the formal peace negotiations. We particularly deplore the recent unilateral action of the U.S. government that declares the CCP and NPA to be ‘foreign terrorist organizations,’” it said. 

“Considering that peace talks between the government and the NDF have not been formally terminated, U.S. intervention in the internal affairs of the Republic constitutes a blatant violation of Philippine sovereignty, breeds more instability, and intensifies the civil strife. Moreover, the unilateral U.S. action violates accepted standards of fair play and in general undermines the rule of law. It is motivated by a strategy of re-establishing U.S. military presence in the country through bases and military structures that would secure its hold on Asia.”

Also criticizing the Macapagal-Arroyo government’s “acquiescence to the U.S. action,” the petition denounced how the government has “effectively tied its own hands and limited its option to negotiate.”

“It has allowed a foreign power to dictate who its friends and enemies should be,” the petitioners rebuked and demanded that the government withdraw its support to the U.S. war on terror.

“Continued support for this war of terror is a course that will only plunge the country into a regime of violent conflict and lay the country vulnerable to overt foreign military intervention. The Arroyo government would have to assume responsibility if the ravages and suffering Vietnam, Nicaragua and El Salvador underwent as a result of U.S. intervention are repeated in the Philippines.”

The petition is set to be presented to the public on Sept. 24.

Peace forum

Earlier, on August 30, a peace forum marked the 10^th year of the The Hague Joint Declaration between the government and the NDFP, which defined the framework and objectives of the negotiations and signed by the President Fidel Ramos and NDFP chairman Mariano Orosa. 

Government panel chairman Silvestre Bello III spoke before the crowd of more than 300 persons, together with International Court Justice Romeo Capulong, Tarlac Gov. and former government peace panel head Apeng Yap, Rafael Baylosis, and Rey Casambre of the PPC.

All speakers supported the calls for the resumption of the talks which the audience, mostly from non-government organizations, loudly applauded. Bulatlat.com 

No to All-Out War, Yes to Peace Negotiations

Unity Statement: Resume Formal Peace Talks Now!  

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