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Philippines' Duterte says no peace agreement with rebels until attacks stop

Xinhua, May 16, 2017 Adjust font size:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Tuesday said he would not agree or sign any peace agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) unless the local rebels put a stop to their ambushes and attacks, ahead of their fifth round of peace talks that will resume in the Netherlands on May 27.

The president, in a press conference after arriving from his official visit to Cambodia and China, said that as the commander-in-chief, he had to assure the safety of his soldiers.

"For me, for as long as they are killing government security forces I will not sign anything. I cannot do anything. I have to protect my soldier. I am the Commander-in-Chief," Duerte said.

He also reiterated his call on CPP founding chairman and peace talk panel consultant Jose Maria Sison to return to the country along with his offer to shoulder his hospital expenses.

"My offer to Sison stands. He can come here in peace. I will guarantee safety and I will even underwrite his hospitalization. I will not have him arrested. He is sick...We do not fight people who are helpless, not healthy anymore," he added.

The president initially scrapped the peace talks with the rebels in February this year after the leftist group continued its ambush attacks against military and police forces despite unilateral ceasefires declared separately by government and CPP, and demanded the release of 400 rebels whom they said were political prisoners which Duterte rejected.

Peace negotiations between the government and the CPP is set to resume on May 27 to June 1 in Noordwijk in Netherlands, Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Erik Forner said in a press release.

Forner did not elaborate on the agenda of the upcoming talks but Manila said both panels are expected to discuss more on finalizing the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms, the most contentious agenda in the talks, including land reform and national industrialization.

The armed conflict between the Philippine government and the communist movement's armed wing, the New People's Army, has lasted for almost 50 years.

The number of leftist guerrillas dwindled from 26,000 in the mid-1980s to less than 4,000 this year, according to the military.

Nevertheless, Duterte has expressed confidence before that he could make the rebels agree to a peace agreement during his term which ends in June 2022. Endit