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Gov’t open to releasing only 4 NDF men |
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Releasing 14 prisoners is impossible, Palace says
MANILA -- The government urged communist rebels to abandon their demand for the unconditional release of political prisoners if only to put the peace process back on track.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said on Wednesday the Arroyo administration was not yet closing the door on the possibility of resuming formal talks with the National Democratic Front, the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
“The peace process continues to be open if they will reconsider their position,” he said in a press briefing.
Ermita was referring to the NDF’s demand for the government to release 14 political prisoners, who would supposedly act as consultants when talks resumed.
“They are asking us to do the impossible,” he complained, insisting that the so-called consultants were facing criminal charges and were the subject of arrest warrants.
“I have to be very frank with you—Can you imagine them asking government…to cause the release of those people who are covered by warrants of arrest?”
NDF spokesperson Fidel Agcaoili earlier said that his group would be willing to wait for the next administration to resume formal peace talks.
Ermita responded: “I wonder if the next administration—whoever he or she might be—will ever agree to take an action that will quash the arrest warrants just like in this particular case.”
“It’s unfortunate that our counterpart suddenly made a 180-degree turn on the requirements for the resumption of talks,” he said.
The NDF complained that the government had committed to releasing 14 consultants as a so-called confidence-building measure. The government said it agreed to free only four.
“The government is in zero compliance and in clear violation of the ... agreement,” Agcaoili had said.
Ermita said the government agreed only to ask the courts to allow the concerned consultants to attend meetings under the provisions of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
He said the pass was to last for six months and could be extended. “We have to follow the rule of law,” he said.
Source: inquirer.net
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