TENSIONS SPIKE BETWEEN GRP AND EXTREME LEFT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003632 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/PMBS, INR/EAP, S/CT E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2015 TAGS: PGOV PINS PTER PINR RP NO NL SUBJECT: TENSIONS SPIKE BETWEEN GRP AND EXTREME LEFT REF: A. MANILA 3373 ¶B. MANILA 3371 (NOTAL) ¶C. STATE 136723 (NOTAL) ¶D. MANILA 3350 (NOTAL) Classified By: Political Officer Joseph Saus for Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The GRP announced on August 2 that it was suspending the immunity from arrest for National Democratic Front (NDF) officials, who had been participating in the negotiation track. The NDF sharply criticized the government's move. A congressman with close links to Malacanang told us that members of President Arroyo's staff are "infuriated" with recent calls for her to resign by the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (the NDF is the negotiating arm for the CPP/NPA) and are aiming "to isolate" the extreme left. At this point, while tensions are rising, there is little sign that either side is planning to expand its military efforts. End Summary. GRP Suspends Immunities -------------- ¶2. (C) The GRP suspended indefinitely on August 2 security and immunity from arrest guarantees for 97 members of the National Democratic Front (NDF) -- the negotiating arm of the FTO-listed CPP/NPA. The NDF personnel had been involved in the negotiation track. The suspension was in response to the NDF's withdrawal from formal talks with the GRP. (Note. As reported in ref D, NDF leaders emphasized their intent to cease talks and negotiate with a successor government to that of President Arroyo in a statement issued last month. End Note.) The GRP's suspension of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) comes into effect 30 days from its announcement. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has announced that it will focus on arresting NDF members with pending criminal charges, proceedings, or outstanding warrants beginning September 3. ¶3. (C) Carla Villarta, Secretariat Director of the GRP Peace Negotiating Panel with the NDF, told poloff August 5 that the GRP remains committed to peace talks with the NDF and she underscored that the JASIG was "not canceled, but suspended." Villarta noted her understanding that the Norwegian government (as third party facilitator) is still working to "bridge differences" and sponsor another round of back-channel talks. (Note. Talks between the GRP and the NDF have been stalled since both sides issued a joint statement in Oslo on February 14, 2004. The two sides also held back-channel talks in June and December 2004. End Note.) NDF Reaction -------------- ¶4. (C) The NDF maintains that the GRP cannot justify the suspension, contending that the Hague Joint Declaration, the Oslo Joint Statement of 2004, and the 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law continue to be "binding and in effect." Luis Jalandoni, Chairperson of the NDF Negotiating Panel, said in a July 21 public statement, "(GRP) Executive Secretary Ermita is dead wrong in presuming that the postponement of formal talks (by the NDF) amounts to the termination of the peace negotiations." The NDF says it has not issued a notice of termination of the peace negotiations, merely a "postponement of peace talks with the Arroyo regime." Jalandoni went on to assert that the GRP had never fully applied the immunity from arrest guarantees and had arrested some NDF members despite the agreement. Comments By Congressman -------------- ¶5. (C) In an August 4 meeting with Acting Pol/C, Congressman Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno, who maintains close links with President Arroyo, related that members of her staff were "infuriated" with the recent calls for her to resign by the CPP/NPA. Puno said "hardliners" in the government were now in the ascendant after the departure of Teresita "Ging" Deles, who recently resigned as the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. Puno said Deles had been considered by some to be "unfocused" in her efforts to deal with the CPP/NPA and that National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was pressing for a much tougher stance, as were some elements in the military hierarchy. Their overall idea was "to isolate" the extreme left. Acting Pol/C noted that any effort to launch a crackdown on the "legal" left and its representatives in the House would be a mistake. Such a move would be widely seen as a ploy and would likely alienate wide sectors of Philippine civil society, churches, moderates, and others. Puno said he agreed with those points and commented that he saw no indication that the GRP was planning to take any steps against legal left parties like Bayan Muna and Gabriela. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) As flagged by Puno, we have heard from other pro-Arroyo contacts that Malacanang is very disturbed with the left and its engagement in anti-Arroyo activities, as well as the CPP/NPA's withdrawal from the talks. The GRP's latest action regarding the suspension of immunities crystallizes this viewpoint and formally hardens the government's stance. There is no further indication of planning for a crackdown against the legal left, which would further aggravate tensions (ref B). There is also little sign that either side is planning to expand its military efforts. Nonetheless, friction between the two sides appears likely to continue. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ MUSSOMELI