CPP/NPA - THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002973 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM PINS PREL RP SUBJECT: CPP/NPA - THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In response to a renewed campaign by the Philippine Government (GRP) to defeat Asia's longest-running communist insurgency, the New People's Army (NPA) has continued its low intensity attacks throughout the country. At the same time, the National Democratic Front (NDF) is pushing for renewed peace talks. NDF leaders flew to Oslo in early July to get the Norwegians actively involved in encouraging the GRP to return to peace negotiations. An Opposition Senator signed a joint communiqu with the NDF that urged the GRP to resume peace talks. GRP officials, however, have dismissed any resumption of peace talks, demanding that a ceasefire agreement be made prior to any negotiations, but have indicated that informal peace talks might take place at the local level, a strategy that CPP founder Jose Marie Sison has rejected. President Arroyo recently also signed a new Executive Order (EO) mandating that even local government units devote resources to the fight against the NPA. The struggle on the ground is apt to remain deadly and long. End Summary. -------------- Attacks continue -------------- ¶2. (U) On July 16, a Philippine soldier and policeman were killed in an eight-hour gunfight with 50 suspected NPA troops in Occidental Mindoro. The same day, four NPA troops apparently allegedly assassinated a Philippine Army officer in Bulucan. On June 26, an NPA-command-detonated landmine attack hit a military minivan carrying AFP troops in Camarines Sur Province. One AFP soldier was wounded in the explosion. On June 25, an estimated nine NPA troops raided the camp of the 31st Infantry Battalion in Camarines Sur Province. The firefight reportedly lasted about 45 minutes, with no casualties reported. On June 24, an estimated 40 NPA troops attacked a Philippine Army vehicle carrying Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) troops in Quezon Province. Neither side reported any casualties. On June 23, approximately 15 NPA troops ambushed a civilian truck carrying government security forces in Laguna Province. One soldier was reported wounded in the attack. On June 18, NPA troops reportedly attacked a Globe telecommunications station in Compostela Valley Province. -------------- Let's talk instead -------------- ¶3. (U) Chairman of the NDF negotiating panel Luis Jalandoni recently called for the "resumption of formal peace talks between the GRP and the NDF as soon as possible," and denounced the GRP's military campaign against the NPA as one that will "further economic ruin." NDF leaders based in the Netherlands flew to Oslo in early July for four days of consultations with Norwegian mediators in the peace process. During the meeting, the NDF made an appeal to the Norwegians again actively to encourage the GRP to return to peace negotiations. ¶4. (U) Opposition Senator Jamby Madrigal met with NDF officials in the Netherlands June 26 - 27 and signed a joint communiqu that criticized the GRP's military campaign against the NPA and urged the GRP to resume peace talks with the communist insurgents. ¶5. (U) The NDF continues to set preconditions for resumption of talks, notably the removal of the CPP/NPA from the US and EU lists of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). It has also called for the GRP to conduct investigations and prosecutions of GRP officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses. Jalandoni recently again also urged the GRP to review and adopt a "10-point Concise Agreement for an Immediate Just Peace" that the NDF had initially submitted on August 29, 2005. It addressed issues including the "unity of the Filipino people against any foreign domination; empowerment of workers and peasants; economic sovereignty; repudiation of foreign debts; promotion of a patriotic, scientific and pro-people culture autonomy of national minorities, the investigation of government officials who are liable for treason, corruption and human rights violations; the adoption of independent foreign policy with normal trade and diplomatic relations with all countries; and finally the cessation of armed hostilities." -------------- GRP response -------------- ¶6. (U) GRP officials have informed Norway that the talks are "stalled" and that progress can only be made if the NDF/CPP/NPA abandons its preconditions. GRP officials have nonetheless indicated that the GRP might pursue peace negotiations at the local level. From his exile in the Netherlands, CPP founder Jose Marie Sison rejected local peace talks as a "scheme" to divide the revolutionary movement, and stated that the GRP should only negotiate with the NDF negotiating panel. MANILA 00002973 002 OF 002 ¶7. (U) On July 14, President Arroyo signed a new Executive Order (EO) mandating that even local government units devote resources to the fight against the NPA. The EO allows governors and mayors to draw additional funds from the central government to support security efforts, such as surveillance and intelligence gathering. The EO also delineates the specific roles of local executives, police, and military in the GRP's campaign against the insurgency, and specifically tasks the Philippine National Police (PNP) with supporting the AFP in combat operations in the countryside. Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno stated that the "insurgency is a continuing and sustained struggle," and that the effort requires the assistance of "local government units and institutions down to the barangay level." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Nothing dramatic has changed in the status quo in the long-running saga of the CPP/NPA, despite the GRP's announced goal of defeating the NPA within two years and its allocation of additional resources. The struggle is apt to remain deadly and long. KENNEY