NTF stages protest vs CPP-NPA, wastes taxpayers’ money, violates UP-DND accord
The NTF was created to end the roots of armed conflict but they themselves do not know what it is.
Earlier this morning, members of the Philippine National Police — Highway Patrol Group and civilian riders held a rally in support of the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict along the University of the Philippines — Diliman Avenue in Quezon City, December 26.
The protest is held today coinciding with the 51st founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It is another cheap attempt to tag and link progressive legal organizations as fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF. The protest itself is an outright red-tagging of legitimate organizations, as well as a violation of the UP-DND Accord.
The National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict has the audacity mount coordinated protests using taxpayers’ money to spread propaganda and to hamper the resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Where do these state forces get the boldness to mount protest when it is them who are blatantly anti-protests? They have a lot to say about the CPP-NPA-NDFP but they are mum on the most pressing issues in the country such as killings, Chinese incursion, and Rice Liberalization Law among many others. With this, Duterte’s minions are not only displaying an act of cowardice but an act of betrayal to the Filipino people.
Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana rejected the idea of declaring a ceasefire with the New People’s Army in the spirit of the Christmas season.
But on Sunday, December 22, the CPP and the Duterte administration agreed to have a unilateral ceasefire for the holiday season as the two sides moved closer to resuming peace negotiations. In its order, the CPP directed all commands and units of the NPA to implement a nationwide ceasefire that will take effect from December 23, 2019 to January 7, 2020.
Duterte’s Executive Order 70 further shows how tactics like this used to quell the mass movement and amass kickback through fake surrenderees from New People’s Army under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program. Resistance makes the Duterte administration allergic.
If the police and the military want to serve and protect the Filipino people, then they should not sabotage the resumption of the peace negotiations. The College Editors Guild of the Philippines condemns these malicious acts and the saboteurs against the resumption of peace talks. We urge the public to unite and fully support the peace talks in order to finally address the root causes of the armed conflict for the benefit of the Filipino people.
