NDF demands release of CPP leader Jazmines

(Updated 11:55 p.m.) Philippine Maoists on Tuesday demanded the release of one of their leaders who was arrested just ahead of the resumption of peace negotiations in Norway, accusing security forces of attempting to disrupt the talks. The formal talks in Oslo, the first since August 2004, start on Tuesday. They are not expected to produce immediate results to end an insurgency that dates back to the late 1960s, but the sides could agree to hold more negotiations and prolong a ceasefire. Alan Jazmines, tagged by the military as a top leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was detained in a raid on a rebel hideout north of Manila on Monday, hours before the start of a seven-day ceasefire between the government and the CPP-led New People's Army (NPA).
"The arrest of Jazmines is an attempt by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police to disrupt the peace negotiations," Luis Jalandoni, the rebels' chief negotiator, said in a statement. Jalandoni said Jazmines had to be freed as he was a consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the CPP-NPA's umbrella group engaged in the peace talks, and covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which the two sides inked during the Ramos administration. "It is imperative that Jazmines be released immediately and unconditionally so that there will be no disruption of the formal peace talks," he said. Palace expects 'Release Jazmines' demand Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda expected the NDF to raise Jazmines' arrest as an issue during the peace talks. "We will see. If they want to raise that, it's up to them... It will be a good means to verify his name under the JASIG agreement... we can avail of the process where we can verify whether he is covered by the JASIG or not," Lacierda said at a press briefing Tuesday in Malacañang. “We expect them to honor the word given by their commanders or their leaders in Oslo, Norway. So, we expect them to observe the ceasefire in good faith as much as the AFP will be observing it as well," he added. AFP reaction Informed of the rebel demand, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said that while the matter is up to the government panel to decide, he stressed that Jazmines' status and the circumstances surrounding his capture should be taken into consideration. "Does he have the documentation? Was he, at the time he was caught, in the performance of [his] duties as a peace [consultant], as part of the negotiating panel? Apparently he was not," Mabanta said. Further, Mabanta said the rebel leader's pending cases in courts should also be considered. Mabanta also said the government panel would be the one to verify if Jazmines is indeed covered by the immunity agreement. The list is currently being kept in a safety deposit box by an archbishop in the Netherlands, as required under the JASIG. 'Start-stop' negotiations The government and the NDF have been in stop-start negotiations for nearly 25 years to end one of the world's longest-running communist insurgencies that has killed 40,000 people. The 4,000-strong NPA has been blamed for attacks and extortion on mines, farms, construction and other businesses, including mobile phone companies, scaring away potential investors away rural areas. Last week, government negotiators said they were optimistic talks would produce results in 18 months and saw "peace achievable in three years if both sides are focused and sincere in finally ending senseless violence." Analysts do not share that optimism, saying there are many serious obstacles to peace talks, although the negotiations could reduce violence, particularly human rights abuses. "Neither side will win militarily," risk consultancy International Crisis Group said on Monday. "It is far better to negotiate than to wage an unwinnable war or wait for the organization to disintegrate over time, with the risk that NPA fighters will simply swell the ranks of the many hired guns." — Reuters with Amita O. Legaspi/JV, GMA News