Peace talks sa NPA, wala sa interes ng Pinoys

SUPORTADO ni National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Oban ang pagtanggi ni Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. sa panawagang muling buksan ang usapang pangkapayapaan sa Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
“Secretary Teodoro is correct in saying that to resume a national-level peace negotiations with a clearly spent, isolated, and criminal armed group would not advance the Filipino’s interest in security, peace, and development. It would only give their crumbling insurgency a veneer of credibility it no longer possesses on the ground,” ayon kay Oban, vice-chair din ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Kapuwa nag-ugat ang mga reaksyon nina Oban at Teodoro mula sa naging panawagan ng ilang dating government peace negotiators na buhayin ang negosasyon sa Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), NPA, at National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Ayon sa kanila, muntik nang magkaroon ng “interim peace agreement” noong mga nakaraang administrasyon upang wakasan ang halos anim na dekadang armadong tunggalian.
“Since the formal talks at the time of President Corazon Aquino, the CPP-NPA-NDF has repeatedly exploited ceasefires and negotiations to regroup, rebuild networks, regain influence in communities, and project political relevance while its armed units continued to commit atrocities, extortion, recruitment, and violence against the Filipino people,” ang sinabi ni Oban.
Ani Oban, ang usapang pangkapayapaan ay hindi dapat pinapayagan na maging “lifeline for a dying insurgency… [that has]lost any semblance of integrity and belligerency.”
“To reopen negotiations at this time would only overturn the hard-won victories that Filipino communities have achieved through years of courage, sacrifice, and peacebuilding. Across the archipelago, towns and barangays that were once trapped in fear and coercion have rejected the NPA,” aniya pa rin.
Gayundin, ang anumang panukala na makipag-usap ngayon sa CPP-NPA-NDF ay maituturing na “tone deaf to the realities on the ground.”
“The Filipino people are not asking for the return of peace negotiations that the CPP-NPA-NDF has historically abused. Our communities are asking for roads, schools, livelihoods, justice, local security, reintegration, healing, and protection from recruitment and intimidation,” ang winika ni Oban.
Aniya pa, ang kapayapaan ay dapat na binubuo at itinataguyod sa mga barangay, pamilya, eskuwelahan, kabukiran, indigenous communities, at dating conflict-affected areas, kung saan ang anyo ng labanan ay aktuwal na dinanas.
“Filipino communities are already empowered to pursue localized peace engagements that directly address the roots of conflict,” ayon kay Oban.
Samantala, sinabi ni Oban na nananatiling bukas ang pinto para sa mga indibidwal na tapat na tatalikuran ang armadong pakikibaka at handang magbalik-loob sa batas.
“We reaffirm the State’s policy that those who wish to abandon armed violence are afforded lawful and dignified pathways through localized peace engagements, reintegration, transformation programs, and amnesty processes,” aniya pa rin.