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The Armed Forces of the Philippines see no point in recommending the usual Christmas truce with the communist rebels this year due to the insincerity of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) during the previous ceasefire.
“AFP, even though it wishes and longs for a peaceful Christmas season for the Filipino people, will not recommend to the Commander-in-Chief a festive ceasefire with the communist terrorist group,” AFP spokesman Major General Edgard said Thursday. Arevalo, in a statement. .
“Many times in the past, the CTGs (communist-terrorist groups) have demonstrated their inability to be honest and to be unfaithful to a pact,” Arévalo said, citing the experience of the military that the CPP-NPA reneged on previous truces. by “attacking and killing soldiers in humanitarian and peace and development missions” and continuing to extort money from businessmen in the countryside.
Truce to regroup
“They venture into peace talks just to give themselves the opportunity to regroup, renew, recruit new members and recoup their losses,” said the AFP spokesman, citing the admission of the National Democratic Front negotiator Luis Jalandoni that the CPP-NPA is promoting the peace talks to continue their armed struggle.
Arévalo emphasized: “And with these many difficult lessons from the past, we will not allow them to trample on our people’s genuine desire for peace, not this holiday season, not until we have decisively defeated this threat to society.”
AFP issued the statement after left-wing lawmakers urged President Duterte to resume intermittent peace talks amid a government campaign to discredit the leaders of the so-called national democratic movement and cut off the sources of their financial support.
Duterte formally ended the peace talks with the communist rebels through Proclamation No. 360 in November 2017. A year later, the President created the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict to address the armed conflict with the guerrillas. .
Congress also this year passed Republic Law No. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020, which the government hopes to use against communist rebels, whom officials have labeled terrorists.
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