by RONALYN V. OLEA August 17, 2016
Re-posted from Bulatlat

MANILA — Nine consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have been released this week.

Released on bail were Maria Conchita Araneta-Bocala, Renante Gamara, Ernesto Lorenzo, Roger Soluta, Alan Jazmines, Tirso Alcantara, Alfred Mapano and Kennedy Bangibang.

Another NDFP consultant, Jaime Soledad, was freed after the Ormoc Regional Trial Court Branch 35 dropped all the charges against him for lack of evidence.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights alliance Karapatan, said she expects other NDFP consultants to be released on bail tomorrow.

Twenty-two NDFP consultants filed petitions for bail last week after the Supreme Court issued a calling on local courts to give appropriate priority to cases involving NDFP consultants.

The government has said there are certain conditions for the release of NDFP consultants. The temporary liberty of NDFP consultants is only for the duration of the peace talks.

Other conditions include returning to the Philippines after the formal peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway and reporting to the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Norway whenever required. The GRP panel also maintained that once the participation of the NDFP consultants ceases or the peace negotiations are terminated, their respective bonds shall be automatically canceled.

Also released on humanitarian grounds were political prisoners Alex and Winona Birondo.

Palabay said the release of consultants is crucial to the resumption of formal peace talks scheduled this Aug. 20 to Aug. 27 in Oslo, Norway.

Special coverage of the GRP-NDFP peace talks
Re-posted from Kodao Productions 8/8/2016

August 26, 2016

OSLO, Norway—The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) signed six major agreements at the end of their five-day “friendly and cordial” formal peace talks.

The negotiations ended as it began–with laughter and banter that reflected “historic and unprecedented” achievements:

1. Reaffirmation of previously-signed agreements;
2. Reconstitution of NDFP’s list of Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees
(JASIG)-protected personnel;
3. Acceleration of the peace negotiations with a set timeline for the three remaining substantive agenda—socio-economic reforms, political
and constitutional reforms, and cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces;
4. Release of political prisoners in pursuit of peace and in due consideration of the JASIG;
6. The GRP will recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the issuance of an amnesty proclamation of NDFP-listed political prisoners,
including those convicted for their political beliefs, subject to concurrence of Congress; and
7. The Communist Party of the Philippines will declare a new indefinite unilateral ceasefire by the New People’s Army and the People’s Militias effective August 28 in response to Duterte’s indefinite and unilateral ceasefire which took effective August 21.

The GRP and NDFP panels also agreed to meet again for the second round of formal talks on October 8-12 in Oslo, Norway.

Both panels said their new agreements reversed the frustrations of the past 15 years and put the peace process back on track.

Duterte’s direct hand

Both panels credited Duterte’s “brave and unique” approach to peace-building for the success of the first round of talks.

“We cannot achieve this successful and very significant step forward in the peace negotiations without the strong commitment of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and the spirit of goodwill and friendliness of our counterparts,” said Luis Jalandoni, Chair of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, in his closing statement.

“Not only has President Duterte walked the extra mile. He has also taken a step back to give the NDF space under his democratic and inclusive government,” Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza for his part said.

NDFP panel member said Coni Ledesma said that the talks reflected the Duterte government’s determination to seek peace through negotiations with CPP, NPA and the NDFP.

“It is like black to white. Malaki ang kaibahan ng Duterte administration sa mga nakaraang rehimen,” Ledesma said.

What went before

Previous GRP panels under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino governments failed in reaching as many agreements with the NDFP in their formal talks in 2004 and 2011, respectively.

While the Duterte government’s peace panel agreed with the NDFP to reaffirm all 10 major agreements forged under the Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada governments, the Arroyo and Aquino governments sought to dismiss them.

Teresita Deles, peace adviser to both the Arroyo and Aquino, was reported to have said that The Hague Joint Declaration is “a document of perpetual division” while immediate past GRP panel head Alexander Padilla wanted a new track separate from the declaration.

Deles has also reportedly petitioned the Royal Norwegian Government, third party facilitator to the peace negotiations, to stop funding the GRP-NDFP Joint Secretariat of the JMC-CARHRIHL.

Vital participation of consultants and advisers

At this morning’s closing ceremony, both panels acknowledged each other’s consultants and advisers who directly participated in the formal talks.

Sixteen NDFP consultants recently released from various prisons across the Philippines were able to join the negotiations.

Also released but failed to join the talks were Loida Magpatoc and couple Alex and Winona Birondo. The Birondos have yet to secure their passports from the Department of Foreign Affairs while Magpatoc is still on her way to Europe from Manila.

Not released in time for the first round of talks were political detainees Renato Baleros Sr. and Edgardo Friginal.

The NDFP are also asking for the immediate release of convicted consultants Emeterio Antalan, Leopoldo Caloza and Eduardo Sarmiento from The National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City.

The GRP for its part presented Tarlac congressman Victor Yap as its panel adviser for the House of Representatives while Quezon City and Angeles City mayors Herbert Bautista and Edgardo Pamintuan, respectively, were presented as peace advisers for local government units.

Historical

GRP negotiating panel chair Silvestre Bello III thanked the NDFP for its patience and candidness and said he is looking forward to forging a final peace agreement with their counterparts.

NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison added that the closing of the first round of talks is historical.

“Maluwag ang pagtanggap ng parehong panig sa paninindigan ng bawat isa. Parehong naghanap ng mapagkaka-isahan,” Sison said.

As the closing ceremony concluded, both panels, their consultants-advisers and respective staff sang the ‘Happy Birthday’ song for newly-released NDFP Consultant for Panay Concha Araneta-Bocala who is celebrating her 66th birthday today. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

xxxxx

Rey Claro Casambre
Philippine Peace Center
17 June 2016

Regardless of its outcome, by the mere fact of its being held, the preliminary or exploratory talks in Oslo between the incoming GPH peace negotiating panel and the NDFP panel last June 14-15 has already earned a distinction of its own in the long history of the GPH-NDFP peace negotiations.

Never before, since GRP(GPH)-NDFP negotiations started with the signing of The Hague Joint Declaration in 1992, had a newly-elected President ever initiated peace talks before even assuming office. Only once, in 1998, had an incumbent GRP President met with a ranking NDFP official (President Ramos received NDFP Negotiating Panel Chair Luis Jalandoni in Malacanang in January 1998). Weeks before his inauguration, prospective President Rodrigo Duterte made another unexpected and unprecedented move when he warmly received an emissary sent by the NDFP to personally congratulate him and discuss concrete proposals that could lead to the resumption of formal peace talks as well as other areas of cooperation.

The President-elect then promptly formed his negotiating team that would meet the NDFP negotiating panel in Oslo for preliminary or exploratory talks. That these talks materialized less than a month after the first meeting of the NDFP emissary and the incoming President unmistakably indicates a never-before-seen reservoir of mutual trust, goodwill and understanding. It also speaks of a political will to pursue peace talks in earnest that has been woefully absent under previous administrations. As all peace advocates, political observers and negotiators in general know, these are the very elements essential to the progress and success of any negotiation.

As expected, the exploratory talks resulted in an agreement, signed by both Parties and witnessed by the Third Party Facilitator, on the following:

1. The resumption of formal peace talks in accordance with previously signed agreements

2. The agenda for the formal talks will be:

a) Affirmation of previously signed agreements,
b) Process for accelerating negotiations including the timeline for completing the remaining              items on the substantive agenda – SER, PCR, EoHDF
c) Reconstitution of the JASIG list
d) Amnesty Proclamation for the release of political prisoners
e) Mode of interim ceasefire

3. The GPH panel will recommend to President Duterte
a) the immediate release of NDFP consultants and other JASIG-protected persons to enable             them to participate in the peace negotiations, and
b) the immediate release of prisoners/detainees on humanitarian grounds, such as the                     elderly and sickly.

Those familiar with the history – the ups and downs – of the peace talks over the years, especially the last ten or fifteen, would easily recognize these items agreed upon as precisely the very same issues that had caused the suspensions and impasses in the negotiations. Thus, these agreements and the forthcoming talks that they usher in with the abovementioned agenda constitute a significant breakthrough with a potential of carrying the talks forward to discussions on socio-economic reforms, the meat of the peace negotiations.

The relative ease with which these agreements were reached makes one wonder why the negotiations had been stalled or broken down over these same issues through the years. For the past 18 years since the CARHRIHL was signed and draft proposals for CASER were exchanged by the two Parties in 1998, only five formal talks had been held under three administrations (none under Estrada, four under Arroyo, one under BS Aquino). Clearly, the subjective factor, the political will of the GRP/GPH President to pursue peace talks in earnest, becomes the decisive element.

Political will and acumen would also be decisive in resolving the issues around the implementation of JASIG, the release of political prisoners through an Amnesty Proclamation and the mode of interim ceasefire. In the first case, the legal impediments to a release of detained consultants can be easily resolved through longstanding mechanisms to be set in motion by the DOJ upon the GPH President’s instructions. The Amnesty Proclamation, on the other hand, requires Congressional approval which the President at this early stage should have no difficulty in mustering, what with the usual en-masse defections to his majority party. While at first look the ceasefire appears to be the most complicated and potentially intractable and contentious issue, it would in fact turn out to be the least troublesome, provided the President effectively and judiciously wields his power and leadership as Commander-in-Chief of the state security forces.

An early resolution of the abovementioned issues would go a long way in generating an atmosphere conducive to holding formal peace talks on the next item on the substantive agenda, social and economic reforms. But this is not to say that it will be smooth sailing from there on.

Political will, mutual trust, goodwill and understanding are all necessary to bring the two Parties together and forge agreements to proceed with the negotiations and to stay the course, jointly seek ways to overcome obstacles and resolve impasses when these arise. But these are not sufficient, they do not guarantee that agreements would easily be reached that would address the roots of the armed conflict and pave the way to peace. Even assuming there is a healthy reserve of mutual trust, goodwill and understanding, the Parties would have to contend, perhaps more than with each other, with the powerful forces and influences of reaction that oppose any meaningful or substantial reform in the system. These include the big landlords and big comprador-bourgeoisie, the big bureaucrat-capitalists under the baton of US imperialism and other foreign capital.

This is the main obstacle in crafting the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms. For reasons we can only venture to speculate on at the moment, past GPH panels have been unable to update, revise or even completely recast their 1998 CASER proposal despite reports at attempts to produce a new version for the formal talks in view of the changed global and domestic economic situation. This unpreparedness for serious negotiations on CASER is undoubtedly one of the major factors in the GPH’s past resistance to resuming the formal talks. The GPH has even come to the point of declaring, “We no longer want to talk about the social causes of the armed conflict. We can talk and talk for fifty years and not reach an agreement…”

There are no signs as yet that the incoming Duterte administration will take such a position. On the contrary, President-elect Duterte’s pronouncements and actions before, during and after the presidential campaign indicate he is indeed of a different mold from his predecessors. He is certainly closer to the ordinary tao, especially the poor, more sensitive to their situation and needs and avowedly more biased in their favor. Moreover, he has acquired a reputation for beating the odds.

The prospects for peace at this point will be determined, to a significant extent, on how much of this will translate into forging with the NDFP an agreement on social and economic reforms.#

by Rey Claro Casambre
Philippine Peace Center

Perhaps the most unexpected, yet most significant, outcome of the Duterte presidential campaign is the return of the peace negotiations into the national consciousness and discourse. To his credit, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was the only presidential candidate who made the resolution of the armed conflict through peace talks a major pillar in his platform.

While having far-reaching implications, it is also the least contentious of his propositions. If his more eagerly received claims of eradicating corruption, drugs and criminality are tainted by his questionable methods, spotty human rights record, and ribald humor and remarks, the only controversial element, if at all, to his peace-making credentials is his known ties with the New People’s Army (NPA) highlighted by his unabashed and repeated declarations that he is a Leftist and Socialist.

These have undoubtedly generated new optimism that the talks, which had barely advanced since 1998 when the CARHRIHL was signed and drafts of the CASER were exchanged formally, would get a new boost under Duterte’s presidency and move it farther than any of his predecessors had.

No one saw it coming. Four months before he would announce his candidacy, Mayor Duterte called CPP founding Chairman Prof Jose Ma Sison by phone and asked the latter if he would come home in case he, Duterte, became President. What made the call extraordinary was that no other prospective presidential aspirant would ever divulge at the outset his or her connections with the CPP -NPA-NDFP. Furthermore, Duterte (unknown then to Prof. Sison) had arranged for the conversation to be heard by his audience in a forum composed largely of AFP officers.

During the campaign, and especially at the homestretch, Duterte repeatedly and unequivocally declared that the only way to stop the armed conflict was to hold peace talks with the Moros, including the BIFF, and with the CPP-NPA-NDFP. More importantly, Duterte stressed that there could only be peace if historical injustices are corrected and the roots of the armed conflict addressed.

After it had become clear that he would sit as the next President of the Republic, Duterte reiterated he would resume the formal peace talks with the NDFP, which had bogged down since 2011 due to the insistence of the Aquino government on changing the framework or foundation agreement and its refusal to honor the other bilateral agreements entered into by previous GRP/GPH administrations, notably the CARHRIHL and the JASIG. There was talk of Duterte’s visiting the NDFP leaders in Utrecht after he meets with the Pope, before his inauguration, and of Prof. Sison’s coming home

Only a week after elections, the Duterte camp had issued several statements reiterating its intention to resume formal talks with the NDFP, naming the Peace Adviser and the head of the negotiating panel with the NDFP, and declaring that political prisoners would be released as a goodwill measure to pave the way to the resumption of talks. Duterte went one step farther by pointing out frankly that while he would become “the enemy” the moment he takes his oath or office, he was offering the communists his hand for peace, along with government positions in such agencies as the DOLE, DSWD, DENR and DAR. The CPP and NDFP warmly welcomed the offer and said they would recommend competent non-communists to fill the posts, even as they explained they could not join the GPH government except as a result of successful peace negotiations.

While all these augur well for the peace process, it is important at the same time to keep one’s feet on the ground and guard against unrealistically high expectations that would only cause cynism once unrealized. Starting with Cory Aquino’s in 1986, incoming administrations have invariably called for peace negotiations, not the least because it was important to maintain stability and build hope in a society seething with discontent, misery and despair wrought by the previous regimes. And with the exception of the Ramos term when most of the major bilateral agreements were signed, the peace talks quickly got bogged down and were even terminated during Estrada’s term.

Duterte now has Ramos behind him who could serve as an adviser on the peace process, among others. He has tapped Jesus Dureza to head the OPAPP and Silvestre Bello as head of the GPH panel negotiating with the NDFP. Both Dureza and Bello had previously been involved in the productive peace talks under Ramos and held the abovementioned positions under the Arroyo government. Unfortunately, Arroyo took a different approach from Ramos’ when it decided to use the US-led “terrorist’ tag on the CPP-NPA and Prof. Sison to pressure the NDFP into laying down its arms outright through negotiations.

Thus, while having Dureza and Bello in his peace team is a plus for the GPH-NDFP negotiations, the crucial decisions will lie with Duterte alone. For starters:

(1) Will the Duterte government honor all the bilateral agreements entered into by previous GRP/GPH administrations, especially the framework 1992 The Hague Joint Declaration, the JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees) and the CARHRIHL (Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law)?

(2) Will he release political prisoners and discontinue the previous regimes’ policy and practice of arresting, detaining and falsely charging political prisoners with criminal offenses?

(3) Will Duterte restore the mechanism unilaterally dissolved by the Aquino government for securing the release of detained JASIG-protected persons?

(4) Will Duterte discontinue Aquino’s counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bayanihan, masquerading as an internal peace and security program? Will militarization and attacks on communities suspected to be under the influence or control of the NDFP be discontinued? Will the Duterte government discontinue the use of CCTP and PAMANA projects for counter-insurgency purposes?

(5) Will the GPH under Duterte reconvene thes Joint Monitoring Committee in line with the CARHRIHL, pursue the investigations and take action on the thousands of filed complaints of gross human rights violations including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, massacres, attacks on communities, etc.? Will he end the culture of impunity that has allowed human rights violators to go scot-free and encouraged state security forces to commit human rights violations?

(6) Is the Duterte government willing to enter into an immediate just peace or an agreement for truce and cooperation while the formal talks on basic social, economic, political and constitutional reforms are being negotiated?

(7) Will he uphold national sovereignty, pursue an independent foreign policy and review all unequal treaties entered into by previous administrations such as the MDT, VFA, EDCA?

(8) Is the Duterte government willing to bring genuine land reform and national industrialization back into the substantive agenda of the talks? Will he put an end to privatization, contractualization and other anti-labor, anti-farmer and anti-people neoliberal policies?

It is of course too early to hazard a definite answer to these questions. The Duterte camp has so far given mixed signals, even contradictory statements, on these and other issues. Understandably so, not the least because it now has to perform a balancing act as it treads the tightrope under pressure from all sides, not the least from powerful foreign and local vested interests.

No doubt there is hope for the peace talks to move forward farther than it had ever done in past administrations. But there should be no illusions where Duterte is coming fiom, whose interests he is sworn to protect and defend, and what constraints and limitations there are to his avowed Leftist inclinations. That is why there is a need for negotiations in the first place. The positive thing is that the incoming President himself has displayed an exceptionally keen awareness of this.

The NDFP, for its part, has consistently and candidly made its line and policies on the peace talks clear. Consistent with the Hague Joint Declaration, its objective in entering into negotiations is to seek a resolution of the armed conflict through negotiations. It has gone as far as officially declaring, through the CPP, that it is open to entering into a truce and alliance with a reactionary regime that proves itself patriotic and democratic.

Whether the Duterte government proves to be so remains to be seen.

Created on Tuesday, 17 November 2015 17:27
Written by ILPS 5th IA Secretariat
Posted on 18/11/2015 by Jose Maria Sison in press statements, Writings

ILPS 5th International Assembly Secretariat, ILPS 5th International Assembly

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) successfully held its Fifth International Assembly (5th IA) from November 14 to 16, 2015 in Manila, Philippines with the theme, “For a Socially Just World, Strengthen the Peoples’ Solidarity and Intensify the Struggle Against Imperialist Plunder, Crisis and War!”

The 5th IA was attended by more than 400 delegates, observers and guests from 180 organizations in 39 countries, territories and autonomous regions; namely, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Eritrea, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong (SAR), India, Indonesia, Japan, Kurdistan, Macau, Malaysia, Manipur, Mexico, Nagaland, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan ROC, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, and West Papua.

The gathering confirms the League’s status as the largest and most consolidated global formation of militant, anti-imperialist and democratic organizations in the world today.

Before a packed audience at Sequoia Hotel, Len Cooper, Vice Chairperson of the ILPS, opened the 5th International Assembly by welcoming the delegates from all the global regions. He noted that the timing of this conference was chosen to coincide with the leaders meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) in Manila. He put forward the people’s demand that APEC and its imperialist agenda be scrapped.

Cynthia McKinney, former member of the US Congress, delivered the first keynote speech. She recounted the numerous ways that US President Obama has betrayed and thwarted the aspirations of the peoples in Asia. She concluded by warning the audience, “Beware President Obama’s Pivot to Asia! Don’t get tricked and don’t be fooled!”

Also keynoting the Assembly was Leila Khaled, the celebrated Palestinian freedom fighter. She spoke of the intifada emerging in Palestine today, “an intifada that like its predecessors is based among those who are most marginalized, most oppressed and most determined to seek their freedom.” She called on the international movement of the peoples of the world to support the Palestinian people in materially changing the balance of power and escalating the cost of occupation – through escalating the boycott of Israel economically, militarily, politically, academically and culturally.

After the open forum with the keynote speakers, the Assembly approved the Agenda and the Rules of Participation including the Rules for Nominations and Elections to guide the conduct of the whole proceedings.

ILPS Chairperson Jose Ma. Sison then gave his report on the work of the ILPS through a recorded video.

Sison said that the Assembly is deliberately timed to oppose the APEC summit and the neoliberal economic policy of imperialist globalization which continues to brutally exploit the working people and plunge the world further in an ever worsening economic and social crisis. He discussed the major aspects and trends regarding the current global crisis of the capitalist system, the intensifying exploitation and oppression of the people by imperialism and reaction, and the growing resistance of the people.

He then summarized the accomplishments of ILPS over the last 14 years covering the 17 concerns of the alliance. He concluded by outlining the important tasks of the ILPS in terms of information campaigns and political education; mobilization around burning issues; cooperation with other organizations, institutions and international alliances; and expanding the membership of ILPS.

Malcolm Guy, General Secretary of the ILPS, delivered the report of the work of the general secretariat. He made a rundown of the speeches and statements made by the Chairperson; the major actions and meetings organized by ILPS members or attended by ICC members; and changes in the website. He noted the challenges faced by the League as it develops more as a multilingual, multinational anti-imperialist united front. He concluded by pointing out the major tasks for the ILPS in terms of political education, organization, mass mobilization and establishment of ILPS Chapters.

Lyn Meza, Auditor of ILPS, shared the report prepared by ILPS Treasurer, Theo Droog, on the financial situation of the League. She noted the increase in the “reserve funds” of the League due to membership and assembly fees collected during the last 4th IA. Nevertheless, she noted the ongoing weakness in terms of the irregular collection of membership dues. For a while, the Treasurer lacked knowledge of tax obligations but the secretariat was able to consult tax experts knowledgeable about tax laws and private foundations.

Workshops on the different concerns of the League were successfully held, combining theoretical discussions and sharing of practical experience in peoples’ struggles. They passed important resolutions and approved major campaigns on their respective areas of concern. In the tradition of ILPS assemblies, the results of the workshops were presented in the plenary through creative and militant presentations by the respective commissions. These were all enthusiastically received and approved by acclamation.

The 5IA was also a fighting assembly with delegates joining mass actions after or in-between sessions. ILPS delegates joined the “kampuhan” (people’s camp) of the Manilakbayan from Mindanao at the Baclaran Church to express solidarity with the struggle of the Lumad against intensifying militarization, killings and imperialist plunder of their lands.

ILPS delegates also held a candle-lighting ceremony at the Boy Scouts Memorial Rotunda for the victims of the recent bombings in Beirut and Paris. Speakers condemned the Daesh (or ISIS) for targeting and killing civilians but also blamed the US and its NATO allies for waging imperialist wars on the peoples of Southwest Asia and North Africa and beyond while arming and training terrorist groups like ISIS in order to help bring down independent regimes and destroy societies that do not fit in their imperialist schema.

International delegates also joined Hacienda Luisita farmers and supporters to mark the 11th year of the Hacienda Luisita massacre with a protest at the Ninoy Aquino Memorial Shrine on November 16. On the same day, ILPS delegates joined workers at the Boy Scouts Rotunda for the International Day of Action against trade union repression. Briefings were also held for the Peoples Caravan Against Imperialist Globalization and the big march against APEC to be held two days after the Assembly. All these actions were well covered by the media.

On the last day, the Assembly discussed and approved the General Declaration of the 5th IA by acclamation. It reflects the Assembly’s analysis of the major contradictions in the world capitalist system today, the increasing brutality of imperialist powers led by the US, and the rising tide of people’s resistance in all corners of the globe.

The Declaration also took note of the recent spate of bombings in Beirut and Paris. The Assembly warns that US imperialism and its NATO allies will be using or taking advantage of these criminal terrorist attacks against the people as a pretext for further aggression and intervention and to justify intensifying fascism and state terror, as they did with the 9/11 attacks. The ILPS resolved to thoroughly expose this duplicity and be prepared to confront more imperialist attacks.

As in previous assemblies, the major documents from the 5th International Assembly such as the Report of the Chairperson, the Report of the General Secretary, the ILPS Charter as amended, the General Declaration and the resolutions resulting from the workshops on the various Concerns and other special resolutions approved by the assembly will be published as a book.

The election of the new members of the International Coordinating Committee was held and the following were elected as regular members of the ICC:

Michelle Allison – Kurdistan
Ramon Bultron – Hong Kong
Jang Chang Weon – South Korea
Len Cooper – Australia
Rudi Daman – Indonesia
Demba Dembele – Senegal
Bill Dores – USA
Pascual Duarte – Argentina
Bernadette Ellorin – USA
Malcolm Guy – Canada
Nelson Herazo – Ecuador
Takane Ikeda – Japan
Mahommad Khatib – Palestine
Mustafa Kilinc – Germany
Elmer Labog – Philippines
Florentino Martinez – Mexico
Liza Maza – Philippines
Lyn Meza – USA
Nadia Mora – Venezuela
Peter Murphy – Australia
Chennaiah Poguri – India
Paloma Polo – Spain
Sarojeni Rengam – Malaysia
Jose Maria Sison – Netherlands
Antonio Tujan – Philippines
Veerle Verscheuren – Belgium
Samuel Villatoro – Guatemala

And the following as alternate members:

Inti Barrios – Mexico
Fatima Burnad – India
L Muh Hasan – Indonesia
Dennis Maga – New Zealand
Rafael Mariano – Philippines
Malem Nouthingja – Manipur
Aiyanas Ormond – Canada
Tess Tesalona – Canada

Two books were launched on the last evening of the Assembly – “More Than a Red Warrior: Arnold Borja Jaramillo, Beloved Son of Abra”, a tribute to a Red fighter captured, tortured and summarily executed by the Philippine military last year; and the book of proceedings of the International Peoples’ Tribunal recently held in Washington, DC. This Tribunal concluded that the governments of the Philippines and the US were guilty of systematically violating the rights of the Filipino people, including such crimes as the extra-judicial killings and massacres of critics of these governments.

The 5th International Assembly was concluded and a Solidarity Cultural Night was held to celebrate the achievements of the League with the participants expressing their continuing commitment to the struggle. Delegates and guests from all participating countries and from various mass organizations in the Philippines sang, rapped, delivered poems, performed music, danced and celebrated international solidarity and the spirit of resistance. Highlights included a duo between and rapper from the US and a young Lumad singer along with a performance remembering the Ayotzinapa 43 in Mexico. Participants thanked the hosts of the 5IA – the ILPS Philippine chapter supported by Hong Kong and Macau – for the well-organized Assembly and warm hospitality and collected and presented a donation to the hotel staff who looked after the needs of the delegates and guests.

ILPS allied networks also held their own international assemblies before and after the 5IA. These include the International Women’s Alliance, the International Migrants Alliance, the Peasant Anti-Imperialist Solidarity Conference and the International Festival for Peoples Rights and Struggles.

Inspired and revitalized by the resounding success of the 5th International Assembly, the delegates reaffirmed their commitment to raise higher their political will and capabilities in facing up to the challenges and in effectively advancing the work of the League in every arena of the anti-imperialist and democratic struggle of the world’s peoples.

xxxxx

Posted from Ang Malaya Net – Philippine News Agency
September 4, 2015

As the Senate deliberates on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, Senator Loren Legarda on Friday urged government to resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). “We need to pursue peace that is inclusive in order for it to be just and lasting. The government should initiate the resumption of peace negotiations with the NDFP for the sake of the millions of Filipinos who will benefit from a peaceful and progressive nation,” Legarda said.

According to the Philippine Peace Center, the peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP are in a state of suspension. The two negotiating panels have not sat together for formal talks since February 2011.

Moreover, the formal talks to resume discussions on Social and Economic Reforms scheduled for June 2011 did not materialize.

Legarda said subsequent efforts to break the impasse through informal talks between the two parties and discuss an NDFP proposal for truce and alliance began in late 2011 but likewise collapsed in February 2013.

“One may not necessarily agree with the NDFP’s alternative vision of Philippine society, but no one can doubt the integrity of their patriotism or the depth of their commitment to help bring about a more just and a more humane society. That is why we want the government and the NDFP to iron out their differences and address the root causes of the armed conflict,” Legarda said.

She said the subject of the negotiations were concerns affecting Filipinos such as poverty, lack of employment and livelihood opportunities, underemployment, lack of access to housing services, affordable health care, education and other social services, corruption, impunity in human rights violations, environmental degradation, among many others.

“The Philippine Government and the NDFP should resume peace talks to come up with an agreement that is agreeable to both parties and beneficial to the Filipino people. Our people have a huge stake in the peace negotiations, the success of which is a step towards a brighter future for generations to come, “ Legarda said.

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