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| New People’s Army (NPA) "Soldiers" |
By Alexis Romero
No truce; AFP warns vs NPA extortion
MANILA, Philippines - Over a month after talks were scrapped, formal peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels resumed yesterday in Oslo, Norway, but without any ceasefire and with both parties warning of continuing violence.
The government could not announce a unilateral ceasefire because the New People’s Army (NPA) had taken advantage of the truce in the past to extort funds from businesses and civilians, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Año said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines said it expected intensified operations by the military amid the talks. The CPP explained it did not declare a unilateral ceasefire because of the government’s refusal to declare its own truce.
President Duterte had scrapped the talks with the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) in February.
Angered by the deaths and kidnapping of soldiers even while the NPA was supposed to be observing a unilateral ceasefire, Duterte ordered soldiers to resume fighting.
Año urged the public to report all extortion activities by the rebels. The military said it had recorded more than 60 incidents of arson related to extortion since the breakdown of the truce in February.
Read the full story at PhilStar