Talks in peril with jail transfer of NDF leader, says Jalandoni

LUCENA CITY—The jail transfer of a detained communist rebel and the continuous detentions of their other members could have negative consequences on the planned resumption of formal peace negotiations between the Aquino administration and the insurgents, the top representative of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) warned on Thursday.

In a statement, Luis Jalandoni, NDFP peace panel head, condemned the “treacherous and forcible transfer” of NDFP consultant Alan Jazmines from the police custodial center in Camp Crame to Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan on June 29.

“Together with the brutal and inhumane treatment of NDFP Consultant Tirso Alcantara, who is [being] kept in isolation in a Philippine Army camp for more than 18 months, and other NDFP consultants still illegally detained, these have a serious dampening effect on prospects for the resumption of formal peace talks,” Jalandoni said.

No legal counsel

He said Jazmines was not even allowed to call his legal counsel before his transfer.

“This shows utter disregard of his rights guaranteed by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) signed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP,” he said.

Last month, representatives from the government and the NDFP held a two-day meeting in Oslo, Norway, to pave the way for the resumption of formal peace negotiations that has been stalled since 2004.

Jalandoni said Jazmines is not only an NDFP consultant in the peace talks but also a member of its Reciprocal Working Committee for Social and Economic Reforms.

Jalandoni reiterated the NDFP’s demand that the Aquino government respect and comply with the Jasig and the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

‘Deplorable conditions’

“It must also pay heed to national sovereignty as one major guiding principle of the GRP/GPH-NDFP peace negotiations as stipulated in The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992,” he said.

Citing Jazmines exposé, Jalandoni assailed the deplorable conditions of political prisoners in Camp Crame’s custodial center and claimed there were also persons in there allegedly “being subjected to interrogation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Jalandoni said the condition should be taken by the Aquino regime “as a most serious reason to investigate this flagrant violation of Philippine national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“It should not be a cause for a treacherous act of reprisal that smacks of another subservient kowtowing to US hegemony,” Jalandoni said.