PH gov’t, Reds ceasefire committees set to meet before year ends

PHNOM PENH—The ceasefire committees of the government and the communist rebels are set to meet on the last week of the year to attempt to reach a consensus on key issues related to the crafting of a bilateral ceasefire deal, the government’s chief peace negotiator Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.

This would be ahead of the meeting of the two peace panels in January.

The meeting comes after President Rodrigo Duterte rejected the plea of communist rebels to release some 130 political prisoners, saying he wanted the communists to agree to a joint ceasefire deal first.

READ: Duterte rejects NDF’s plea to free 130 political prisoners

Duterte had also said that he had given “too much, too soon” to the communist rebels.

Bello said Wednesday that the meeting of the ceasefire committees was expected to be from December 26 to 29, and these committtees would attempt to reach a consensus on the conditions of a joint ceasefire deal and the definition of terms such as hostile acts, the buffer zones where their forces may go and the identities of their mediators in case of violations.

Once these issues are ironed out, the signing of a permanent bilateral ceasefire agreement could be expected to follow, he said.

“Hopefully, if they reach an agreement, we may have to go on a special trip just for the signing of the joint bilateral permanent ceasefire. I’m emphasizing permanent, because it could result in to the end of hostilities, which is one of the main objective of the peace process,” he said.

Both the government and the communist rebels have unilateral, indefinite ceasefire declarations.

After their first round of peace talks in August, both sides agreed to work to develop their separate ceasefire declarations into a bilateral ceasefire agreement in 60 days.

READ: ‘Ceasefire guidelines out in 60 days’

The deadline has since passed because the two sides have yet to reach a consensus on key issues. RAM