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Senior Philippine rebel held ahead of talks
[Straits Times] ONE of the Philippines' top communist guerrilla leaders was arrested near the capital on the eve of peace negotiations to end a decades-old rebellion, the military said on Tuesday.Alan Jasminez, a central committee member of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was detained in a raid on his hideout in Baliuag town near Manila late Monday, hours before the two sides began a seven-day ceasefire, they said. Jasminez is to stand trial for rebellion, armed forces chief of staff General Ricardo David said. A police statement said he also faced 13 murder charges. 'The arrest of Alan Jasminez will definitely affect the organising, deception and propaganda efforts of the (party) against the Filipino people,' General David said in a statement. 'Arrests of this kind will continue as we move on to achieve the country's goal of reducing the enemies of the country's citizens,' he added. The rebels had no immediate comment on his detention. Previously, the group had demanded the release of a number of senior guerrilla leaders arrested earlier by the military, claiming they were part of the rebels' negotiating team. The rebels meanwhile announced on Monday that they were holding a police officer hostage. Both the military and the party's 4,700-member New People's Army separately declared week-long ceasefires from midnight on Monday, less than six hours after the arrest of Jasminez. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-16 |
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