Two top leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines were arrested on Saturday in the province of Cebu.The military said Benito Tiamzon, the CPP chairman, was arrested by security forces along with his wife Wilma, also the secretary general of the communist organization. Wilma, who was previously arrested in October 1989, escaped from her jail in police headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City in December of the same year.
Authorities gave no other details about the capture of the communist leaders, but military spokesman Emmanuel Bautista praised their arrest. He said the captured militant leaders are facing many criminal charges.
He said, "They are currently undergoing processing and documentation for legal disposition. The arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon is another victory for the combined efforts between the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), PNP (Philippine National Police) and other stakeholders in pursuit of peace and security."
He added, "We call on to the rest of the CPP-NPA members to lay down their arms, abandon the armed struggle and return to the comfort of their families and join us in bringing peace and development to our nation."
The arrest of the Tiamzons has further dampened any hope for the resumption of peace talks between the militants and the Aquino government.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines has condemned what it called the illegal arrest of the two leaders who are its consultants to the peace process. It said both are immune from arrest because they have safety and immunity guarantees for the duration of the peace negotiations between Manila and the militant group.
It said, "Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria are NDFP Consultants who have fulfilled and are fulfilling highly significant tasks in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines."
The NDFP has demanded the immediate release of the communist couple. It said, "This latest flagrant violation of the JASIG by the Aquino regime, in addition to so many other gross violations of the JASIG, most seriously prejudices the GPH-NDFP peace negotiations."
| An Nahar adds a bit of background: |
Though the communist party's armed wing, the New People's Army, is down to about 4,000 guerrillas from more than 26,000 in the late 1980s, the rebels continue to pose a threat according to the government.
The rebels frequently ambush or raid small military and police units, as well as extorting money from rural businesses, military officials say.
In April last year President Benigno Aquino's government announced that the peace talks being brokered by Norway had collapsed, dampening hopes of a political settlement before the president's six-year term ends in mid-2016.
The Aquino government is scheduled to sign a peace treaty on March 27 with the largely Catholic country's largest Mohammedan guerrilla group, ending the country's other long-running rebellion that had claimed 150,000 lives in the south.