[AFP] The Philippine government said it hoped to reach a peace deal with Maoist militants within a year, as the two sides began talks in Oslo aimed at ending one of Asia's longest insurgencies. Philippine chief of negotiations Silvestre Bello said, "On the part of the [government] panel, we have imposed a timeline of nine to 12 months."The two sides hope to renew the peace process by discussing simultaneously issues of social and economic reform, political and constitutional change, and an end to hostilities. Previous peace negotiations have addressed one issue at a time.
President Duterte has made the resumption of talks with the communist rebels one of his top priorities. He has even floated the possibility of forming a coalition government with them.
The head of the rebel delegation, Luis Jalandoni was more cautious in his optimism about reaching a political settlement after 30 years of failed talks. He said, "I think we will try to do it in one year but it might take a little more time because the negotiations on social and economic reforms could take more time. It's more complicated than some may think."
The Communist Party of the Philippines launched a rebellion in 1969 that has so far claimed the lives of 30,000 people. Its armed faction, the New People's Army, is now thought to have fewer than 4,000 gunmen, down from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s.
The communists said their own ceasefire would only last until August 27, but a rebel statement said they were willing to discuss a longer truce. However, this would only be possible after the government freed all 550 guerrillas now detained.