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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines, Commies to Resume Talks |
| 2004-01-13 |
| Another domino teeters. Formal peace talks aimed at ending a 35-year communist insurgency will resume next month, three years after they broke off, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Tuesday. Chief rebel negotiator Luis Jalandoni, reached by phone at his home in exile in the Netherlands, confirmed that the rebels are ready to resume formal talks next month. Arroyo said in a statement that details were being finalized by both sides along with Norway, which has brokered the peace process with the Communist Party of the Philippines, its military arm the New People’s Army, which have both been declared terrorist organizations by the United States and the European Union. The peace talks with the communists have been stalled since 2001, but both sides have continued informal contacts. The Philippine government suspended the last round of peace talks after communist guerrillas killed a former congressman they accused of human rights violations. I believe the Philipino Commies have adopted the strategy of utilizing the Islamists as something we used to call a "Poop Screen" (paraphrased for a family-friendly enviroment.) The idea is when trouble is headed your way, you duck behind another target that is so glaringly delinquent, that you escape while trouble is busy beating up your screen. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |