Philippine military, communist rebels declare Christmas truce
Play
General says troops deserve a break after major disasters
The Philippines military and one of Asia’s remaining communist guerrilla groups on Wednesday said they were ready to call an informal truce over Christmas, bringing some measure of normality to a nation reeling from disasters.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) directed its New People’s Army (NPA) to be vigilant against attacks by security forces during the December 24-26 and December 31-January 2 ceasefire.
General Emmanuel Bautista, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, said the government would observe its own “suspension of offensive military operations” against the Maoist rebels over the Christmas period, as it had done in previous years.
“We deserve a break during Christmas. This is a very significant, very important holiday for our people especially now after these major disasters,” Bautista told reporters. He did not give specific dates for the effective truce.
Supertyphoon Haiyan left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing when it struck central Philippines on November 8, inflicting some 570 billion pesos (Bt416.3 billion) worth of damage and leaving 4.4 million people homeless, the government said Wednesday.
The typhoon struck less than four weeks after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Bohol, Cebu and Leyte provinces, killing more than 220 people.
In solidarity with people
“This ceasefire declaration is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people’s traditional observance of Christmas and New Year’s holidays,” the CPP central committee said in a statement.
It said the NPA forces in the typhoon-devastated islands of Samar and Leyte would not attack government forces until mid-January so both groups could help people displaced by Haiyan.
President Aquino had been aiming to end the rebellion before his six-year term expires in 2016, but the government said in April that peace talks had collapsed. “It doesn’t matter that peace prospects are dim. This is for the Filipino people,” Bautista said of the truce.
Last year, both protagonists observed close to four weeks of ceasefire, deemed to be the longest Christmas truce between both parties.
The Maoist insurgency has claimed 30,000 lives since 1969 according to government estimates, though its armed force is down to about 4,000 guerrillas from more than 26,000 in the late 1980s.
Anniversary
On December 26, the CPP will celebrate its 45th anniversary.
The CPP said the anniversary would be an opportunity to collect funds “to be contributed to rehabilitation efforts in the areas devastated by the recent Supertyphoon Haiyan”.
It called on Aquino to order the AFP to cease combat offensives against the NPA on December 26 and the days leading to it, to allow allies and sympathisers to peacefully travel to different guerrilla zones and join the celebrations.
Truce welcome
Military spokesman Lt-Colonel Ramon Zagala said the military welcomed the rebel announcement of a truce but questioned the limited period covered.
He said the military had already recommended to the national government a longer ceasefire during the Christmas season.
Zagala said of some 4,000 guerrillas nationwide, around 450 were in the area devastated by the typhoon.
