Philippine peace negotiators to start where they left off

Philippine peace negotiators to start where they left off

OSLO, Norway (AP): Philippine leftist rebels and government
negotiators ended their first round of peace talks in two years
on Monday with unexpected progress and a determination to see the
process through.

The four-day talks on ending their 32-year conflict marked the
reopening of negotiations that collapsed in 1999. They came at a
time of unrest in the Philippines over the arrest of ousted
President Joseph Estrada.

Despite those worries, the sides settled a contentious human
rights issue from the previous talks and moved on to the crucial
new topics of social and economic reforms.

They also agreed to meet again in the Norwegian capital,
sometime in June, as the first of three more meetings planned for
that topic. Smaller working groups were to meet in the
Philippines in the meantime.

"We have agreed to exert our best efforts to complete the
peace negotiations in 18 months and forge the Comprehensive
Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms in six months,"
negotiators said in a joint communique signed at the end of the
meeting.

As if to underscore their will to now work together, the chief
government and rebel negotiators took turns reading paragraphs of
the two-page statement, before signing it and shaking hands to
extended applause from their delegations.

The government and the National Democratic Front umbrella
communist rebel group envision a three step peace process,
spending six months on each of three agreements; social and
economic reforms, then political and constitutional reforms and
finally an end to hostilities.

"We are happy to have made more progress than expected," rebel
leader Luis Jalandoni said. He called the talks "historic."

Lead government negotiator Silvestre Bello III agreed, saying
"We didn't really expect ... to discuss the core issues of social
and economic reforms, but then the unexpected happened."

The first two days of talks that started Friday at the
picturesque Holmenkollen Park Hotel, overlooking Oslo,
concentrated on practical details, including the framework,
timing and venues of peace talks.

It also settled a dispute over how to implement a human rights
accord reached in 1998, before the rebels pulled out of talks.

The rebels had wanted to be able to arrest and punish human
rights violators in guerrilla zones. The government had argued
that only it had policing authority.

In Oslo, they agreed that a joint monitoring committee called
for in that agreement would only work on fact-finding and
recommendations without the power to prosecute.

The communique also said they agreed to pursue confidence-
building measures, including faster release of political
prisoners, the repeal of repressive decrees and the return of
displaced families to their homes and lands.

The sides cited progress in discussions of reforms to land
ownership, the rights of the urban poor, and problems of
industrialization and globalization - social and economic issues
the insurgents say address the roots of the conflict.

But Hernani Braganza, a member of the Philippine government
and a negotiators, said many differences still needed to be
overcome, such as requests by rebels for trade barriers that the
government cannot accept.

The guerrillas began fighting for a Marxist state in 1969. The
conflict has killed and displaced thousands and hindered economic
development in the Philippines, a country of 75 million people.

The rebels withdrew from an earlier round of talks in May 1999
after claiming that Estrada's government had violated previous
agreements.

New President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who took office three
months ago, has put a high priority on resuming peace talks with
the communist rebels and with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,
a Muslim rebel group separately fighting for an independent
Islamic nation in the southern Philippines.

The talks in Oslo came as thousands of supporters of Estrada,
who has been arrested in corruption charges, turned out to
support him.

Bello said those protests and the unease at home did not
influence the peace talks, although the rebels said their joint
efforts with the government to counter pro-Estrada forces set a
positive tone.

"We have contributed to neutralizing the threat from the
Estrada criminals," said Jose Maria Sison, chief political
consultant for the rebel negotiating team. He also acknowledged a
message of thanks from Arroyo "for the expression of ...
opposition to the pro-Estrada actions."