Justice for the Catbalogan 10! Resume the Peace Talks Now!
Malaya Movement USA is disturbed by the recent reports of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria Tiamzon alongside 8 others in August of 2022. What was initially reported by AFP as a rogue boat explosion has now been exposed as targeted war crimes including abduction, torture, brutal murder and cover up.
The Tiamzons were former political prisoners, members of the NDFP Negotiating Panel and leaders in the Communist Party of the Philippines. Under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which gives protection for GRP and NDFP representatives taking part in the Peace Talks, the Tiamzons and other Peace Consultants have the freedom to discuss and promote the Peace Negotiations without fear of repercussion. We will not be surprised if these allegations from the NDFP are true. The AFP has a long history of similar brutalities.
This recent incident reminds us of the urgency for resolving the roots of the armed conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). These issues are the pervasive poverty, landlessness, inequality, unfair justice system that favors the elites, monopoly of power by political dynasties to name a few.
Since the 1990s, the representatives between the Government of the Philippines and the revolutionary people’s government, represented by the NDFP, have taken part in the Peace Talks. This process, guided by the Joint Hague Declaration, has resulted in agreements like the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
The Peace Talks have allowed for members of the revolutionary movement to take part in an open and democratic process alongside the GRP, with the protections promised by the JASIG in mind. However, under various administrations, Peace Negotiators and Consultants have become targets of state repression, from unlawful arrests, trumped up charges, abductions, and extrajudicial killings.
The resumption of the Peace Talks is key in addressing the roots of the armed conflict, with one of the key outcomes of the negotiations being the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms, a draft of which exists from both the GRP and the NDFP. Marcos Jr. has not shown interest in resuming the Peace Talks.
We, in the Malaya Movement USA, recognize the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) as a legitimate entity with a comprehensive set of proposals on resolving the various fundamental problems of our country.
The NDFP was founded in the midst of the anti-fascist struggle against tyrannical regimes, then with Marcos Sr. 50 years ago. We believe that, like many of us, they are Filipinos who sincerely want to address the social ills plaguing our people.
Justice for the Catbalogan 10!
Resolve the Roots of the Armed Conflict! Resume the Peace Talks Now!
End the war crimes in the Philippines!
Resources
What The Hague is CARHRIHL, CASER, and JASIG? An overview of Philippine peace documents - Bulatlat
