REUTERS - Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday rejected a demand by Maoist-led rebels to free more
prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal, saying he had made
enough concessions
and was willing to let peace talks collapse if necessary.
For decades the
government and the communists' political arm, National Democratic Front, have
held intermittent peace negotiations but without success. The release of
political prisoners has proved a major stumbling block.
Before the
resumption of peace negotiations in Oslo in August, four years after the
collapse of the last attempt, Duterte let 22 rebel leaders out on bail,
including two senior guerrilla commanders.
Last month, he also
freed four elderly and sick prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
But rebel leaders
immediately demanded the release of 130 more rebels, a call Duterte has ignored
until now.
Since the rebellion
erupted nearly five decades ago, it has killed about 40,000 people and stunted
growth in resource-rich rural areas of the Philippines. The rebels' armed wing,
New People's Army, is active in almost all but the Muslim majority provinces, and
are particularly strong in the mining areas in the southern island of Mindanao.
"I wanted them
to start the talks but they want me to free 130 more, so I told them, no, I
cannot," Duterte told soldiers at an army base north of Manila, close to
where NPA first emerged.
"As a matter of
fact, I conceded too much too soon. Now, it's up to them if they will terminate
the peace talks. Let them terminate it. I have freed their leaders, what more
do you ask of us? I am running out of cards."
Duterte said violence
between the two sides has declined in the last six months. The two sides have
held two rounds of talks since August and plan to meet again early next year
with the aim of agreeing on a set of political, economic and social reforms to
address the rebellion within 12 months.
The rebels want
farmlands to be distributed to landless farmers, the nationalization of
industries and to share political power with the government.
Duterte, former
mayor of Davao, a city that was once seen as a breeding ground for rebels, told
soldiers at the base that he knew they were hurting from his decision to
re-start peace talks and free top communist rebels, but that he was determined
to end the conflict.
About 500 people
suspected to be rebels are in jail, which include two men who were convicted of
killing the U.S. military adviser, Colonel James Rowe, in 1989.
REUTERS
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