Dear President Aquino:
Now, during Holy Week we remember the words of Jesus who wept as he said, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!” [Luke 19: 42].
At the Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington DC this year, a workshop on the Philippines called for the resumption of peace talks between the Philippine government [GPH] and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines [NDFP] in accordance with all prior bilateral agreements.
It advocated for US Government policies that contribute to a foundation for lasting peace in the Philippines. This call followed from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines’ urgent request that the GPH and the NDFP resume “…principled negotiations to thresh out the issues, unearth and address the root causes of the conflict…a way to just and lasting peace… a way to end the armed conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of Filipinos, combatants and non‐combatants alike.”[Press Statement, May 2013]
Even as the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was being signed at the Malacañan Palace last March 27, 2014, we in the US learned that Wilma Austria and Benito Tiamzon, consultants for the NDFP, were arrested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As consultants designated by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees and holders of documents of identification and letters of acknowledgement, they have both safety and immunity.
It is not clear to us if this move was a cynical step by the Philippine government to pit one process against another, but since the “primary purpose of the safety and immunity guarantees… are to facilitate the peace negotiations, create a favorable atmosphere conducive to free discussion, and free movement during the peace negotiations, and avert any incident that may jeopardize the peace negotiations”[Preamble to JASIG] these arrests speak of utter disregard by the GPH for the integrity of the Peace Talks.
Will you show the world, President Aquino, that you are committed to the pursuit of peace? Will you release Wilma Austria, Benito Tiamzon, the 14 other NDFP consultants who are currently jailed, and the rest of the 413 political prisoners? Will you intervene against the tide of extrajudicial killings that has surged during your administration: 169 from 2010‐2013, 19 thus far this year? Will you begin to look like a government “instituted for the peace and welfare of the people,” and prove yourself “to be the last to give up on any measure intended for a just and lasting peace?”
(uccpnaof@gmail.com)
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