VZCZCXRO0363
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #2973/01 1980958
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170958Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2033
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002973 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PTER PHUM PINS PREL RP
SUBJECT: CPP/NPA - THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  In response to a renewed campaign by the 
Philippine Government (GRP) to defeat Asia's longest-running 
communist insurgency, the New People's Army (NPA) has continued its 
low intensity attacks throughout the country.  At the same time, the 
National Democratic Front (NDF) is pushing for renewed peace talks. 
NDF leaders flew to Oslo in early July to get the Norwegians 
actively involved in encouraging the GRP to return to peace 
negotiations.  An Opposition Senator signed a joint communiqu with 
the NDF that urged the GRP to resume peace talks.  GRP officials, 
however, have dismissed any resumption of peace talks, demanding 
that a ceasefire agreement be made prior to any negotiations, but 
have indicated that informal peace talks might take place at the 
local level, a strategy that CPP founder Jose Marie Sison has 
rejected.  President Arroyo recently also signed a new Executive 
Order (EO) mandating that even local government units devote 
resources to the fight against the NPA.  The struggle on the ground 
is apt to remain deadly and long.  End Summary. 
 
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Attacks continue 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On July 16, a Philippine soldier and policeman were killed 
in an eight-hour gunfight with 50 suspected NPA troops in Occidental 
Mindoro.  The same day, four NPA troops apparently allegedly 
assassinated a Philippine Army officer in Bulucan.  On June 26, an 
NPA-command-detonated landmine attack hit a military minivan 
carrying AFP troops in Camarines Sur Province.  One AFP soldier was 
wounded in the explosion.  On June 25, an estimated nine NPA troops 
raided the camp of the 31st Infantry Battalion in Camarines Sur 
Province.  The firefight reportedly lasted about 45 minutes, with no 
casualties reported.  On June 24, an estimated 40 NPA troops 
attacked a Philippine Army vehicle carrying Armed Forces of the 
Philippines (AFP) troops in Quezon Province.  Neither side reported 
any casualties.  On June 23, approximately 15 NPA troops ambushed a 
civilian truck carrying government security forces in Laguna 
Province.  One soldier was reported wounded in the attack. 
On June 18, NPA troops reportedly attacked a Globe 
telecommunications station in Compostela Valley Province. 
 
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Let's talk instead 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) Chairman of the NDF negotiating panel Luis Jalandoni 
recently called for the "resumption of formal peace talks between 
the GRP and the NDF as soon as possible," and denounced the GRP's 
military campaign against the NPA as one that will "further economic 
ruin." NDF leaders based in the Netherlands flew to Oslo in early 
July for four days of consultations with Norwegian mediators in the 
peace process.  During the meeting, the NDF made an appeal to the 
Norwegians again actively to encourage the GRP to return to peace 
negotiations. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Opposition Senator Jamby Madrigal met with NDF officials in 
the Netherlands June 26 - 27 and signed a joint communiqu that 
criticized the GRP's military campaign against the NPA and urged the 
GRP to resume peace talks with the communist insurgents. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The NDF continues to set preconditions for resumption of 
talks, notably the removal of the CPP/NPA from the US and EU lists 
of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).  It has also called for 
the GRP to conduct investigations and prosecutions of GRP officials 
allegedly involved in human rights abuses.  Jalandoni recently again 
also urged the GRP to review and adopt a "10-point Concise Agreement 
for an Immediate Just Peace" that the NDF had initially submitted on 
August 29, 2005.  It addressed issues including the "unity of the 
Filipino people against any foreign domination; empowerment of 
workers and peasants; economic sovereignty; repudiation of foreign 
debts; promotion of a patriotic, scientific and pro-people culture 
autonomy of national minorities, the investigation of government 
officials who are liable for treason, corruption and human rights 
violations; the adoption of independent foreign policy with normal 
trade and diplomatic relations with all countries; and finally the 
cessation of armed hostilities." 
 
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GRP response 
------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) GRP officials have informed Norway that the talks are 
"stalled" and that progress can only be made if the NDF/CPP/NPA 
abandons its preconditions.  GRP officials have nonetheless 
indicated that the GRP might pursue peace negotiations at the local 
level.  From his exile in the Netherlands, CPP founder Jose Marie 
Sison rejected local peace talks as a "scheme" to divide the 
revolutionary movement, and stated that the GRP should only 
negotiate with the NDF negotiating panel. 
 
MANILA 00002973  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) On July 14, President Arroyo signed a new Executive Order 
(EO) mandating that even local government units devote resources to 
the fight against the NPA.  The EO allows governors and mayors to 
draw additional funds from the central government to support 
security efforts, such as surveillance and intelligence gathering. 
The EO also delineates the specific roles of local executives, 
police, and military in the GRP's campaign against the insurgency, 
and specifically tasks the Philippine National Police (PNP) with 
supporting the AFP in combat operations in the countryside. 
Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) Secretary 
Ronaldo Puno stated that the "insurgency is a continuing and 
sustained struggle," and that the effort requires the assistance of 
"local government units and institutions down to the barangay 
level." 
 
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Comment 
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¶8.  (SBU) Nothing dramatic has changed in the status quo in the 
long-running saga of the CPP/NPA, despite the GRP's announced goal 
of defeating the NPA within two years and its allocation of 
additional resources.  The struggle is apt to remain deadly and 
long. 
KENNEY