Philippine communist rebels end ceasefire

Philippine communist rebels end ceasefire


MANILA, Feb 1, 2017 (AFP) - Philippine Maoist rebels said Wednesday they would end a five-month ceasefire, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte's government of treachery and human rights abuses.

The move comes after a third round of peace talks aimed at ending decades of bloodshed wrapped up in Italy last week with no deal on a permanent cessation of fighting.

The Communist Party of the Philippines said it would continue to support the peace negotiations, but ordered its 4,000 fighters to resume "military campaigns and tactical offensives" against government forces from February 11.

"The (government) has treacherously taken advantage of the (rebels') unilateral declaration of ceasefire to encroach on the territory of the people's democratic movement," the rebels said in a statement.

Soldiers and police had used the truce as a licence to "engage in hostile actions" including "human rights violations" in rebel-influenced rural villages.

Past experience had showed "it is possible to negotiate while fighting until the substantive agreements are forged to address the roots of the armed conflict".

The Duterte government was "dismayed" by the announcement, Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser to the peace talks, said in a statement.

But Dureza said he would urge Duterte to abide by the government's own ceasefire.

A presidential spokesman said the peace talks, which are due to resume in Oslo on April 2, would go ahead.

The communists have been waging an insurgency since 1968 that the military says has claimed 30,000 lives, to overthrow a capitalist system that has created one of Asia's biggest rich-poor divides.

Duterte, a self-styled socialist who was swept to power in elections last year, restarted peace talks that had been on and off for 30 years.

The two sides separately declared ceasefires as negotiators began talks in Norway in August, and the informal arrangement largely held as they continued discussions on the outskirts of Rome last week.

But the rebels rejected government overtures to sign a formal ceasefire and peace settlement this year, warning such a pact was unlikely to be achieved before 2019.

The rebels also criticised Duterte's failure to grant amnesty and free nearly 400 jailed guerrillas. The government released 18 jailed rebel leaders at the start of the talks last year.

Ex-UN chief vows not to run for presidency in S.Korea

Ex-UN chief vows not to run for presidency in S.Korea



SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday vowed not to run for presidency in South Korea, his home country, during an unscheduled press briefing in the parliament.

Ban told reporters that he will give up his "pure will" to lead the country's political change and the national unity, abandoning his ambition to become the next South Korean leader to replace the impeached president.

The former UN head has never officially declared any decision to run for presidency, but he has long been viewed as the most powerful presidential contender in the conservative bloc.

An early presidential election is widely forecast to be held in April or May as the motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 9 with an overwhelming majority.

The press conference was urgently held without any prior notice. He returned to South Korea on Jan. 12 after his second, five-year tenure in the top UN post terminated at the end of last year.

 Since his comeback, Ban had made the so-called "people-friendly" trip across the country to directly meet people in regions. He also proposed to amend the country's constitution for decentralized presidential power.

His actions and words in the past three weeks pulled down his approval ratings for his mistakes in the nationwide campaign and local media speculations about his involvement in a bribery case involving his younger brother and nephew.

During the conference, Ban said that his pure patriotism and ambition were damaged by slanders and fake news reports that were almost equivalent to "killing" his personality.

The career diplomat said he was very disappointed at the narrowminded, egoistic behaviors show in some of the political arena, noting that it would be meaningless for him to go together with them.

He expressed his deep apology to supporters, advisors and those working around him.  Ban, however, vowed to devote himself to resolving the country's crisis and bringing a bright future based on his experience as former UN chief.  Enditem