05-10-2002
The Prime Minister of Norway
KYELL MAGNE BONDEVIK
Akersgaten 42, P.O. Box 8001
Dep. 0030 Oslo, Norway
The Minister of Foreign Affairs
JAN PETTERSEN
P.O.Box 8114 Dep, N-0032 Oslo
His Excellency Paul Moe
Royal Norwegian Embassy
21st floor Petron Megaplaza
358 Sen.Gil. Puyat Avenue, Makati City
Greetings of Peace!
We write to you in behalf of Philippine church people and peace advocates who wish to solicit your continuing support for the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
We are aware of your government s hosting and facilitating the formal peace talks between them since April last year.
We are deeply concerned that since the formal talks were indefinitely recessed last June 2001, hopes for their resumption have become more and more dim. Last March 2002, the Macapagal-Arroyo government suspended formal talks with both the NDFP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). On August 9, 2002 the US State Department listed the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People s Army (NPA) as a foreign terrorist organization. Immediately, this was officially welcomed by the Macapagal-Arroyo government.
On August 15, 2002 the Dutch government, upon request of the United States government, froze the bank accounts of Prof. Jose Maria Sison and subsequently terminated his monthly personal allowance, health insurance and housing support. We are concerned that the Dutch government s actions violate the rights of Prof. Sison as guaranteed by the Refugee Convention and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and run counter to the 1997 and 1999 European Parliament resolutions endorsing the peace negotiations.
Since the CPP and NPA are major organizations under the NDFP, and since Prof. Sison plays a key role in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations as Chief Political Consultant of the NDFP, the above actions grievously undermine and jeopardize the peace negotiations.
We therefore appeal to the Norwegian government to continue in its role of facilitating the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations and do whatever is in your power to bring the GRP and NDFP back together in formal peace talks. We recall the key role the Norwegian government played in hosting the resumption of the peace negotiations in April 2001 after it had been terminated in 1999. We further urge you to encourage the Dutch government to likewise continue supporting the peace negotiations and desist from such actions against the NDFP that undermine such negotiations.
We were greatly encouraged to make this appeal to you by Mr. Petter Skauen, whom we met recently in the International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalized World, held here in Manila last September 23-26, and with whom we discussed the status and prospects of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.
Thank you very much for supporting our quest for a just and lasting peace.
(Sgd)Ms. Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes
General Secretary National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
(Sgd)Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. DD
Diocese of Iba, Zambales
Convenor, Inter-Faith Network for Justice and Peace (IFNJP)
(Sgd)Mr. Rey Claro Casambre
Executive Director
Philippine Peace Center (PPC)
cc. Mr. Petter Skauen
Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo Norway