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Friday, February 10, 2017
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PEACE advocates urge both the government and communist rebels to return to the negotiating table. Scuttling the peace talks would bring monumental disappointment for those striving to build a just and enduring peace.
The significant gains of the peace talks are at stake — peace is for everyone, though most especially for those who live in grinding poverty and who have the most to gain from a more just and equitable society. Respecting and implementing agreements signed like the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) will go a long way in moving the peace negotiations forward. The CARHRIHL supplemental guidelines just signed in Rome, Italy before the third round of talks under the Duterte administration should be robustly engaged to address human rights violations in communities. The absence of reciprocal, unilateral ceasefires should not unhinge efforts for building peace.
Likewise, the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms are intended to take seriously issues like land reform and national industrialization which have been identified as essential in addressing the root causes of the armed conflict. The peace talks should wholeheartedly prioritize achieving the substantive agreements that both parties have agreed to pursue.
The gains that have been achieved through the talks are significant and the energy had been markedly positive and productive in the first three rounds. The voice of every peace-loving Filipino is greatly needed at this time to convey collective hope for the peace talks to prosper.
These gains toward peace must not be imprudently sacrificed. Hopeful and sober thinking must guide the actions of both sides. In addressing the root causes of the armed conflict through the substantive agenda of the peace talks as well as honoring and implementing the agreements that have been successfully forged, the peace negotiations can continue to flourish.
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