STATEMENT
Powell Shows Arrogance and Ignorance in Designating CPP/NPA as Terrorist
By
Luis Jalandoni Chairperson,
NDFP Negotiating Panel
UNITED STATES
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in designating the CPP/NPA as a
foreign terrorist organization, shows his extreme arrogance and
utter ignorance.
His attention
must be called to the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL),
which stipulates: "In the exercise of their inherent rights,
the Parties shall adhere to and be bound by the principles and standards
embodied in international instruments on human rights" (Part
III, Art. 1) and "in the exercise of their inherent rights,
the Parties to the armed conflict shall adhere and be bound by the
generally accepted principles and standards of international humanitarian
law." (Part IV, Art. 1).
The Macapagal-Arroyo
regime bound itself to the CARHRIHL and nine other agreements on
27 March 2001, just as the NDFP did on the same day. The CARHRIHL
was signed and approved in 1998.
Mr. Powell should
also be informed that the NDFP issued its Declaration of Undertaking
to Apply the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocol I of 1977 on
5 July 1997 and deposited this with the Swiss Federal Council as
official depositary and sent the same to the International Committee
of the Red Cross as official guardian of the Geneva Conventions
and Protocols. The above-stated Declaration was submitted by the
NDFP on behalf of all allied revolutionary organizations in the
NDFP, including the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and
the New People's Army (NPA).
Mr. Powell should
be made aware of the CPP's Guide for Establishing the People's Democratic
Government that guarantees the fundamental rights of citizens, including
the freedom of speech, association and assembly, the right to work
and free public education.
It specifically
states: "Freedom of the person of citizens is inviolable. No
citizen may be arrested without sufficient legal basis." (Part
III: Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens). It further stipulates:
"The people's court shall require specification of charges
and sufficient investigation of the case prior to trial and shall
always inquire into the side of the complainant as well as the accused.
The opposite sides of any case shall be given ample hearing and
shall be entitled to counsel as well as the presentation of witnesses
and evidence." (Part II: System of Government, Chapter III:
The People's Court, Art. 3)
Mr. Powell is
apparently also ignorant of the Basic Rules of the New People's
Army which stipulates that "all officers and men are prohibited
from committing the slightest damage against the interest of the
masses and they are always subject to the Three Main Rules of Discipline
and the Eight Points of Attention," among which is the requirement:
do not be cruel to captives.
The longstanding
practice of the NPA proves its adherence to the above-stated high
standards of human rights and international humanitarian law. The
testimony of Gen. Victor Obillo and other prisoners of war taken
into custody and later released on humanitarian grounds by the NPA
confirms the NPA's adherence to the Geneva Conventions and Protocols,
the CARHRIHL, and the above-stated CPP and NPA documents. Mr. Powell
violates the integrity of the NDFP and all its allied organizations,
including the CPP and the NPA.
It is an act
of extreme arrogance and condemnable intervention in Philippine
internal affairs for Mr. Powell to ignore the CARHRIHL and other
bilateral agreements between the GRP and the NDFP. His irresponsible
act seriously jeopardizes the peace talks between the GRP and the
NDFP.
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