Philippine leftist leadership calls fighters to uphold human rights pact

The leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) called on Sunday its armed front, the New People's Army (NPA), to uphold the human rights accord despite the Philippine government's termination of the peace talks with them.

The CPP, the umbrella organization of the NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF), said that its fighters should assert and uphold the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), which was forged in 1998 by the NDF and the government of the Philippines (GPH).

"The CARHRIHL is one of the most important milestones in over 20 years of NDF-GPH peace negotiations," the CPP said, adding that the agreement binds both parties and sets their separate responsibility to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law in the conduct of the civil war in the Philippines.

As part of its responsibility, the NPA has integrated the provisions of the CARHRIHL into its rules of discipline since 1998 and has given priority to its implementation, the CPP said.

But the Philippine government has been accusing the leftist rebels of violating the accord by attacking even the civilian communities.

The CPP, on the other hand, has been accusing also the Armed Forces of the Philippines of doing the same as it even warned of worse attacks by the military against human rights now that the formal talks have terminated.

The Philippine government said that it is considering a new approach in dealing with the leftist insurgency in the country since the formal talks with the rebels have been going nowhere for the past 27 years.