Quit the peace talks

As somebody with a supposed bent for the left, it is strange for President Duterte not to seem to get it. It is not the NPA that is to blame, as he did, for the slow progress in peace talks with the communists. It is the entire communist apparatus, the NPA included, that is to blame for why nothing has been achieved so far. The communists are just going through the motions to make themselves look good and to enjoy the respite.

How can Duterte keep up with the peace talks when the NPA does not seem to be on board and keeps engaging government troops in skirmishes? What peace is his government pursuing when the armed component of the communist movement seems completely detached from his dialogue partners? Is Duterte even sure the NPA still submits to this aging coteries of revolutionaries?

As a practical matter, it is even perfectly understandable for the NPA to be resentful of the ongoing peace talks. It is the NPA that is laying down the lives of its cadres on the line while in Oslo, the movement's aging elders get all the credit, the comfort, the food, the perks. These aging leaders never had it so good in exile it would be no surprise if they do not ever want to come back to the Philippines again.

The communists are not sincere in trying to attain peace. If they were, they would not have imposed so many demands or asked so many concessions, knowing these are clearly impossible to meet. The government cannot surrender to these demands or give in to these concessions without being remiss in their own responsibilities to the Filipinos people.

If the communists were sincere, they would have asked the NPA to truly stand down and let the talks proceed without incident. But either the aging communist leaders in Oslo no longer have the ear of their armed cadres in the Philippines or are actually giving them a free hand on what they would like to do while peace talks are going on.

It also makes sense for the aging leaders to tell the NPA to step up attacks even as they talk peace with government. The continued NPA attacks provide the government with a constant reminder of what the communists can do. In a sense, the government has fallen into the trap set up by the communists. By engaging government in peace talks, the communists are able to present a supposed good and sensible side.

But the communists are allowing the NPA to keep on attacking because peace was never on the agenda. What the communists really want is to dominate the country, to replace its government with its own system. And if that cannot be done, then they can keep right on doing what they have been doing because rebellion has proven to be a very profitable business, especially for its leaders.

If the communists are able to pull the wool over the eyes of their generous and overly romantic European hosts who keep providing them a means of livelihood without getting anything for it, the government should not be similarly naive, especially Duterte, who should come to his senses by now. Much as Duterte may be swayed by the communists' causes, he should be practical enough to know these have become nothing more than ruses and convenient excuses.

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