Asian Political News: Philippine communists nix peace talks with Arroyo gov't

MANILA, July 21 Kyodo

Communist rebels have closed the door to peace negotiations with the ''crumbling'' administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, saying they would rather wait for a new government, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

Luis Jalandoni, chief negotiator for the Netherlands-based National Democratic Front, the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer it is pointless to resume the stalled talks with the Arroyo government as it is ''not going to last very long.''

Besides supporting the ''ouster'' of Arroyo and her constitutional successor Vice President Noli de Castro, the NDF is backing the establishment of a ''transitional governing council'' that would call for new elections within six months, Jalandoni was quoted as saying from Utrecht, the Netherlands, where he lives in exile.

''After this administration is replaced, then we can iron out kinks in the peace talks,'' he added.

A senior cabinet minister, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, told radio station dzBB that the government is not surprised, adding that the NDF had threatened to drop out of several talks in the past.

''If they want to wait for a new administration, then so be it,'' Ermita said.

The NDF's decision ''reflects their level of sincerity in the peace process. Do they really want to make peace or do they just want to position themselves for their own purposes?'' Ermita said.

The pullout by the NDF comes as the opposition is preparing to file an impeachment complaint against Arroyo.

She has come under fire for improperly speaking with an election official during last year's presidential vote. She is also being castigated over allegations her husband, son and brother-in-law have received gambling kickbacks.

Arroyo has admitted calling the election official, which she called a ''lapse of judgment,'' but insisted she did not influence the results.

Arroyo's adviser on the peace process, Teresita Deles, joined the mass resignation of 10 Cabinet members on July 8 to pressure the president to resign.

The rebels had set the removal of the terrorist label placed on them by Washington as a prerequisite in the resumption of the peace talks brokered by Norway.

In 2002 the U.S. State Department placed the CPP and the New People's Army, the armed wing of the CPP, on a list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The NPA has been fighting for a Marxist state for over three decades in an insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people.