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Southeast Asia
Peace Talks Between Manila and Reds Dim Following Executions
2005-05-06
Dead people always dim my enthusiasm, too...
Prospects grew dim on the resumption of the stalled peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) after rebels admitted executing a captured government soldier and three of his companions in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat, officials said yesterday.
"Narciso, I think we'd better put the tourism campaign for Sultan Kudarat on hold for another month or two..."
The CPP's armed wing, the New Peoples Army (NPA), said it executed Marine Sgt. Jeremias Rosete along with three alleged civilian intelligence agents Herminia Sorongon, Pepito Simbulan and Wilfredo Maldecir, who were captured by the Valentin Palamine Command on Sept. 4, 2001 in the village of Datal Blao in Columbio town. Their remains were only recovered on April 4 after informants led police to a shallow grave in the village. "The killing of Sgt. Rosete and his companions sets back the confidence building process that both the GRP and the NDF consider so vital in bringing the peace process forward," a government statement said. The rebels had earlier demanded a halt to military offensives in exchange for the release of Rosete and his companions. "When the government refused to accede to the NPA's demand for the declaration of a five-province-wide Suspension of Offensive Military Operations (SOMO) to facilitate the release of the captives, Rosete and the others were tried and executed as "spies," however, the NDF continued to use them as a bargaining chip to gain more concessions from the government," it said.

It said the four were believed killed as early as September 2002 after the rebels accused them of espionage. "We deplore the CPP's disregard for life and its utter lack of humanity in withholding information from the relatives of Sgt. Rosete and the other and the GRP about what they had done to their captives," the government statement said. The government said Rosete and his companions were in Sultan Kudarat to negotiate the surrender of a senior NPA member, but a previous military statement said the soldier was dismissed after he allegedly defected to the NPA. It said Rosete, who was assigned at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), abandoned his unit and joined the rebels. Rosete was also reported training NPA rebels in intelligence gathering, but this was denied by his family. Rosete was believed working as a deep penetration agent and had recruited three rebels to spy on NPA activities in the province.

The rebels blamed the government for the execution of the four, saying, it ignored demands for a cease-fire in the southern Philippines to pave way for the release of the hostages. It said the military instead launched a large-scale rescue operation.
Posted by:Fred

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