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- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
- From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
- Subject: PHILIPPINES: RAMOS FREES TOP COMMUNIST AND ARMY REBEL LEADERS
- Message-ID: <1992Sep1.234906.13213@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Followup-To: alt.activism.d
- Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
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- Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Organization: PACH
- Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 23:49:06 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Lines: 71
-
- /** reg.philippine: 229.0 **/
- ** Topic: IPS: Top Rebels Freed **
- ** Written 7:49 pm Aug 29, 1992 by fbp in cdp:reg.philippine **
- From: Foreign Bases Project <fbp>
- Subject: IPS: Top Rebels Freed
-
- /* Written 12:04 am Aug 28, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
- /* ---------- "PHILIPPINES: RAMOS FREES TOP COMMUN" ---------- */
- Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
- print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.
-
- Title: PHILIPPINES: RAMOS FREES TOP COMMUNIST AND ARMY REBEL LEADERS
-
- manila, aug 25 (ips) -- philippine president fidel ramos tuesday
- ordered the temporary release of five top detained communist leaders
- and 16 military officers accused of leading several failed coup
- attempts against the government of former president corazon aquino.
-
- the conciliatory gesture comes on the eve of informal talks
- between government representatives and exiled communist leaders in
- the netherlands.
-
- topping the list of those to be freed are romulo kintanar, the
- alleged chief of the communist new people's army (npa), and satur
- ocampo, a former journalist who headed the negotiating panel of the
- national democratic front (ndf) in the failed 1986 peace talks.
-
- the military rebels to be released are led by four colonels,
- including col luisito sanchez, one of the commanders of army scout
- ranger units which seized control of the financial district of
- makati during the december 1989 coup.
-
- ramos said the releases were based on recommendations of a
- presidential committee composed of defence secretary renato de
- villa, justice secretary franklin drilon and interior secretary
- rafael alunan.
-
- soon after taking office, ramos said his government would pursue
- peace talks with various rebel groups from left to right. he also
- urged congress to repeal a 35-year old law banning the communist
- party of the philippines (cpp) and offered to grant some form of
- amnesty to the rebel groups.
-
- a government delegation led by representative jose yap left for
- the netherlands last week for exploratory talks with exiled
- communist leaders headed by former cpp chairman jose ma. sison who
- is believed to have resumed his old position.
-
- sison had urged the ramos government to release political
- detainees as a gesture of the government's sincerity.
-
- though the release of such prominent rebel leaders as kintanar
- and ocampo is likely to improve the climate for further talks,
- analysts are not optimistic about the outcome of such negotiations.
-
- as in the 1986 talks, rebel leaders are stressing the need for a
- 'comprehensive political solution' to the causes of the guerrilla
- conflict that has raged for the past two decades.
-
- but the government remains as anxious as ever to avoid taking any
- step that it fears would grant the insurgency recognition.
-
- meanwhile, human rights groups fear the majority of the roughly
- 600 political detainees may be left out of the peace process. at a
- press conference monday, officials of the rights group task force
- detainees said only 25 prisoners may be released under the
- government's current guidelines. (end/ips/ri/ln/92)
-
-
-
- ** End of text from cdp:reg.philippine **
-