MILF expected to reject Reds’ call for alliance - AFP

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces on Wednesday said the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front will likely reject the call of the Communist Party of the Philippines to jointly intensify their struggle against the government, taking into account a standing alliance agreement. “It is expected that the MILF will never allow themselves to be subverted by the idea of a group whose head have been living in relative comfort in a foreign land for decades," said AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres. In a statement issued on Tuesday ahead of its 40th foundation anniversary on Friday, the CPP said communist and secessionists should maximize their “unity, coordination and cooperation in accordance with the longstanding alliance agreement." Peace negotiations with the communists with the communists and the secessionist had hit the snag. The talks with the communists bogged down in 2004 after their organization was listed in the list of US foreign terrorist organizations. On the other hand, negotiations with the MILF collapsed last August following the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which would have established a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. The agreement had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. “It is a very clear manifestation that the mass support for communist terrorists is waning. Unable to recruit and exploit their usual targets such as the students, laborers and indigenous people, they are now forcing an alliance with the MILF, an organization with a totally different belief and agenda as that of the communist rebels," said Torres. Torres said peace cannot be achieved through arms, contrary to what the CPP is espousing. “Peace can only be attained thru peaceful means. The military support these means. CPP's call is anti-peace," the military official also said. - GMANews.TV