By Macel Ingles


A long drawn-out negotiations between panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) held here in Oslo failed to reach an agreement that will pave the way for the formal resumption of the peace talks between the two parties next year.

Both parties met from November 28 to 30 for informal talks at the Clarion Collection Hotel Gabelshus in an effort to find ways to re-open formal negotiations. The six-member GRP panel was led by Nieves Confesor and the ten-member NDF panel, by Louie Jalandoni.

In a statement, NDF accused the GRP panel of blocking the resumption of the final talks by “preconditioning it with a prolonged ceasefire” which the NDF found unacceptable. Instead, the NDF offered to declare a ceasefire for the duration of every formal meeting as “goodwill and confidence building measure.”

The statement also scoffed at Confesor’s opening statement in the talks coaxing the NDF to help the Philippine government to succeed in its development efforts, and in its amnesty and rehabilitation campaign. It also quoted her as declaring that the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees can offer no protection to the NDF-authorized personnel and stated the validity of all existing and prospective agreements between the two parties as “doubtful.”

Despite last-ditch effort to arrive at a compromise, the negotiations that was resumed at 10 pm on its last day failed to convince the two parties to sign a joint statement.

A draft prepared by the NDF showed that it is open to the resumption of the talks on January 15 next year. Also included in the draft are suggestions for confidence-building measures such as the release of all detainees since 2001, withdrawal of charges against NDFP panellists and NDFP consultants, investigate the killings and disappearances of all JASIG-covered personell and carrying out the recommendations in the Alston report.

This draft was not signed by both parties and no joint statement was released after the three-day meeting.

Special Envoy Vegar Brynildsen of the Norwegian government contacted on the phone declined to comment on the outcome of the talks. He has requested no media coverage early in the talks saying that “it is better for the process.”

No journalist was allowed at the hotel premises while the talks were being held. The request for an interview with the GRP panel coursed through the Philippine embassy in Oslo was also denied via a text message citing “rules set by the Norwegian facilitator.”

The Philippine embassy in Oslo did not release any statement but said they expect the Norwegian foreign department to come up with an official statement on the matter.