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Press Statement
GRP IS IN VIOLATION OF JUNE 15 AGREEMENT
By Luis G. Jalandoni
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel
August 11, 2009
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is in gross
violation of the agreement of the GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels last
June 15 to remove the impediments on NDFP consultants by using the most
expeditious procedure on the basis of precedents, as in the previous
releases of NDFP consultants Sotero Llamas in 1996 and Danilo Borjal in
1997, in compliance with the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity
Guarantees (JASIG).
Until now the GRP has failed to release any of the detained NDFP
consultants and to quash charges against those with warrants of arrest.
Contrary to the claims of OPAPP Secretary Avelino Razon, Elizabeth
Principe was actually released not because of the June 15 agreement but
because of her legal victories over a series of false charges against her
in various courts.
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Because of the GRP violation
of the aforesaid agreement, it is now doubtful whether the meetings
scheduled for August 28 to September 5 in Oslo would be held. There are
strong indications that the GRP intends to scuttle the resumption of
formal talks. The GRP has shown bad faith and has cramped the material
time for the arrangement of travel documents of the NDFP consultants.
Another major indication that the GRP wants to scuttle the Oslo meeting is
the obvious attempt to freeze in the Supreme Court the question of
releasing Randall Echanis and to make difficult or impossible the release
of other detained NDFP consultants. It is also extremely malicious that
the release of Echanis is limited to six months and that he is made a
GRP-hostaged consultant.
It is therefore absolutely necessary for the lawyers of Echanis to make a
countermanifestation to the manifestation of the office of the Solicitor
General for his conditional release. Like all the other consultants,
Echanis has been subjected to false charges in violation of the JASIG and
is now kept in prison also in violation of the JASIG.
So far, the GRP officials have been issuing press releases conjuring the
illusion that it is doing its part to pave the way for the resumption of
formal talks. So long as the GRP does not comply expeditiously with JASIG
in accordance with the June 15 agreement, the GRP is in fact scuttling the
Oslo meeting this month and probably the entire peace negotiations.###
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