BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
Contributed to Bulatlat
September 17, 2008
Archbishop Antonio S. Ledesma, SJ, DD, of the Cagayan de Oro, member of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) said their group will offer facilitation services for the resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Ledesma was part of the PEPP delegation that visited the International Office of the NDFP in Utrecht, the Netherlands early this month.
He described the dialogue with the NDFP leaders as fruitful, saying that the latter are still open for the resumption of the peace talks.
“[The NDFP] is asking [the government] to recognize the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and [the observance] of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL) which they already have,” Ledesma said.
Moreover, the prelate expressed concern about the growing number of human rights violations in Mindanao, despite the observance of the Holy Feast of Ramadhan.
Ledesma said that the recourse to armed force is not the final solution to any conflict.
He also said that the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro will be calling on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the GRP to have at least a temporary ceasefire. Bulatlat
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