Communist rebels reject Philippines' ceasefire proposal

Luis Jalandoni, chief rebel peace negotiator, said General Hermogenes Esperon's proposal for a three-year ceasefire as a precondition to the resumption of talks was "mere cheap propaganda." 

"General Esperon speaks with a forked tongue," Jalandoni said in a statement. "He pretends to be for the resumption of peace talks but he says his recommendation is to crush the insurgency." 

"General Esperon does not care to address the root causes of the armed conflict," he added. "He wants only the pacification of the revolutionary movement." 

Peace talks between the Philippine government and Netherlands-based communist rebel leaders have been suspended since August 2004.

The rebels had demanded that the Philippine government take steps to remove them from terrorist blacklists of the United States, the European Union and other countries.

Jalandoni said the communist rebels were "open to start exploratory talks" that would lead to a possible resumption of formal negotiations between the two sides.

But Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison said the Philippine government must first take steps to remove them from the terrorist blacklists.

He also said the government must be more sincere in stopping extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances, which have victimised mostly leftist activists.

"The Philippine government must address and resolve beforehand (these) prejudicial questions in order to resume the formal peace negotiations," he said.

Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.//Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)