Manila declares holiday truce with communists
Source: Reuters
MANILA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo approved on Thursday a suspension of military offensives against communist rebels during Christmas and New Year, Armed Forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon said. The military, however, will continue its campaign against members of Abu Sayyaf, a local Muslim rebel group, and Jemaah Islamiah, a regional Islamic terror group, on a remote southwestern island. Esperon said the truce with communist rebels would start on Dec. 24 and run up to midnight of Dec. 25. Over New Year, the military will observe a two-day truce from Dec. 31 through Jan. 1. The government of the mainly Roman Catholic country has observed a Christmas holiday ceasefire with communist and Muslim rebels since 1986. "As to our operations against the terrorists in the south, we have not recommended it and the president in fact would not declare any suspension of operations against the terrorists, the Jemaah Islamiah and the Abu Sayyaf," Esperon told reporters. Last year, the Arroyo government declared a truce with the communist movement, but its leaders did not reciprocate the declaration. The Communist Party of the Philippines is marking its 38th anniversary on Dec. 26, which insurgents traditionally mark with attacks on soldiers and the police.
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