Truce between Maoist rebels and Philippine government ended early

The Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines blame each other for calling off a truce almost two weeks before the scheduled end. This development threatens ongoing peace talks between the Maoist rebels and the government.

The original truce was scheduled to run from December 20th to January 15. However, the CPP called the truce off on January 2nd saying it believed the government wanted the truce to last only until then. A spokesperson for Philippine president Benigno Aquino III said that the Communist Party together with its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA) just wanted an excuse to end the ceasefire early. The CPP statement said:

"The [communist New People's Army (NPA)] and the people's militias should immediately assume an offensive posture and confront and frustrate the enemy campaigns of suppression."

. A spokesperson for Aquino, however, said that the government would continue to observe the ceasefire until January 15. He also claimed that the rebels found an extended ceasefire to be detrimental to them and so ended it early and blamed the government. The two sides had agreed to the peace talks in mid-December. These were the first high-level peace talks in over a year. A military spokesperson in the southern Philippines claims that the NPA had already violated the ceasefire when they mounted an attack on the outskirts of Davao and briefly held two government troops and three civilians. However, no one was injured apparently and those held were released. Peace talks between the groups have often broken down. In November 2011, the CPP pulled out of the talks when the government refused to free jailed comrades who the CPP claimed were actually meant to be consultants in the negotiations. The NPA has been waging armed struggle in the Philippines since 1969. In the 1980's the rebels were much stronger and there were an estimated 26,000 fighters but now the current strength has dwindled to about 4,000 fighters. Although the CPP is outlawed in the Philippines and the NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the US, there are a number of legal leftist groups that even elect members to the Philippine legislature and also operate as NGO's. Most of the NPA operations and support for the movement are in rural areas often neglected by the government. The appended video is several years old.