Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio “Bong” Lacson in a media interview in lieu of queries regarding his views on NPA’s punitive actions against military spies recently issued a carte blanche call for the surrender of New People’s Army (NPA) members in order for them to avail of government’s financial assistance.
He surmised that with the NPA’s surrender, peace can be achieved and further killings can be prevented.
This line of thinking lacks the essential substance on the question of attaining a viable just and lasting peace on the basis of fundamental socio-economic, political and constitutional reforms.
It’s the quintessential view of the ruling class whose myopic notion of peace is anchored on the elimination of any group or movement that fundamentally challenges their dominance in society.
Peace cannot be reduced to a question of NPA laying down arms and surrendering while leaving intact the exploitative and oppressive semi-colonial and semi-feudal system that gives rise to the revolutionary movement and people’s struggles.
Real peace can only be achieved through a political resolution of the basic problems of society such as landlessness, foreign dominations, bureaucratic corruption and state-sponsored terrorism.
The revolutionary forces for more than five decades has been fighting for a just and lasting peace through people’s war and other forms of struggles, including the conduct of peace negotiations with the reactionary state and its ruling regimes.
Through peace negotiations at the national level (not the sham localized talks), the root causes of the ongoing civil armed conflict can be addressed and comprehensive agreements can be forged that can benefits the broad masses of people and the society as a whole.
Time and time again, the hawks and militarist in the reactionary state sabotaged and subvert the peace negotiations by insisting on the capitulation and demobilization of the NPA and imposing the framework of the reactionary state that negated the very essence of peace negotiations and deviated from its substantive issues.
The revolutionary approach to peace is determined not by pacifist illusions, but by the political interests of the exploited and oppressed peoples.
With or without the peace negotiations, the struggle for peace will continue so long as the basic problems of society remains unresolved.
But at this crucial juncture of our country marked by intense socio-economic and political crisis and global turmoil, the need for the resumption of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) negotiations is a pressing and urgent necessity.
If Governor Lascon indeed desired real peace, then he should look beyond the confines of palliative solutions and simplistic military-oriented panacea.###
