The Philippine government and the New People’s Army (NPA), the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), will resume peace talks for the first time in six years, the two sides and the facilitator, Norway, announced on Tuesday.
“The parties agree on a peaceful and principled resolution of the armed conflict,” the two sides said in a joint statement, adding that the peace talks would address “deep-rooted socio-economic and political grievances.”
If the negotiations are successful, the Maoists will end their armed struggle and transform into a political movement, according to Norway, which has mediated the island nation’s peace process for the past two decades.
Despite this progress, the government did not announce an immediate ceasefire and said counter-guerrilla operations would continue.