Palace to Joma: Time to give up armed struggle
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2019 09:11:21 +0000
Malacañang has called on communist leader Jose Maria Sison to “step down from his ivory tower” and contribute to peaceful dialogue or else be thrown into the dustbin of history.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo told Sison there was nothing dishonorable in accepting defeat, saying there was another way for change other than armed struggle.
“Sison must step down from his ivory tower and extend his hands for peace, for his own sake, for his followers, for the Filipino people, for his country he loves so well,” he said.
“Let him join the ranks of heroic men and women who courageously fought to liberate their country from oppression and enslavement and begin to contribute his intellect and expertise in peaceful dialogues and productive undertakings, for the betterment and progress of the people that moved and inspired him to relentlessly tread the road of revolutionary struggle,” he added.
He said Sison would be reduced to “a historical footnote and thrown him into the dustbin of history” if he misses such “golden opportunity” to talk peace with the government.
Sison earlier rejected President Duterte’s offer to resume peace talks if the rebels stop their extortion activities.
Sison, currently living in exile in the Netherlands, argued that the group’s tax system was not a form of extortion and should not be a precondition to negotiations. (Genalyn Kabiling)