Aquino Names Negotiators for Talks With Rebels

Philippine President Corazon Aquino on Thursday named her negotiators for peace talks with the Communist insurgents but said she would not agree to give the rebels a place in her government as the price for ending the bloody 17-year civil war.

Aquino chose as her two negotiators Jose Diokno, a prominent human rights lawyer known for his staunch opposition to the U.S. military bases in the Philippines, and Agriculture Minister Ramon Mitra, a wealthy former journalist who, several of Aquino’s aides said, was chosen by the rebel leaders themselves.

Both choices were seen as concessions to the insurgents, who have already announced that chief among their demands will be removal of the U.S. bases and mandatory, government-enforced land reform.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Secretary of State George P. Shultz described the government’s delegates as “pretty realistic people . . . pretty tough.” He said Washington has no objection to the choices.

Aquino told a press conference, however, that her longstanding position against allowing any of the Communist leaders a position in her administration remains unchanged.

“I will not appoint any Communist in my Cabinet,” she declared.

Asked whether her position differs from that of her defense minister, Juan Ponce Enrile, who said on Wednesday that nothing short of a miracle could make the peace talks a success, Aquino said: “We both realize there are some people who will never cooperate with the government. I would like to exhaust all efforts by the government to achieve peace . . . and have a meaningful dialogue.”

Aquino declined to say when or where the cease-fire talks will be held. “In order to have fruitful negotiations, it is better that I don’t say anything of the negotiations,” she said.

The U.S. official, who attended Shultz’s meetings with Aquino and top military leaders Wednesday, said Aquino’s expectations in the talks with the rebels are quite modest but, nevertheless, “one can’t help but doubt whether they (the talks) can succeed.”

“She is not trying to get the hard nuts, the dedicated Communists--that is not going to work,” he said. “But there are a number of people who left the system under (former President Ferdinand E.) Marcos. Her objective is to win a number of these people back.”

On other topics at her press conference, timed to take place while Shultz is visiting here, Aquino said the Philippines has no hope of attaining more economic support from the United States than has already been promised and, therefore, she would devote a planned trip to the United States to raising money from the U.S. private sector, especially from Filipino-Americans.

No date has been fixed for the visit, but Aquino and U.S. officials both said it probably would be in September.