Gun Issue May Doom Manila Truce, Rebel Says

A Philippine rebel leader warned Sunday that a dispute over the right of Communist guerrillas to carry weapons could doom a pending cease-fire between insurgents and the government.

Rebel negotiator Antonio Zumel said that President Corazon Aquino must clarify the rules of the cease-fire, including a statement from the armed forces chief that forbids carrying guns without a government permit.

“We are afraid there will be shooting right on cease-fire day and . . . in effect, there will be no cease-fire” unless the dispute is resolved, Zumel said.

The 60-day cease-fire, scheduled to take effect at midnight Wednesday, will be the first ever in the bloody 17-year-old conflict between Communist rebels and the government.

A letter from the Communist negotiators asking for clarification was to have been delivered to Aquino on Saturday night, Zumel said. But the rebel leader said he “would not be so arrogant as to be imposing an ultimatum on the president.”

The conflict arose over recent statements made by armed forces Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos.

Gun Permits

Ramos said Saturday that, by law, a permit is required to carry a firearm and soldiers can undertake “security and police patrols” as part of peacekeeping operations.

The cease-fire accord, signed Nov. 27, defines “disarming” as a hostile act that is banned. But peacekeeping operations are permitted under the accord, and security forces may have to act against “violations of the penal statutes.”

“Our forces are under strict instructions to respect the letter and spirit of the cease-fire agreement but . . . (are) also under instructions to hold onto their arms and to defend themselves if necessary,” Zumel said.

“If there are to be violations by the armed forces of the Philippines and bloodshed ensues, blood will not only be on the hands alone of the generals . . . the soldiers who pull the triggers, but the blood of our people will be on the hands of the president,” he warned.

There have been scattered reports of fighting between the military and the 23,000-member Communist New People’s Army since the accord was signed.