Guerrillas Charge Foot-Dragging by Manila in Peace Negotiations

Communist rebels accused the government Wednesday of foot-dragging in peace talks and warned that time is running out for a settlement of the 18-year insurrection.

A Manila newspaper, meanwhile, reported that the Soviet Union offered to help the guerrillas but that they turned it down. A negotiator for the rebels cast doubt on the report.

Government and rebels began second-stage talks Tuesday on resolving the rebellion and agreed to meet again next week. Rebels expressed disappointment that the government did not “immediately begin resolving” 10 major demands.

“We have only a few weeks to go and substantial progress must be made in order for us to be able to justify to the people the trouble we have been taking and the expense the government has been making,” said negotiator Carolina Malay of the Communist-led National Democratic Front.

Both sides say progress must be made if a 60-day cease-fire is to be extended beyond its Feb. 8 expiration date.

To Study Rebel Demands

A statement by the front, a political alliance representing the rebels in peace talks, called on the government “to stop dragging its feet on these important questions which the people want to see resolved.”

The government promised to study the demands and respond at the meeting next Tuesday. The rebel list includes reorganizing the armed forces, disbanding private armies and the civil militia, removing national police from military control, releasing all political prisoners and ending torture.

“We think that most of these points can be immediately resolved if only the government will make up its mind to do so,” Malay said. The front said all the government needs is “political will.”

Malay said she doubts the accuracy of a report Wednesday in the Manila Bulletin. It quoted two rebel officials as saying they received an offer of weapons and money from the Soviet Union but turned it down because of unspecified “impossible strings.”

Political Support Abroad

The daily said Javier Domingo and Ricardo Silvestre, regional rebel officials in Bataan, made the statement to local reporters Tuesday.

Malay said the rebels had received political and moral support from unspecified foreign groups but not the Soviets. She added, however, that the rebels need weapons in case the cease-fire breaks down.

An aide to Deputy Foreign Minister Leticia Ramos-Shahani said she had no immediate comment on the report. Last year, Ramos-Shahani visited the Soviet Union and said that Kremlin officials assured her they were not aiding the Filipino rebels.