Maoist rebels celebrate 42nd anniversary of insurgency

(27 Dec 2010) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of Communist New People's Army rebels in formation 2. Mid of rebels with rifles 3. Various of rebels in formation 4. Rebel leader speaking on stage 5. Mid of two armed rebels 6. Performers on stage with communist flag in background 7. Close or rebel 8. Jorge Madlos, New People's Army spokesman speaking on stage 9. Pan of crowd 10. Madlos talking to media 11. SOUNDBITE (Tagalog) Jorge Madlos, New People's Army spokesman "There are no difficult enemies. A difficult enemy is one that answers to the call of the people. But in our view, this administration cannot fulfil the basic demands of the people. Their being popular is very temporary, this is just part of the right of passage." 12. Rebel soldiers marching 13. Wide of people on top of truck at roadside, checkpoint in background 14. Government forces at checkpoint outside rebel camp, filmed from inside vehicle STORYLINE Communist rebels in the Philippines have marked their insurgency's 42nd anniversary by defiantly marching with their weapons in public view. The New People's Army guerrillas are one of Asia's most resilient Maoist forces, withstanding decades of military crackdowns. On Sunday, amid a Christmas ceasefire, about 80 fighters gathered in a remote rice-farming village in the foothills of Mount Diwata, in the southern Surigao del Sur province, about 530 miles (860 kilometres) southeast of Manila. Cheered on by more than two thousand villagers, relatives and sympathisers, the young rebels marched through the village, brandishing M16 assault rifles, grenade launchers and other weapons, to celebrate the 26 December, 1968, founding of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines. The hilly village is tucked about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from a main road, where army troops stood guard in an outpost and listed the names of villagers streaming in to attend the ceremony. During the ceremony, parents, siblings and friends used the occasion to reunite with rebels, who came down from a mountain stronghold, embracing each other and exchanging stories and mobile phone numbers. Persistent poverty in the Philippines' southern region fuels popular support for the movement, inspiring new generations to join even as Cold War communist insurgencies fade into memory across much of the rest of the world. Rare displays of defiance and force by the rebels have been played down in the past by the military, which said that battle setbacks, surrenders, infighting and loss of foreign support have reduced the guerrilla force to less than five thousand from a peak of 25-thousand in the 1980s. The government and the rebels have agreed to resume peace talks after six years in February, and the chief government negotiator sounded optimistic last week, citing promises by the new reformist president to address rebel concerns. The rebels walked away from peace talks brokered by Norway in 2004, suspecting then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government of instigating their inclusion on US and EU black lists. Since assuming office in June, President Benigno Aquino III has begun tackling pervasive government corruption and human rights violations blamed on state security forces that have helped breed the insurgency. His promises to tackle poverty and graft could boost upcoming peace talks with rebels and make irrelevant the country's communist insurgency, the government negotiator said. A new generation of fighters would ensure that the revolution would continue, said Jorge Madlos, the 62-year-old rebel known for his trademark Mao-style cap and goatee. Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ab2d82d936a9052…

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