Tag: peace

Trump-Kim landmark summit could lead to peace and stability in Asia, says PHL Ambassador to US

https://youtu.be/f7KoMVXBIlM   (Eagle News) – The landmark and historic summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be good for the stability of Asia, according to Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez. Noting that the summit happened on June 12, the same day as the Philippines was commemorating its 120th Philippine Independence Day, Romualdez said that this meeting between the two leaders would “lead […]

BBL can help achieve peace in Mindanao, says political analyst

(Eagle News) — The ratification of the Bangamoro Basic Law (BBL) could help achieve the much-hoped for peace in Mindanao, especially among the Moros. This was according to political analyst Professor Ramon Casiple as House leaders urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify the proposed bill as urgent before Congress adjourns on May 30. If the proposed bill is certified as urgent by the President, it can be approved on second and third reading in just […]

Watch: N.Korea’s Kim and S. Korea’s Moon step over demarcation line in historic peace moves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOmN8C1RcXc   In this video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stepped over the Military Demarcation Line to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in the South side after a “historic handshake” that signaled the start of warmer relations between the two Koreas. At the Military Demarcation Line that delineates the border, Moon asked him: “While you come to the South, when can I possibly go over there?” After stepping over the line and becoming the […]

Colombia’s FARC furious over ex-rebel’s arrest on drugs charges

    BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — The arrest of a former FARC negotiator on US drug charges has brought Colombia’s landmark peace deal to its “most critical point,” the former rebel group warned on Tuesday. Jesus Santrich, a senior member of rebel-group-turned-political-party who had been slated to take a seat in Colombia’s Congress in July, was arrested on Monday in Bogota. Prosecutors in New York accuse him of conspiring to ship 10,000 kilograms of cocaine to […]

Another Marawi possible, Philippine rebel chief warns

  by Cecil Morella Agence France Presse MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The chief of the Philippines’ main Muslim rebel group warned Tuesday that jihadists loyal to the Islamic State group, flush with looted guns and cash, could seize another Filipino city after Marawi last year. Murad Ebrahim has billed his Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has made peace with the government, as a rival to IS for the hearts and minds of angry young […]

PHL wants “lasting peace,” won’t allow CPP coalition gov’t, President Duterte tells Norwegian envoy

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte assured the Norwegian special envoy to the peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), that the Philippine government is still committed to achieving a “just and lasting peace” in the country, especially in Mindanao. The President met with the Norwegian special envoy, Idun Tvedt, during a courtesy call at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City on […]

UN envoy sees possible South Sudan deal from talks in Ethiopia

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The latest round of Ethiopia-led peace talks on South Sudan will wrap up on Friday with a possible agreement that could pave the way to further negotiations on ending the war, the UN envoy said. The talks that opened on February 5 in Addis Ababa are aimed at finding a settlement to one of Africa’s worst conflicts. “We are hoping that there will be some form of agreement signed tomorrow,” UN […]

S. Korea’s Moon: Denuclearization is path to peace

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is “the path to peace and our goal,” South Korean President Moon Jae-In said Wednesday, a day after the North agreed to send its athletes to the Winter Olympics in his country. “We need to continue efforts to hold a peace Olympics,” Moon told a press conference. “We need to peacefully resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue.” Delegates from North and South Korea held their first official […]

Renewed US-Russia rift threatens slim Syria peace hope

by Francesco Fontemaggi/ and Dave Clark © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The latest US and Russian bid to find enough common ground on which to build some hope for Syria is in trouble, just days ahead of talks that could make or break the peace process. A United Nations mediator has called on Bashar al-Assad’s regime and a beleaguered opposition coalition to send envoys to Geneva on November 28 to resolve the seven-year-old civil […]

Duterte: “I will talk to the rebels”

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday night said he would “talk to the rebels” to ensure that there would be peace in the country. In his speech made at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, Duterte did not say which rebels he was referring to but said he would address both the “ideological and territorial” aspects in the talks. Earlier, Duterte terminated talks with […]

Fighting to farming: New life for Colombia’s ex-rebels

by Raul Arboleda © Agence France-Presse La Montañita, Colombia (AFP) — Felix Salcedo lost an arm fighting during Colombia’s half-century civil war which ended in August. Today, he uses his remaining arm to grow pineapples. Like dozens of other former FARC guerrillas in his village, Salcedo is trying to earn a living legally after his rebel movement disarmed under a December peace deal with the government. Salcedo, 38, thinks back on the half of his life he […]

Colombia declares conflict with FARC over with disarmament complete

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with the FARC guerrilla group “truly over” Tuesday, with the disarming of the rebel group complete. The United Nations-supervised process concluded with the delivery of the last truckloads of weapons from areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began demobilizing at the start of the year. “With the laying down of arms … the conflict is truly over and a new […]