Supreme Court orders detained communist rebel freed

The Supreme Court ordered Thursday the temporary release of a detained communist rebel whose freedom was demanded by guerrillas to revive long-stalled peace talks aimed at ending a bloody 40-year uprising. The rural-based communist rebellion has left about 120,000 dead, and the government has blamed it for stunting economic growth. The court ordered the "provisional release" of Randall Echanis for not more than six months, so he can take part in the peace talks that will resume Aug. 28 in Norway. The SC granted Echanis’ petition for his immediate release filed last June 29 after the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) manifested that it has no objection for his temporary liberty. Echanis, who has been accused of masterminding a purge within the ranks of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Inopacan, Leyte in 1984, was arrested last year in Bago City, Negros Occidental by police and military agents. He was initially detained at the Provincial Jail in Palo, Leyte but was later transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, then finally moved to the Manila City Jail. The government earlier freed another rebel suspect, Elizabeth Principe. And two other communists at large but facing criminal charges, Vicente Ladlad and Rafael Baylosis, will not be arrested while they participate in the talks, presidential peace process adviser Avelino Razon Jr. said Monday. Earlier talks collapsed in 2004 after the communist New People's Army blamed the Philippine government for its inclusion on U.S. and European lists of terrorist organizations. The talks agenda will include land reform, official corruption, alleged human rights violations by government forces and the release of dozens of other political detainees, rebel negotiator Luis Jalandoni told The Associated Press on Monday from the Netherlands, where he lives in exile. The military has been carrying out sporadic offensives aimed at crushing the rebels before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo steps down in June next year. Only 4,874 communist guerrillas remained as of May, the military said — down from a peak of about 25,000 fighters in the mid-1980s. As of late Thursday, police officials said they have yet to receive the court order for Echanis, who was arrested last year for the killing of at least 15 men suspected by the rebels of being military spies in the 1980s. - GMANews.TV/AP