The Philippines will resume formal peace talks with communist rebels next month in Norway in a fresh bid to end a three-decade old conflict, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today.
Ms Arroyo's surprise announcement came days after Mr Gregorio Rosal, a rebel spokesman, criticised government efforts to restart talks as a political tool to attract votes before elections on May 10th.
The government - which is also inching towards talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest of several Muslim separatist groups - wants to seal the two peace deals to improve overall security and shore up investor confidence.
The New People's Army (NPA), which the United States has branded a terrorist group, is the armed wing of the Philippine communist party.
The NPA, which emerged in 1969 from the remnants of the Huk movement that fought Japanese forces in the Philippines during the Second World War, regularly attacks security forces, bombs power pylons and exacts "war taxes" from businesses.
Norway, which has played high-profile roles in brokering peace talks in Sri Lanka and other parts of the world, has hosted several sessions of exploratory talks between Manila and communist negotiators since last year.
Peace talks between the government and the rebels bogged down three years ago when the guerrillas gunned down some lawmakers and local officials during mid-term elections in 2001.
The military says the number of NPA rebels has declined to 8,800 from 9,200 in late 2002 but their influence remains strong in the eastern stretches of the country - from the main island of Luzon in the north to Mindanao island in the south.