Post by RedFlag32 on Oct 12, 2006 18:48:23 GMT
CPP congratulates North Korea for nuclear test
Associated Press
Last updated 06:02pm (Mla time) 10/10/2006
(UPDATE) COMMUNIST rebels in the Philippines heaped praise Tuesday on
North Korea for its first-ever nuclear test -- a rare pat on the back for
the communist state that has been hit by a flurry of condemnation.
The underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has waged a
37-year insurgency, hailed the test as "a militant assertion of national
sovereignty and the right of an independent country to develop its own
powerful self-reliant defense capability," said a statement by rebel
spokesman Gregorio Rosal.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in a second statement in as many days
condemning North Korea's proclaimed nuclear test, said her government
joined the rest of the world in urging Pyongyang "to drop its continued
development of weapons of mass destruction and to shift its focus on
regional collaboration rather than intimidation."
"Freedom is at risk and the Philippines is within striking distance," she
said, adding that such tests threatened global peace and stability.
Arroyo, a staunch US ally, has been regularly lambasted by communist
rebels. Peace talks aimed at ending the Maoist insurgency broke down two
years ago, and government forces have intensified counterinsurgency
operations.
About 20 members of Akbayan, a small, left-wing political party, condemned
North Korea's nuclear test at a rally Tuesday in suburban Quezon city.
Carrying a photo of a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb blast stamped
with the words "No to North Korea's nuclear test," the protesters said
Pyongyang's action poses a threat to Northeast Asia's security and
economic stability and could trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.
Associated Press
Last updated 06:02pm (Mla time) 10/10/2006
(UPDATE) COMMUNIST rebels in the Philippines heaped praise Tuesday on
North Korea for its first-ever nuclear test -- a rare pat on the back for
the communist state that has been hit by a flurry of condemnation.
The underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has waged a
37-year insurgency, hailed the test as "a militant assertion of national
sovereignty and the right of an independent country to develop its own
powerful self-reliant defense capability," said a statement by rebel
spokesman Gregorio Rosal.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in a second statement in as many days
condemning North Korea's proclaimed nuclear test, said her government
joined the rest of the world in urging Pyongyang "to drop its continued
development of weapons of mass destruction and to shift its focus on
regional collaboration rather than intimidation."
"Freedom is at risk and the Philippines is within striking distance," she
said, adding that such tests threatened global peace and stability.
Arroyo, a staunch US ally, has been regularly lambasted by communist
rebels. Peace talks aimed at ending the Maoist insurgency broke down two
years ago, and government forces have intensified counterinsurgency
operations.
About 20 members of Akbayan, a small, left-wing political party, condemned
North Korea's nuclear test at a rally Tuesday in suburban Quezon city.
Carrying a photo of a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb blast stamped
with the words "No to North Korea's nuclear test," the protesters said
Pyongyang's action poses a threat to Northeast Asia's security and
economic stability and could trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.