By Carmel Crimmins Sat Apr 29, 10:53 AM ET
>From his coconut leaf hut deep in the forest, Gregorio
Rosal, one of the Philippine's most-wanted men, smiles
in admiration at the recent success of Nepal's Maoist
rebels.
"Their advance has been inspiring," the chief spokesman for the communist insurgent New People's Army (NPA) told Reuters. "The protracted people's war that Mao practiced in China."
Nepal's rebels loosely aligned themselves with mainstream political parties and forced the autocratic king to cede power this week.
The NPA, waging the world's longest-communist insurgency, wants a similar tie-up with disgruntled soldiers and political opposition groups to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
"We call that 'united front tactics', that is also what we are trying to do," said Rosal, alias Ka Roger, in his first face-to-face interview with foreign media since the 1980s.
Arroyo has accused the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, of colluding with her political foes and renegade soldiers in an alleged bid to oust her in February.
The Philippines says the communists are its top security threat, ahead of Muslim rebels in southern Mindanao island.
Rosal, who was one of 49 people charged with rebellion for the alleged coup, denies there was a plot or that an alliance exists between the NPA and disillusioned members of the army, the sworn enemy of the communists.
ERSTWHILE FOES
But the NPA is ready to align itself with erstwhile foes if it means Arroyo could be overthrown and replaced by a government which includes left-wing groups.
Rosal, his M16 rifle within arm's reach in his hideout in the northern island of Luzon, said a more left-wing government could lead to the revival of peace talks.
Previous discussions with Arroyo's administration, brokered by Norway, stalled in August 2004 when Manila refused to help persuade Washington and some European states to remove the NPA from terror blacklists.
Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and Red China's embrace of free-wheeling capitalism, the NPA continues to wage an insurgency started in 1969 as successive governments have failed to deal with social inequalities and widespread poverty.
Fighting between rebels and government forces has killed more than 40,000 people and stunted economic development but Rosal, who has to keep on the move to avoid capture and has not seen his wife in almost two years, still has fire in his belly.
"The future is very good," said the 58 year old, unperturbed by China's conversion to capitalism and adamant that the NPA's own ideological commitment is steadfast.
Capitalising on coup fears in Manila, the rebels have increased attacks on remote police stations and businesses since the start of the year.
Rosal, who keeps up-to-date on world affairs via a radio strapped to his waist, puts the organisation's membership at around 8,000 and dismissed government claims that the NPA has lost 900 fighters since the start of the year.
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