You're reading: Philippine army arrests senior Maoist ahead of talks

MANILA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Philippine soldiers arrested a top communist leader on Feb.14 in a raid on a rebel hideout north of the capital, a day before the government and Maoist rebels are set to resume formal peace negotiations in Norway.

Alan Jazmines, head of the Communist Party’s policy-making committee, was caught when soldiers and police officers stormed a house in Baliaug, Bulacan, army spokesman Brigadier-General Jose Mabanta told reporters.

"He was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest for murder charges in Quezon province," Mabanta said, adding Jazmines was the highest-ranking Maoist leader to be arrested for a number of years.

The arrest came a few hours before a ceasefire between the government and the New People’s Army was to take effect ahead of the restarting of peace talks in Oslo on Tuesday.

"We don’t know how the rebel peace panel will react to this development," Satur Ocampo, a former left-wing member of the House of Representatives, told Reuters. He said he was not sure if Jazmines was covered by an immunity guarantee.

Dozens of rebel leaders who are attending the peace talks have safety passes and are immune from arrest. The government has also promised to free about a dozen who are in military and police detention.

Last month, soldiers shot and arrested guerrilla leader Tirso Alcantara when he attempted to evade an army checkpoint in Quezon province, 100 km south of Manila.

Active in 69 of 80 provinces across the country, mostly in poor but resource-rich rural areas, the 4,000-member New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party, has been fighting to overthrow the national government.

The conflict has killed 40,000 people and discouraged investment in resource-rich rural areas due to rebel attacks and extortion.