This Wednesday, 18th of september, prof Jose Maria Sison did a press conference in the locals of the international buro of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Utrecht (Netherlands)

Jose Maria Sison is living in the Netherlands as a recognized political refugee under the protection of the Refugee Convention and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Prof. Sison is the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). These negotiations have been facilitated by the Norwegian, Dutch and Belgian governments. On 9 August 2002, the US State Department listed the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as “foreign terrorist organizations”, encouraging other governments “to take action to isolate these terrorist organizations, to choke off their sources of financial support, and to prevent their movement across international borders”. Since 12 August 2002, the US Treasury Department has listed Jose Maria Sison as a “terrorist” whose assets must be frozen.

JM Sison answers that "Cultist terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf, both originally created by the US Central Intelligence Agency, are minor terrorists relative to those forces that have undertaken colonialism, ignited global wars among the imperialists, used fascism to ride on economic crisis, waged wars of aggression and installed puppet regimes of terror like the Marcos fascist dictatorship of recent memory in the Philippines"

Sanctions in 6 steps.

He continue "According to the aforesaid high official of the GRP, the series of steps ranged against me include the following: 1. Listing as “terrorist” and freeze of assets at the national level of the Dutch government, 2. Deprivation of benefits (allowance for food and other basic necessities, housing and health insurance) and adverse chain reaction on the living conditions of my family, 3. Publicized raid on our apartment and possible arrest to degrade me before the Dutch public, 4. Terrorist listing at the European level, 5. Provisional detention upon request of the US government, and 6. Extradition to a US territory."

Concluding, "We are now at step No. 2 above. As of now, certain basic rights under the international bill of rights, under the Refugee Convention, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and even Dutch law are so grossly and wantonly violated.

Why this repression now?

"Since 1992, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has represented the aforesaid revolutionary forces in preliminary and formal peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). The Dutch, Belgian and Norwegian governments have facilitated these negotiations within the framework of The Hague Joint Declaration of 1 September 1992. The aforesaid actions of the US government prejudice the continuance of the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations and throw fuel into the flames of the civil war in the Philippines…"

Sison add "The objective of the scheme is to compel me as NDFP chief political consultant and the NDFP negotiating panel to opt for capitulation in the peace negotiations or else suffer the worst of punitive measures would be applied on me and eventually on the NDFP negotiating panel and even on the NDFP consultants who reside in Manila."

DUTCH CLERGYMEN EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR PROF. SISON

In a press conference on the plight of Prof. Jose Maria Sison, two Dutch clergymen, Archbishop Joris Vercammen of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and Dominee Hans Visser of Paulus Kerk of Rotterdam, expressed their dismay and disapproval of the actions taken by the Dutch government to brand Prof. Sison as a terrorist and cut off the social benefits due him as a political refugee.

Dominee Visser said that he had consistently supported Prof. Sison’s long-running fight for asylum and residence in the Netherlands. He has supported the campaign launched by sympathizers, friends and concerned citizens to press the Dutch government to grant Prof. Sison’s asylum application in the face of pressure exerted by the US and Philippine governments to reject such application.

Archbishop Joris Vercammen said that he found it ridiculous for the Dutch government to put Prof. Sison in the same league as Osama bin Laden.

Photo. Hans Visser (left), Jose Maria Sison (middle) and Joris Vercammen (right)