Euro-Parliamentarians Back Call to Defend Sison’s Rights

Concern is growing abroad against the persecution of Filipino political exile Jose Maria Sison, whose bank account was frozen and social benefits denied by Dutch authorities last week. Latest to join the call to stop the harassment of Sison – a move precipitated by the U.S. state department’s and the Arroyo government’s labeling him as “terrorist” – are members of the European Parliament.

By Bulatlat.com

Hong Kong groups submit their petition to Dutch Consul General AC Brouwer, airing concern over the “process used by governments to determine terrorists”

While the Dutch government is tightening its noose on Jose Maria Sison, 22 members of the European Parliament have expressed concern and support for the call to defend the democratic and civil rights of the Filipino political exile.

In a letter released Sept. 21, the Euro-Parliamentarians from Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden also asked the Dutch government to withdraw the names of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA) from its list of terrorist organizations. They also supported the resumption of peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Arroyo government.

Sison, founding chair of the CPP and chief political consultant of the NDFP, has been denied of his and his family’s monthly welfare assistance which he used to receive as a political refugee. His bank account has been frozen as well. He has been living in exile in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1987 after his release from a 10-year imprisonment under Marcos.

In their letter addressed to Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the Euro-Parliamentarians expressed deep concern for the deprivation of housing, medical insurance, food allowance and other basic necessities for the Sison family, and the freezing of his bank account.

“We request you to withdraw your government’s listing of the CPP/NPA and Professor Jose Maria Sison as terrorists and to support the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, which your government has hosted in the past,” the letter said.

Resolutions

The parliamentarians made the request in accordance with European Parliament Resolutions in 1997 and 1999, which strongly supported and endorsed the peace talks between the two parties.

Signing the letter were P. Frahm (Denmark); Y. Boudjenah, S. Ainardi, F. Sylla, A. Krivine (France); H. Markov, F. Uca, C. Fiebiger (Germany); E. Korakas, K. Alyssandrakis, D. Koulourianos (Greece); L. Vinci, L. Manisco (Italy); E. Meijer (Netherlands); J. Miranda, I. Figueiredo (Portugal); P. Marset, S. Jove, A. Puerta, L. Gonzales (Spain); and J, Sjostedt, H. Schmid (Sweden).

Similar calls came from two Dutch clergymen, Archbishop Joris Vercammen of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and Dominee Hans Visser of Paulus Kerk of Rotterdam. In a news conference in Utrecht Sept. 18, the two expressed their dismay and disapproval of the actions taken by the Dutch authorities to brand Sison as a “terrorist” and cut off the social benefits due him as a political refugee.

Archbishop Vercammen expressed concern that the actions of the U.S. and Dutch governments to brand the CPP, NPA and Sison as “terrorists” would have dire implications on the peace negotiations between the Manila government and the NDFP.

Canada, Japan

In Canada, Filipino and Canadian human rights groups marched to the Dutch embassy in Vancouver on Sept. 16 to demand a stop to the persecution of Sison and his family by the Dutch and U.S. governments. Beth Grayer of Grassroots Women said that the political persecution of Sison “is an explicit attempt to limit the Filipino people’s democratic right to organize and express their aspirations for national liberation.”

The B.C. Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines said the rallyists were supported by members of the Mexican, Palestinian, South Asian and First Nations communities as well as Canadian workers unions and human rights organizations.

In Tokyo, the Japan Network for a Peaceful, Sovereign and Free Philippines (JNPSFP) denounced the moves taken by the Dutch and U.S. governments against Sison. “In effect, said Kei Morishita, initiator of JNPSFP, “the Dutch government is violating the Refugee Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of which the Sison family is under protection.”

“Professor Sison’s rights are violated when he was criminalized as a ‘terrorist’ without the benefit of due process, being demonized as such by name in official public announcements and being subjected to punitive measures that deprive him of the basic necessities of life and that violates his basic human rights to live,” Morishita said.

The freezing of Sison’s bank account and denial of his social benefits were taken by Dutch authorities following U.S. demands that Sison, the CPP and NPA – having been designated as “terrorist” by the U.S. state department – be denied of their bank accounts and other assets in foreign countries. Reports said Sison is the target of a U.S. plan to have him extradited to an American territory where he will face criminal prosecution. Bulatlat.com

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