Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume IV, Number 5 February 29 - March 6, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
‘Terror’ Tag on CPP-NPA, Sison To End in August“All
the U.S. could do to delist the CPP-NPA (from its foreign terrorist list) is to
do nothing.” Unless it is renewed soon under a U.S. law, the “terror” tag
on the communists and Sison will expire in August this year. BY
AUBREY SC MAKILAN “All
the U.S. could do to delist the CPP-NPA is to do nothing.” Thus
said Jayson Lamchek, special legal consultant on the Issue of Terrorism of the
National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in a press briefing on the
peace negotiations Feb. 27 in Quezon City. The briefing was hosted by the Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan – New Patriotic Alliance). The
delisting of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA)
and NDFP Chief Political Consultant Jose Ma. Sison from the “terror” lists
of the United States and European Union (EU) was third of the 10 points of
agreement included in the Oslo Joint Statement issued by both Government of the
Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and NDFP panels on Feb. 14 in Norway. Lamchek
said that even if the U.S. government wanted to keep the CPP-NPA and Sison in
its own list of “foreign terrorist organizations” (FTO) and “individual
terrorists” and hence obstruct the peace negotiations, their names will be
automatically stricken out, like any other in the FTO list, after two years
based on a U.S. law. “Since
the communist group and Sison were named in the FTO list in August 2002, the
listing should automatically expire by August 2004,” Lamchek said. If the U.S.
wants to keep them in the list, it should be renewed at least 60 days before the
expiration date, he added. Lamchek,
who also teaches at the University of the Philippines, issued the statement on
the heels of denials by members of the GRP panel that the Macapagal-Arroyo
committed itself to have the CPP-NPA and Sison removed from the “terrorist”
lists. Teresita Quintos-Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, said
on Feb. 15 that the listing is the sovereign right of the U.S. and other foreign
governments concerned. Defense
Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Armed Forces officials also said they would oppose
the delisting. Also
with Lamchek during the news briefing were Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary
general of the human rights alliance Karapatan, and Rafael Baylosis, member of
the NDFP’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms. Violations of bilateral agreementsThe
Oslo joint statement said that “to resolve the outstanding issue of
‘terrorist’ listing of the CPA-NPA and the NDFP Chief Political Consultant,
effective measures shall be undertaken in consonance with the Hague Joint
Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), the
Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and other bilateral agreements.” Lamchek
said that the GRP is actually not honoring these bilateral agreements since the
“terrorist” tag which government had asked the U.S. and EU governments to
use, clearly violated the agreements. Some observers said inviting foreign
interference in what is clearly an internal affair violates the principle of
national sovereignty emphasized under the agreements. “The
GRP should not have allowed foreign authority to exercise jurisdiction over
Philippine concerns,” the NDFP legal consultant said. “With the agreements,
the U.S. cannot define CPP-NPA and Sison as terrorists.” He
also said that even the NPA’s tactical offensives and other activities deemed
criminal acts by the government should be considered political offenses under
the Supreme Court’s Amado V. Hernandez Doctrine which is also upheld by the
GRP. Lamchek
also read NDFP chair Luis Jalandoni’s letter on the alleged violations by the
GRP of the bilateral agreements, specifically the democratic rights of Sison
guaranteed by the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and Breukelen Statement. These
are the “right to free speech, press, association and assembly, and to seek
redress of grievances,” “right not to be subjected to campaigns of
incitement to violence against one’s person,” “right to substantive and
procedural due process (and) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” and
“the right not to be held responsible for an act he has not committed and to
be punished without complying with all the requisites of due process,” among
his other rights as a recognized political refugee. Interpreting the Oslo Joint StatementThe
legal consultant said that one should look into the intentions of both parties
in order to interpret the Oslo Joint Statement correctly. Lamchek recounted what the GRP did before and after the “terrorist” listing. For instance, in 2002 then Foreign Secretary Blas Ople campaigned in Europe for the listing of Sison and the CPP-NPA as “terrorists.” Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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