This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.

Defend Jose Maria Sison's democratic rights!

 

Following the U.$. government's lead, the government of the Netherlands issued its "Sanctions ruling on terrorism 2002 III" on 13 August, criminalizing Philippine political refugee Prof. Jose Maria Sison without benefit of due process. This ruling freezes Prof. Sison's bank account and removes all state subsidies for food, housing, health insurance and other basic necessities which he received as a recognized political refugee.(1)

 

Prof. Sison has lived in exile since the Aquino regime cancelled his passport in 1988 on the basis of false charges. Before that the U.$.-backed Marcos dictatorship imprisoned and tortured him for nine years, starting in 1977. Dutch courts previously upheld his refugee status and granted his wife and son political asylum. Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have conspired to kill him while he has been in the Netherlands.(2)

 

Prof. Sison is currently the chief political consultant of the revolutionary National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). He founded the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in 1968. Philippine and Amerikan spy services and their media mouthpieces claim without evidence that Sison still heads the CPP. However, as the CPP puts it in a statement reprinted below, "the Party's collective leadership effectively operates in the consolidated revolutionary guerilla bases in the Philippines, safely out of the immediate reach and mischief by the US and local reactionary armed forces."

 

The U.$. State Department recently listed the CPP and the New People's Army (NPA) as "foreign terrorist organizations" and encouraged other governments "to take action to isolate these terrorist organizations, to choke off their sources of financial support, and to prevent their movement across international borders."(1) On 12 August 2002 the U.$. Treasury Department listed Prof. Sison as a "terrorist" whose assets must be frozen. The Dutch government passed the "Sanctions ruling on terrorism 2002 III" the next day.

 

There is no substance to U.$. charges that the CPP and Prof. Sison are "terrorists." They are a crass attempt to meddle in internal Philippine affairs and silence Prof. Sison, who is a vocal critic of Amerikan imperialism.

 

The Philippine Justice Secretary has certified that no criminal charge whatsoever exists against Prof. Sison in the Philippines. The NPA has pledged to abide by the Geneva convention. The CPP-led NDFP prioritized ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in its talks with the GRP. Since both parties signed the agreement, the Philippine army has repeatedly tortured and killed captured NPA members, while the NPA has released several high-ranking Philippine officers who afterwards spoke highly of their treatment.(4)

 

Twenty-two members of the European Parliament signed a letter asking the Netherlands to withdraw its classification of Prof. Sison and the CPP/NPA as "terrorists." "We make this request in accordance with European Parliament Resolutions in 1997 and 1999, which have strongly supported and endorsed the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines."(1) Even some GRP senators condemned the U.$. ruling as meddling in an "internal matter."(3)

 

Prof. Sison is not the only persyn affected by these charges--they also restrict the speech rights of residents of the United $tates or its European allies. Even those who defend publication of Prof. Sison writings or those of the CPP on the grounds that this is necessary for fully informed public debate may face harassment or deportation under the "USA Patriot Act." Standing up for Prof. Sison is also standing up for our own ability to speak and organize freely.

 

To defend Prof. Sison's democratic rights we call on readers to demand the following demands of the Dutch government: the full respect for the protection of Jose Maria Sison as a recognized refugee under the relevant international conventions; the grant of his residence permit in the Netherlands; the immediate de-listing of his name and the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the "Sanctieregeling terrorisme 2002 III;" the immediate, unconditional and complete restoration of all the social benefits to which he is entitled as a political refugee (monthly allowance, insurance and housing benefits); the refusal of any possible demand for his extradition.

 

For further information, addresses and fax numbers and organizing materials see below:

 

* DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON (petition) * Statement from the Community Party of the Philippines * The US wants to close the dragnet around Sison * Amerika slanders the CPP/NPA as "terrorist organizations"

 

Notes: 1. http://www.defendsison.be 2. https://anon.ssl.anonymizer.com/http://www.inps-sison.freewebspace.com/Estrada%20is%20Mastermind.htm 3. MIM Notes 266, 15 Sep 2002. 4. See e.g. MIM Notes 189, 15 Mar 1999; MIM Notes 194, 15 Sep 1999; MIM Notes 249, 1 Jan 2002.

 

 


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