DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON PETITION
Philippine Prof. 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.
Subsequently, the Dutch government
has followed the bidding of the US by issuing the "Sanctions ruling on
terrorism 2002 III" on 13 August 2002, criminalizing Jose Maria Sison as a
"terrorist" without benefit of due process and subjecting him to
punishment such as:
* The freezing of his Postbank
current account through which he receives social welfare payment to pay his
bills.
* The removal of all state
subsidies for food, housing, health insurance and other basic necessities under
a directive dated 10 September 2002 from the social welfare agency of Utrecht's
municipal government.
We, the undersigned, vow to help
defend the rights of Prof. Jose Maria Sison.
We demand from the Dutch
authorities:
* 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.
Send this petition to:
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
Binnenhop 20
Postbus 20001
2500 EA The Hague
Tel +31 70 356 41 00
Fax +31 70 356 46 83
Mr. J.G. de Hoop Scheffer
Minister of External Relations
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67
Postbus 20061