AJLPP Condemns Dutch court orders prosecution of Prof. Jose Maria Sison

ALLIANCE FOR A JUST AND LASTING PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES (AJLPP)

Update

June 5, 2008



In Light of Repeated Case Dismissals, Tantamount of Political Persecution

AJLPP Condemns Dutch court orders that allow prosecution of Prof. Jose Maria Sison

Los Angeles, California – The Dutch authorities are at it again!

The Alliance Philippines today condemns the Dutch court orders that give prosecutors the go-ahead Thursday to pursue murder charges against Philippine communist leader Jose Maria Sison, despite an earlier dismissal of the case.

"Today, the District Court of The Hague decided in camera that the Public Prosecution Service may continue the prosecution of Jose Maria Sison for involvement in, among other matters, a number of murders committed in the Philippines in 2003 and 2004," said a press statement of the court.

The AJLPP National Coordinator Mario Santos today said: “The order of Dutch authorities at the behest of its US imperialist allies is a terrible blow to the cause of peace in the Philippines and fodder for the continuing war of terror against the Filipino people. The peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) have already been stalled for four years."

Meanwhile, the campaign of terror of the US-Arroyo regime patterned after the US-instigated "Oplan Phoenix" in Vietnam has already claimed more than 900 lives – political killings by the military or the police since 2001. Government forces have also detained more than 200 people. Another 200 have been rendered missing, including 11 NDFP consultants.

Prof. Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, 68, is the chief political consultant of the NDFP to the peace talks with the GRP in Norway. Joma has been living in The Netherlands since 1987. Prof. Jose Maria Sison is instrumental to the cause of peace and in the current peace process for the past decade. The AJLPP views the cases against him as blatant political harassment and a high profile case of political persecution by the US-Arroyo regime.

He was arrested in August 2007 in his adopted town of Utrecht on suspicion of having ordered, from The Netherlands, the murder of former NPA commanders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. The New People’s Army (NPA) claimed responsibility for executing Kintanar and Tabara, both of whom were acknowledged intelligence assets of the Arroyo regime.

His arrest ironically came in the heels of the Philippine Supreme Court decision to absolve Sison and many other leaders of the Left of similar trumped-up murder charges brought forth by the Arroyo government.

The AJLPP joined human rights and other solidarity groups throughout the world to campaign hard for his immediate release in September 2007. In September, the district court of The Hague ordered that Sison be freed "for lack of grave presumptions," a decision upheld in October by the court of appeals.

The public prosecutor's office closed the preliminary inquiry against Sison in November last year, but informed him in January that it intended to pursue the case further.

The district court found on Thursday that while the prosecution's case file still held insufficient evidence, the investigation was ongoing and should be given time to unfold.

"The Public Prosecution Service may continue their criminal proceedings against Sison," said a statement from the court. #

For more information, contact AJLPP at (213) 241-0906 or email magsasakapil@hotmail or visit alliancephilippines.blogspot.com