NDFP verifies that Prof. Sison is NDFP chief political consultant and belies GRP claim that he is CPP chairman and NPA head



Luis G. Jalandoni

Chairperson

Negotiating Panel

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

June 04, 2007

Manila-- The National Council of the National Democrat Front of the Philippines hereby verifies that Prof. Jose Maria Sison is the NDFP chief political consultant and belies the claim of the Manila government that he is chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and head of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Prof. Sison himself has consistently declared that the leadership of the CPP and the command of the NPA are in the Philippines and not in The Netherlands or anywhere else thousands of miles away from the Philippines. His lawyer Jan Fermon has convincingly demonstrated that he cannot be the CPP chairman and NPA head because he has been separated from the CPP and NPA since his arrest in 1977 by the Marcos fascist regime (more than 29 years ago) as well as since his departure from the Philippines in 1986 (more than 20 years ago).

The US and Manila governments have given false information to the Dutch government since 1988 in order to sabotage his application for political asylum and prevent his legal admission to The Netherlands as a refugee despite his being recognized by the Dutch Council of State and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as a political refugee. And yet the Manila government cleared Prof. Sison of all criminal charges in April 1998 through a certification of its secretary of justice.

But the US, Dutch and other European governments (including the Council of the European Union) have persisted in using false information from the Manila government in order to designate and list Prof. Sison as a "terrorist". In this connection, we appreciate the Supreme Court’s recent decision for exposing the political motivation and use of lies in the trumped-up rebellion charge against the progressive members of Congress (Batasan 6) and other people, including Prof. Sison.

We demand that the governments of Washington, Manila and The Hague, as well as the Council of the European Union, stop persecuting Prof. Jose Maria Sison and respect his fundamental rights in the European Convention on Human Rights, including the rights to life and property, to the essential means of human existence, to the presumption of innocence, to due process, to security from torture and inhumane treatment or punishment, to privacy and family union and to his moral and physical integrity against slander, stigmatization and threats to his life and reputation.

Respecting the human rights of Prof. Sison and his role as chief political consultant will help pave the way for the resumption of formal talks in the peace negotiations. Unfortunately, the Arroyo regime is poised to use the newly-enacted Anti-Terrorism Law in the Philippines in order to proscribe the CPP, NPA and Prof. Sison as "terrorists" and continue to paralyze the peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Manila government. ###

REFERENCE:

Ruth de Leon

Executive Director

NDFP International Information Office

Tel.+31-30-2310431

Fax +31-84-7589930