Perhaps old news (from August 9th) and perhaps inevitable. It looks as if
the US is committed to total surveillance in the march against terrorism so
that armed struggles with liberated bases will be labelled terrorist.
(Perhaps the State Department is more scrupulous about due process of law
and thinks it has serious evidence showing the difference, but I do not
exactly expect that to be the case.)
It will be important to defend bourgeois democratic rights on a world scale
from a radical and democratic perspective.
Chris Burford
London
____________________
To: The Government of The Netherlands International petition campaign
DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON (Philippines)
To THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT
Mr.Prime Minister of The Netherlands 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 General Consultant of International League of Peoples�
Struggle (ILPS) and has been 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:
1. The freezing of his Postbank current account through which he receives
social welfare payment to pay his bills. 2. The removal of all state
subsidies for food, housing, health insurance and other 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.
Sincerely, The Undersigned
http://www.petitiononline.com/aiprf/petition-sign.html
