Canadians and Overseas Filipinos Condemn Arrest of Professor Jose Maria Sison by Dutch Police

August 28, 2007

As progressive and peace-loving Canadians and overseas Filipinos we condemn in the strongest possible terms of the arrest of International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) Chairperson and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Political Consultant Professor Jose Maria Sison.

Likewise, we denounce the tyrannical subsequent raids on the houses and offices of NDF personnel and Filipino progressives by the Dutch National Criminal Investigation Department.

Dutch and Philippine officials are claiming that Sison ordered the killings of former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. In both cases the New People's Army, the Communist Party of the Philippines armed wing, already claimed responsibility for the killings as the two were resisting arrest under revolutionary justic for crimes against the people. Professor Sison is now being detained in the Hague, Netherlands. He will appear in a Hague court on Friday.

Professor Sison has adamantly maintained that he is no longer the Chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines. He has not held this position for over 20 years since his move to the Netherlands as a political refugee.

The arrest of Professor Sison and the raids and harassment of progressive Filipinos in the Netherlands are part of escalating attempts of the Philippine, United States and Dutch governments to malign Professor Sison as a “terrorist” and a criminal in this case.

Especially since the European Court of First Instance (ECFI) annulled the Council of the European Union (EU) decision blacklisting Professor Sison as a “terrorist” in the judgment issued in Luxembourg on July 11, 2007, the Philippine and Dutch governments have been hell-bent on persecuting Professor Sison. As expected, the two governments are using their political power and the existing fascist "anti-terrorism" laws and decisions that they have devised in order to justify the political killings of nearly 900 people, the political persecution of progressive activists as Sison, state terrorism and wars of aggression.

For the obvious falseness of the murder charges against Professor Sison for which he has been arrested and for the clear and underhanded efforts of the Dutch government to bully and politically harass him and his fellow progressives in the Netherlands, we join with people around the world who also see the arbitrary and dangerous labeling of Prof. Sison as a “terrorist” to be an affront to democracy, justice and the people’s legitimate right to struggle for national and social liberation.

Professor Sison, as the Chief Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), embodies the struggle of the Filipino people in the over 30-year old revolutionary war they are waging for the country’s national and social liberation. As a notable staunch anti-imperialist, he also personifies the spirit of true and genuine international solidarity necessary to bring about a just and lasting peace.

While Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her military underlings celebrate Professor Sison’s arrest as a “triumph of justice”, we see his arrest as a thrashing of peace and democracy since this latest act of political persecution will surely terminate the peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Arroyo government.

Therefore, the arrest of Professor Sison and ongoing harassment and political persecution is not only an attack on Professor Sison but an affront to all peace- and freedom-loving people and anti-imperialists around the world.

We urge all Canadians and overseas Filipinos to denounce Professor Sison’s arrest and the obvious political maneuvering behind his detention.

Free Professor Jose Maria Sison!
Stop the political persecution of Professor Sison and progressive Filipinos in the Netherlands!
Stop state-sponsored terrorism!
Long live the Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation!
Long live international solidarity!

Statement of:
• Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights
• SIKLAB-Canada (Advance the Rights & Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and Their Families)
• National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
• Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – National
• International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) participating organizations in Canada