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NDF sees govt conspiracy in Joma arrest<br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2>The National Democratic Front
on Wednesday accused the Arroyo administration of colluding with the
European Union, the Dutch government and the United States to arrest Jose
Maria Sison, self-exiled founder of the Communist Party of the
Philippines, in the Netherlands. <br><br>
NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni said Sison’s arrest was meant to
pressure the National Democratic Front to go back to the negotiating
table and surrender to the Philippine government.
<br><br>
"These trumped up charges are a violation of Sison's rights. This is
a form of pressure from the European Union, British ambassador, the US
and Arroyo regimes to pressure the NDF to enter peace talks under the
terms of capitulation or surrender," he told ABS-CBN. <br><br>
Jalandoni said Dutch police tricked Sison into thinking that he was being
invited to their station to discuss the threats on his life only to be
detained. The Dutch police had also initially barred Sison’s lawyer from
accompanying him, he added. <br><br>
He said he was also interrogated by the police for an hour after
accompanying Sison to the police station. He also confirmed reports that
the Dutch police raided their houses and the NDF office in
Utrecht. <br><br>
Jalandoni said Sison is scheduled to appear before a judge on Friday to
decide whether or not the CPP founder will be allowed to be released
while the investigation is ongoing.<br><br>
Sison was arrested by the International Crime Investigation Team of the
Dutch National Criminal Investigation Department to face the criminal
charges filed against him for allegedly ordering the killings of his two
former political associates, Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, in the
Philippines.<br><br>
Peace talks between the NDF and the Philippine government collapsed in
2004 when Washington and some European states put the New People’s Army,
CPP’s armed wing, on their terrorism blacklists.<br><br>
The NPA is waging an armed rebellion across the archipelago that has cost
more than 40,000 lives. President Arroyo sees the NPA as the
country's most serious security threat and last year declared all-out war
on the rebels.<br><br>
Jalandoni, however, said the charges against Sison and his co-accused
have already been dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 2. <br><br>
He warned that Sison’s persecution will be met with massive protests in
the Philippines, Hong Kong, US, Canada, Australia and Belgium.
<br><br>
<b>Govt distances self <br><br>
</b>National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the Philippine
government had nothing to do with Sison’s arrest since it was done on the
basis of a complaint filed by relatives of Kintanar and Tabara against
the communist leader. <br><br>
Gonzales said the government's only role in the arrest was to provide
assistance to Dutch police after the complaint was filed. <br><br>
"Their prosecutors went here to ask for help. When their police ask
for help from our police through Interpol, we always give assistance.
That is the role of the government," he told ABS-CBN. <br><br>
Gonzales said the arrest had nothing to do with the peace talks as
alleged by some communist leaders. "The best thing to do here is not
make the peace talks as an excuse. We're talking about justice in Joma
Sison's case. It's about murder," he said. <br><br>
He added that sympathizers of the arrested communist leader should allow
the Dutch government to investigate the case. <br><br>
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, meanwhile, questioned reports about the
criminal complaint against Sison. He said the CPP founder should have
been informed about the charges before his arrest. <br><br>
Ocampo said the arrest was meant to scuttle the peace talks between the
NDF and the Arroyo administration.<br><br>
"This is not a political crime and there is no extradition treaty
[between the Netherlands and the Philippines]...This was meant to
neutralize Sison. They found a hole in Dutch law and used it to sue and
persecute Sison in the Netherlands," he said. <br><br>
The lawmaker called on the Dutch government to observe and respect
Sison's rights as the accused. <br><br>
<b>Lawmakers, activists chime in<br><br>
</b>Senators on Wednesday gave different opinions on Sison's
arrest.<br><br>
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Sison's arrest was
"a good start" to the peace process since it could force the
NDF to seriously look into peace negotiations with the Philippine
government. He added, however, that the Arroyo administration should be
prepared for the possible repercussions of Sison's arrest. <br><br>
Sen. Francis Escudero urged the administration to clarify whether it sees
the NPA as a rebel or a terrorist organization since the present
administration does not negotiate with terrorists. The communist
insurgency is identified as a terrorist organization by the US and
European Union.<br><br>
Left-leaning group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), meanwhile,
condemned Sison’s arrest. <br><br>
“It is very ironic that a person sincerely working for genuine peace and
justice is now being tagged as a murderer and a terrorist, while the real
terrorists like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her [Armed Forces] are
smiling smugly and continuing their killing spree against critics of the
regime,” said Willy Marbella, KMP’s internal deputy secretary general.
<br><br>
Youth group Anakbayan, meanwhile, warned that his arrest would spark
another “red moon rising” in the ranks of youth and student
democracy-fighters and civil libertarians.<br><br>
"We demand his release now, that the Philippine government be warned
of coming up against a youth and student uprising similar to what Prof.
Sison led during the 70s; a red moon rising for youth and student
activists of the present generation," Anakbayan chairwoman Eleanor
de Guzman said. <br>
<br>
The youth group also called on all its affiliate and other youth
organizations around the world to express their condemnation against
Sison's arrest.<br><br>
De Guzman said Anakbayan and other youth and student organizations will
stage an indignation rally at the Dutch Embassy in Makati Wednesday to
demand Sison's immediate release. <b>With a report from Reuters<br><br>
<br>
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