NETHERLANDS: US brands exiled Filipino leftist 'terrorist'

BY BEN COURTICE

On August 9, the US State Department designated the Communist Party
of the Philippines (CPP) and the New Peoples Army (NPA) as “foreign terrorist
organizations” and implored other governments to do the same.

On August 12, the US Treasury Department listed the CPP, the NPA and
alleged CPP leader Professor Jose Maria Sison — a political refugee living
in the Netherlands — as “terrorists” whose assets must be frozen.

On August 13, the Dutch authorities issued a ruling directed at the
NPA/CPP and at Sison, stating “All means belonging to [Sison] will be frozen.
It is prohibited to undertake financial services for or in favour of [him]”.
A couple of days later, Sison's personal bank account was frozen, leaving
him penniless. On September 12, he received a letter from the municipal
government which announced that his social benefits, including housing
and health insurance, had been stopped.

The persecution of Sison follows a recent pattern of criminalisation
of left-wing political refugees in Europe, particularly members of Turkish
and Kurdish left groups. However, it has another dimension, as the US war
machine engages not only in Afghanistan and Iraq but also in the Philippines
— ostensibly against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.

From Green Left Weekly, October 2, 2002.

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From GLW issue 511