Duterte is number 1 terrorist in PHL —Joma Sison

Published March 10, 2018 10:27am
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Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison (Joma) of Friday accused President Rodrigo Duterte as the number 1 terrorist in the country for allegedly running amok, slandering people under the guise of fighting terrorism.

In a statement sent to media on March 8, Sison said that “Duterte” has been engaged in a wild, anti-communist witch hunt, killing people on his spurious list of so-called terrorists.

Also, Sison said that to silence patriotic and progressive Filipinos and the political opposition, Duterte has resorted to intimidation, brandishing a fake list of suspects slapped with trumped-up charges.

Moreover, he said that the present administration’s move to shift the form of government from unitary to federal is just a ploy to perpetuate Duterte’s cruel … fascist regime, which is out to railroad Charter change (Cha-cha) efforts into coming out with a pseudo-federal constitution.

Sison claimed that Duterte has included him on the terror list.

“According to sources, I am in the list. There is no basis for the charge of terrorism. Duterte and his minions are stupid and pretend to be ignorant that I have won legal cases for the removal of my name from the EU list of terrorists and for the dismissal of murder charges fabricated against me by the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime and fed by this regime to the Dutch government,” Sison said.

The communist leader also claimed that in “less than two years of his tyranny, Duterte has been responsible for the mass murder of 20,000 people in his war on drugs.

Pursue people’s war

Sison, in a separate statement, said lawyers of the National Democratic Front are studying the the Justice Department’s petition to proscribe the CPP and NPA, “especially how it prejudices the interests of NDFP components and constituency and kills any prospect of resuming peace negotiations with the GRP.”

“The petition is definitely against the interest of the Filipino people who desire a just and lasting peace through negotiations and agreement on social, economic and political reforms,” the communist leader said.

“I do not think that the CPP and NPA will approach the Manila RTC (Regional Trial Court) directly or through counsel. They would rather pursue the people´s war than do so,” Sison said.

“They adhere to the people´s democratic government, which has its own judicial system. But I presume that those individuals who are living legal lives and in prison will contest their inclusion in the Duterte´s fake list of terrorists,” he added.

Sison cited that, in his case, he is protected as a recognized political refugee by the Refugee Convention and by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The latter gives me absolute protection, especially me from deportation to the Philippines or to a third country and preempts my being put at risk of being subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment which I had suffered under the Marcos regime.”

“I am also protected by the 2009 landmark decision of the European Court of Justice removing my name from the EU terrorist list and ruling that sanctions (freezing of bank account, withdrawal of social benefits, travel restrictions, etc.) were imposed on me since October 2002 without being priorly informed of the charge, without benefit of legal counsel and without availment of the court,” he added.

The communist leader also recalled that the “false” murder charges filed against him in 2007 in the Dutch judicial system were dismissed in 2009, despite the “malicious” and “desperate” efforts of the Arroyo regime to “fabricate and supply to the Dutch government false testimonies against me.”

“Recycling these false testimonies is futile,” he said. —Ted Cordedro/LBG, GMA News