|
PRESS STATEMENTS & INTERVIEWS, 2001 - Present |
|
|
Press Statement GRP Officials Make Fools of Themselves 31 January 2003 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some of her cabinet officials like foreign secretary Blas Ople, defense secretary Angelo Reyes, interior secretary Joey Lina and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye, have made fools of themselves on a global scale by demanding my extradition or expulsion from the Netherlands to the Philippines. There is no extradition treaty between the Netherlands and the Philippines. also, the Dutch government cannot expel me because as a recognized political refugee I am protected by Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Said article means that I cannot be expelled to a country where I would be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. The highest officials of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime are ignoramuses in international law. My situation is not the same as that of Nur Misuari who had no legal protection like Article 3 of the European Convention when he was arrested and detained in Malaysia for violation of immigration law. Thus, he could be deported to the Philippines. What makes Macapagal-Arroyo and her cabinet officials most ridiculous is that they have trumped up murder charges that are so patently false and so clearly politically motivated. My Philippine lawyers in the Public Interest Law Center can easily debunk these charges in any serious investigation. The fabrication of the murder charges against me once more exposes the regime’s malicious practice of filing charges of common crimes, instead of the charge of simple rebellion, against revolutionaries. Such malicious practice violates the Amado V. Hernandez doctrine in GRP jurisprudence and the pertinent provision of the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). By wantonly violating CARHRIHL, the GRP is exposing its bad faith in the peace negotiations with the NDFP. It is also violating the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by trumping up charges against the NDFP chief political consultant. # |
|