PRESS STATEMENTS & INTERVIEWS, 2001 - Present |
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Interview With Prof. Jose Maria Sison By Ma. Lira S. Dalangin Atty. Marie Yuvienco gave me details of the Dutch finance ministry's order to the Utrecht municipality (dated march 7, 2003) to stop granting you your monthly allowance, monthly rent, and medical insurance. Reply: Atty. Marie Yuvienco and Jayson Lamchek of Public Interest Law Center can competently answer your questions about my cases at the Dutch and European levels. I have sent you some materials to give you some grounding for your questions. I was wondering if this was the same order the GMA
7 report I mentioned earlier was referring to or could it
be that today's report talked of a different order, which makes me
wonder how much more persecution can you take! Reply: Last July 15 the judge of the Utrecht municipal court made a ruling in Sison versus Ministry of Finance that the court had no authority to provide for provisional measures ( i.e. restoration of social benefits while main court case is going on). In parallel there is a Sison case against the COA regarding the restoration of social benefits, to be brought to court soon. Ultimately, I shall file a case against the entire Dutch state in order to prevent several Dutch ministries and agencies from making me run around regarding the question of social benefits and the violation of my human rights. I have the chances of appeal to the Council of State (the highest administrative Court) and finally to the European Court of Human Rights. My lawyers in cases arising from the "terrorist" listing in the Netherlands are Hans Langenberg and Dundar Gurses, assisted by four lawyers in the Amsterdam Clinic of International Law of Amsterdam University. I have another set of lawyers headed by Jan Fermon in opposing the European listing. Are your other family members receiving separate
benefits? What are those? Reply: On her own account,
my wife Julie receives benefits. But these are barely
sufficient for her own subsistence. We have been in
deficit and debt since November 2002 because I have not been
receiving my benefits. That’s nine to ten months
already. Moreover, the COA (Dutch state agency) has not
paid for our rent since January. At the same time, there is a
standing notice for me to leave my apartment. The state no
longer provides me health insurance. Are all these moves by the dutch government linked
to your being declared a terrorist? Reply: All these moves are related to the
"terrorist" listing first by the US and then the Dutch,
European Council and other governments. The GRP officials,
including Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her national security adviser and
defense secretary, urged the US government to put me in the
list, starting in October 2001. They were beside themselves with
glee when I was finally listed by the US and other governments in
August 2002. The foreign secretray Blas Ople openly urged
European governments to put me in the European list. How do you think this would affect efforts to revive peace negotiations with the ndf? Reply: The "terrorist" listing has
been done by the US in order to take the chance of pressuring the NDFP
to capitulate to the GRP and, if as expected the NDFP does not
capitulate, the US can escalate its military intervention against the
revolutionary forces and people. Both the US and the current
puppet regime of Macapagal-Arroyo are responsible for practically
scuttling the peace negotiations. The main interest of the US is
to terminate the peace negotiations. Thus, the puppets are no
longer interested in these. |
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