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Message of Gratitude
and Solidarity for Continuing Struggle
By Jose Maria Sison
Founding Chairman, Communist Party of the Philippines
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
Chairperson, International League of Peoples' Struggle
19 September 2007
Dear Comrades and Friends,
Warmest greetings of solidarity!
I am deeply pleased and thankful to all of you for holding
this discussion meeting in order to focus on my case, reaffirm
your solidarity, rejoice in my temporary release from prison
and prepare for the struggle ahead.
I am very happy to be free from 17 days of solitary confinement
in a cell 2.5 meters wide, 3.5 meters long and 3.5 meters high
and from 7 days of intensive interrogation of 5 to 6 hours
daily under overheated lamps above my head. The Rechtbank
of The Hague has found no sufficient evidence for my further
pre-trial detention.
For my release, I am very grateful both to my lawyers for
their competence in the legal struggle and to the parties,
mass organizations, personages and the broad masses of the
people in Germany and many other countries for their militancy
in the political struggle to defend my rights and demand my
freedom.
The physical constraints and psychological torture that I
had to suffer in the Dutch Scheveningen version of Guantanamo
reminded me of the same painful experience which I had endured
under the Marcos fascist dictatorship.
But the pain in this latest ordeal is made more acute by the
fact that I have absolutely nothing to do with the false and
politically motivated charge of inciting two incidents
resulting in the killing of certain military assets of the
Arroyo regime named Kintanar and Tabara. As a matter of
fact, I have nothing to do with these incidents. Thus,
there can be no direct evidence and no sufficient evidence
against me.
The publications of the Communist Party of the Philippines
and New People's Army have repeatedly explained that the
NPA teams assigned to arrest the aforesaid individuals for
certain criminal offenses upon the order of the people's
court had to give them battle because they were armed and
dangerous and resisted arrest.
No less than the prosecution office of the justice
department of the Manila government has categorized the
Kintanar and Tabara incidents, not as acts of murder, but
specific acts of rebellion in the charge of rebellion
against me and 50 others in the Philippines. The Philippine
Supreme Court nullified on 2 July 2007 this charge of
rebellion, including such specifications as the Kintanar
and Tabara incidents and the supposed evidence for these.
Nevertheless, the sword of Damocles still hangs over my
head. The Dutch prosecution office has filed an appeal
before the Court of Appeals to have me put back in pre-trial
detention or solitary confinement. Right now, according
to news reports, six officials of the Dutch ministry of
justice and national police are in Manila to consult with
their Philippine counterparts..
I face tremendous odds. There are two imperialist powers
and one puppet government interested in destroying me
physically and politically. You are already aware that
most of the testimonies against me in the charge of inciting
murder were produced in the US embassy and the rest in the
Dutch embassy and the former US Clark Air Base, now
administered by the Manila government. There is widespread
concern that the charge of inciting murder is merely the
pretext for conducting raids and fishing for the evidence
to make a charge of terrorism.
It is therefore necessary for all of us to remain vigilant
and militant and to persevere in political struggle in
order to defend the democratic rights not only of myself
but also many others like the chairperson and members of
the NDFP Negotiating Panel, the consultants and staffers
whose office and homes have already been raided. We must
strive to stop the escalating fascist acts of persecution
against those who advocate and fight for national liberation
and the socialist future.
All efforts must be exerted to stop the baseless charge of
inciting murder against me as well as the scheme to trump
up the charge of terrorism against me and other Filipinos
who have worked so hard to uphold, defend and advance the
cause of national freedom, democracy, social justice,
development and a just peace in the Philippines. We hope
that the struggle to defend the rights of persecuted Filipinos
contributes to the advance of the people's struggle the world
over for national liberation, democracy and socialism against
imperialism and all reaction.###
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