Group fears crackdown on 'legal left' after Sison's arrest
abs-cbnNEWS.com (8/30/2007 12:51:47 PM)
An activist youth group on Thursday raised fears of a "terror-backlash" on the "legal left" from the government following the arrest of communist leader Jose Maria Sison in The Netherlands.
"[President Arroyo and her men] appear to be setting [their] sights on the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front) and are preparing to launch attacks against organizations they have maliciously tagged as front organizations under the guise of the terror law," Eleanor de Guzman, Anakbayan chairwoman, said in a statement.
With Malacañang officials admitting going after Sison's arrest since last year, de Guzman said the Arroyo administration seems to be creating an "atmosphere of unrest and dissent."
De Guzman said Sison's arrest might be the "trigger" the government is waiting for to be able to implement the Human Security Act, the country's anti-terror law, to its fullest extent.
She said that despite the government's sweet talks about reaching a peace deal with the NDF, it has been working in secret to pin its leaders on trumped up cases.
Sison was arrested by Dutch policemen at his apartment in The Netherlands for allegedly ordering the assassinations of former communist leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004.
The communist leader has also been cleared by the Supreme Court of the multiple murder charges filed by the government against him and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.
The charges were based on the alleged NPA "killing field" discovered by the miiltary in Inopacan, Leyte. The remains recovered from the site allegedly belonged to NPA members who were ordered killed by Sison and Ocampo on suspicion that they were spying for the government.
"...the Arroyo administration's offensives are nothing but desperate and defensive attempts to justify attacks on the left and the anti-Arroyo movement," de Guzman said.
She likened Sison's arrest to the ongoing military offensives in Basilan and Sulu, which she said the government has ordered while it was talking peace with the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"As we see it, Mrs. Arroyo and her AFP are now doing the exact tactic they did to justify the war in Basilan and Sulu – talking peace but, in truth, gearing for an offensive war," de Guzman said.
Meanwhile, Willy Marbella of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the wives of Kintanar and Tabara should realize that they are only being used by the government in its campaign against "the progressive movement."
Marbella said the two are being unwittingly used by the government in its "fascist" acts.
"If Gloria "Joy" Jopson-Kintanar and Veronica Tabara would continue to be a party to such fascist and dubious acts then they are no different from the paid witnesses and rabid attack dogs of the regime," he said.
Among the evidence against Sison handed by Philippine government to The Netherlands are the testimonies of the two widows.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Wednesday said they had been working with the Dutch government on the cases against Sison.
Philippine National Police chief Oscar Calderon had said that the pieces of evidence handed by the police to the Dutch authorities were the main basis for Sison's arrest.
"[President Arroyo and her men] appear to be setting [their] sights on the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front) and are preparing to launch attacks against organizations they have maliciously tagged as front organizations under the guise of the terror law," Eleanor de Guzman, Anakbayan chairwoman, said in a statement.
With Malacañang officials admitting going after Sison's arrest since last year, de Guzman said the Arroyo administration seems to be creating an "atmosphere of unrest and dissent."
De Guzman said Sison's arrest might be the "trigger" the government is waiting for to be able to implement the Human Security Act, the country's anti-terror law, to its fullest extent.
She said that despite the government's sweet talks about reaching a peace deal with the NDF, it has been working in secret to pin its leaders on trumped up cases.
Sison was arrested by Dutch policemen at his apartment in The Netherlands for allegedly ordering the assassinations of former communist leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004.
The communist leader has also been cleared by the Supreme Court of the multiple murder charges filed by the government against him and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.
The charges were based on the alleged NPA "killing field" discovered by the miiltary in Inopacan, Leyte. The remains recovered from the site allegedly belonged to NPA members who were ordered killed by Sison and Ocampo on suspicion that they were spying for the government.
"...the Arroyo administration's offensives are nothing but desperate and defensive attempts to justify attacks on the left and the anti-Arroyo movement," de Guzman said.
She likened Sison's arrest to the ongoing military offensives in Basilan and Sulu, which she said the government has ordered while it was talking peace with the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"As we see it, Mrs. Arroyo and her AFP are now doing the exact tactic they did to justify the war in Basilan and Sulu – talking peace but, in truth, gearing for an offensive war," de Guzman said.
Meanwhile, Willy Marbella of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the wives of Kintanar and Tabara should realize that they are only being used by the government in its campaign against "the progressive movement."
Marbella said the two are being unwittingly used by the government in its "fascist" acts.
"If Gloria "Joy" Jopson-Kintanar and Veronica Tabara would continue to be a party to such fascist and dubious acts then they are no different from the paid witnesses and rabid attack dogs of the regime," he said.
Among the evidence against Sison handed by Philippine government to The Netherlands are the testimonies of the two widows.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Wednesday said they had been working with the Dutch government on the cases against Sison.
Philippine National Police chief Oscar Calderon had said that the pieces of evidence handed by the police to the Dutch authorities were the main basis for Sison's arrest.
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