Doing the country - and themselves - justice

E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

Doing the country - and themselves - justice
Wednesday, 07 18, 2007

My fraternity brothers — Romeo Capulong, the human rights crusader and the lawyer of Representatives Crispin Beltran and Satur Ocampo, and my client Rafael Baylosis, who faces the same rebellion charge as these two congressmen, and who is the vice-chairman of Anakpawis Party List and consultant to the stalled peace talks between the National Democratic Front and the Philippine government — have e-mailed me the following statement of Prof. Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the NDF:

“The judgment of the European Court of First Instance (ECFI) annulling the decision of the Council of the European Union to put me in the “terrorist” blacklist is a victory for the cause of justice. It is not merely my personal victory; it is a victory for all the people. They have resolutely and vigorously supported me and fought for justice against my persecution. I take this opportunity to thank all of them.

“The 11 July 2007 ECFI judgment is applicable to the 29 June 2007 decision of the Council blacklisting me as a “terrorist” on the basis of the same false allegations and in violation of due process as in the 29 May 2006 decision. It rules that the Council has infringed on my rights of defense, has failed to state the reasons for blacklisting me and has violated my right to judicial protection. It paves the way for me to demand compensation for the benefits that I have been deprived of and for the damages inflicted on me. It requires the Council to pay the costs of the litigation.

“With the active collaboration of the US, Philippine and Dutch governments, the Council has accused me of the crime of terrorism. But I have never been informed of any specific charge of terrorism and I have never been called to any criminal investigation, prosecution or trial involving any specific act of terrorism. Nevertheless, I have been listed and stigmatized as a “terrorist” for more than four years. My rights and freedoms have been violated. I have been unjustly subjected to sanctions that are in fact punitive, and to official incitement of public hatred and violence against my person and honor.

“I have never committed any crime of terrorism and I have never been subjected to any criminal investigation for any act of terrorism. To make me appear as a “terrorist,” the Council has followed the US in claiming that I am the chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines and head of the New People’s Army. It has misrepresented the revolutionary national liberation movement of the Filipino people as “terrorism,” even as the Philippine reactionary government is bound by the Hernandez political-offense doctrine to charge the revolutionaries with rebellion.

“The Council has also misrepresented the decisions of the Raad van State in 1992 and 1995 and the Rechtseenheidkamer in 1997, on questions of asylum and residence, as decisions finding me responsible for terrorism. In fact, all these courts have recognized me as a refugee under Article 1A of the Refugee Convention. The propensity of certain European authorities to dish out lies and use punitive sanctions against refugees, migrant workers and people of color lays bare imperialist and fascist impulses.

“In the Philippines, I have been repeatedly cleared of criminal charges. In 1986, I was cleared of the charges of rebellion and subversion. In 1992, the charge of subversion that had been trumped up in 1988 was nullified. In 1994, the charge of multiple murder arising from the Plaza Miranda bombing was dismissed. In 1998, the secretary of Justice issued a certification that there were no pending criminal charges against me.

“In 2003, the Arroyo regime started to fabricate charges of rebellion and common crimes against me. But in a recent decision, the Supreme Court has rendered null and void the identical false allegations of rebellion against more than 50 accused, including the Batasan 6 and myself. The Arroyo regime can no longer recycle these allegations in any new charge of rebellion or terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

“The fact that the ATA was signed into law only on March 6, 2007, and would become effective only on July 15, 2007, underscores the fact that there was no crime of terrorism in the Philippines in all the years that the US, Philippine and European governments were claiming that I was responsible for unspecified crimes of terrorism in the Philippines. Even as there is now the ATA, it remains to be seen how it can be valid against the Hernandez political-offense doctrine and transmogrify the subsisting and well-defined crime of rebellion into the ill-defined, vague and overly broad crime of terrorism.

“It is outrageous that US imperialism has drawn the Council and member-states of the EU to wars of aggression as in Iraq and Afghanistan, to legislation and executive decisions with a fascist character and has abetted subservient regimes to commit human rights violations, all in the name of combating terrorism. I hope that the current isolation and unraveling of the Bush regime because of its crimes of aggression and repression can drive some sense into the heads of the Council and member-states of the EU.

“I am deeply pleased that in my struggle for justice against the “terrorist” blacklist I have contributed to some extent to the advance of the struggle for a democratic rule of law against the forces of imperialist plunder, fascism and aggression. I am determined to continue the struggle, because the annulment of the decision to blacklist me as a “terrorist” is merely the first step in my struggle for full respect of my fundamental rights and freedoms and because the people, especially the most persecuted, need to unite their will and capabilities to uphold, defend and promote their rights and freedoms against imperialism and reaction.”

Capulong and Baylosis represent the nationalist underpinnings of the Sigma Rho. Together with Fidel Agcaoili and Jon-Jon Sison, and some other younger fraternity brothers, they are cut from the same mold of nationalists who have sacrificed their lives, put at risk their families, and made a solemn vow, after leaving the groves of UP Diliman, to pursue their nationalist fervors.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court giving freedom to Beltran and several others was penned by another fraternity brother, Justice Antonio Carpio, whose consistent adherence to due process and the rule of law transcends ideological frame.

Coming from different generations and social orientations, these members of the Sigma Rho have journeyed on different roads only to find their paths converging at a junction from whence they now pursue a common goal: Justice in our land!

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