[PEN-L:29455] Re: Re: American anti-terrorist drive targets Filipino Communists

[ScottH9999@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 8/14/02 9:03:59 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> I have heard nothing about this particular case.  I wonder how common it
>  is.

The main focus of the U.S. "war on terrorism" remains on radical Islam, but
it has already shown several signs of being expanded to eventually include
anyone and everyone that the U.S. government considers to be their enemies.
Naturally they start with their most open and dangerous enemies, namely
revolutionary communists (mostly Maoists).

In Nepal Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred with the government a few
months ago about how to aid them in putting down the revolt led by the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Millions of dollars of U.S. aid is already
going to Nepal for this purpose. Of course the U.S. has also long targeted
the revolutionaries in Peru. And it now seems to be turning its attention to
the Communist Party of the Philippines. (More info in the AP article below.)

Jose Maria Sison is not the only target of this new attack on the Philippine
Maoists, although he seems to be the number one target. There is good reason
for this. While Sison himself says that he is now only a political advisor to
the mass movement associated with the CPP, the Philippine and U.S.
governments believe that he is still the number one leader of the Party. It
has even been suggested that Armando Liwanag, the official chairman of the
Central Committee of the CPP does not really exist (or is simply another of
Sison's nom de guerres).

There are still Marxist revolutionaries in this world, and in fact growing
numbers of them in some areas--especially south Asia and the Philippines. And
the U.S. is determined to wipe them out--along with everybody else who
objects (with anything more than words) to their domination and exploitation
of the world.

--Scott Harrison


Dutch Freeze Filipino Rebel's Money

.c The Associated Press

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch authorities Tuesday froze the bank
accounts of the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, days after
the United States designated the party a terrorist group.

The Foreign Ministry said all assets linked to Jose Maria Sison, 64, and a
Dutch arm of his party would be blocked.

The State Department recently designated the party and its armed wing, the
New People's Army, as terrorist groups. Sison's name was added to the
Treasury's list of individuals whose accounts should be frozen.

The New People's Army, which has 12,000 fighters, leads an alliance of rebels
in a 34-year-old leftist insurrection against the government.

The U.S. designation makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to provide support to
the party. It also requires financial institutions to block its assets,
blocks admission to the United States by Communist Party representatives and
subjects representatives already in the United States to expulsion.

Sison founded the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968, but fled his
homeland in the late 1980s after serving nine years in prison during
President Ferdinand Marcos' regime.

The Dutch internal service, which has been monitoring Sison since 1992,
alleges he still leads rebel forces responsible for hundreds of deaths every
year.

But Sison, who has played a leading role in peace talks in recent years,
denied links with terrorists and said he was not the rebel group's leader.

``I am a recognized political refugee, protected by the Geneva Convention,''
Sison said. ``I am only the chief political adviser.''

The Foreign Ministry said all accounts and assets in the Netherlands found to
be linked to Sison or the Utrecht-based arm of the group, the National
Democratic Front of the Philippines, would be seized.

Sison said with a laugh that he and the Democratic Front ``have no bank
accounts to freeze.'' He claimed that by labeling his group as terrorist, the
United States and the Netherlands would hurt the fragile peace talks.

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appealed to communist
guerrillas Monday to stop ``terrorist'' attacks to save peace talks.

This was the second time the Netherlands acted against suspected terrorists
after a U.S. request. In March, the Finance Ministry froze accounts belonging
to the AD Afghanistan Bank, an official said.


08/13/02 12:23 EDT