Philippines’s Communist leader remains on EU terror list
MANILA, Philippines — The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Manila issued a statement this afternoon saying that, contrary to what Jose Maria Sison and the National Democratic Front may have impressed on the public, Sison is still on the terrorism list of the European Union. The embassy said the judgment of the European Court of First Instance concerns an old terrorism list, not the new terrorism list adopted on June 29, 2007. Sison, who lives in exile in Utrecht, is the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NDF’s chief political consultant.
Below is the embassy’s full statement:
In its judgment issued on Wednesday July 11, 2007 regarding the case of Jose Maria Sison versus the Council of the European Union, The European Court of First Instance (ECFI) annulled Council Decision 2006/379/EC of June 26, 2006 in so far as it concerns Mr. Sison. The judgment bears upon the decision initially taken by the Council in 2002 to place Mr. Sison on the EU terrorism list and subsequent Council decisions to keep him on the list after a review process.
The judgment of July 11 of the ECFI bears upon an old Decision which had already been withdrawn by the Council. The judgment does not concern the latest review process of the EU terrorism list by the Council, which culminated in a new list adopted on June 29, 2007.
The Council periodically reviews the EU terrorism list. The ECFI had in an earlier judgment in a different case (in December 2006) criticized the procedures of the review process of the EU terrorism list. The Council subsequently changed the review procedures in order to meet the shortcomings which were pointed out by the Court. The new Decision taken on June 29, 2007 follows the new procedures, which better safeguard the legal protection of persons and entities involved.
This new Decision, covering all persons and organisations on the EU terrorism list, includes Mr. Sison, the CPP and the NPA on the list and maintains the freeze on their assets.
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