'STOP CODDLING JOMA.' Members of Liga Independencia and League of Parents of the Philippines carry signs that read, "stop protecting a criminal" with a photo of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Joma Sison as they hold a protest in front of the Dutch Embassy in Makati City on Wednesday (May 5, 2021). The anti-CPP-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front groups did not only call for an end to CPP-NPA-NDF terrorism but also called on the Dutch government to declare Sison and other communist leaders as terrorists. (Photo courtesy of Remy Rosadio)
MANILA – Various multisectoral groups on Wednesday urged The Netherlands government anew to stop coddling Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) founding chair Jose Maria "Joma" Sison along with his comrades and let them face the raps filed against them in the Philippines.
In a picket rally in front of the Dutch Embassy, the League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) and Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI) said maintaining Sison's asylum status in The Netherlands will only grant him and his allies a leeway to further expand their terroristic motives against the Philippine government.
The groups said Sison's protection from the Dutch government gave him the chance to freely command the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the CPP, to continuously commit violence and atrocities including in far-flung communities of the Philippines.
They also called on the Dutch government to declare Sison and other communist terrorist group (CTG) leaders as terrorists.
"It's about time, that your government act on this matter. Declared them as terrorist organizations and expel all their leaders from your country as a gesture of democratic relationship between two governments," they said.
The groups lamented that The Netherlands has become a "safe haven" for Sison and his CTG leaders to continue planning their atrocities in NPA-infiltrated areas.
"You have coddled the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front) and its terrorist leadership for the past 4 decades in your country. Your government provided them safe sanctuary for their remote control terrorist," they told the Dutch government.
"Did we do something wrong for you to host a bunch of terrorist leaders of the CPP-NPA-NDF? Are you blinded by the skillful rhetorics of Joma Sison and his cliques that you provided them safe haven," they added.
The groups said the Netherlands government might "have been conspiring with Sison".
"Being directly operated and launched in Utrecht Netherlands. You have been conspirator and in conspiracy with the deaths of thousands of our countrymen and destructions of billions of worth of properties and helped perpetuate an economy of maldevelopment for us. Aren't you guilty of these?" they said.
Sison, they reiterated, is not a political refugee.
They called on the Dutch government to send Sison back to the country to face the criminal cases against him.
"We thought for a while that the government of Netherlands is a nation-state for humanity and welfare of the people regardless of race and nationality? With your continuous coddling of Joma Sison, we are deeply saddened by your actions. Is this what we deserve from you?" the groups said.
They added that there's no need to investigate Sison and his CTG allies as they have been relentless and unhampered to command the NPA rebels to hold a series of violent attacks, killings of innocents, exploiting women, and recruit more minors as part of combatants.
"What kind of evidence do you want from us? Isn't it glaring and obvious their terror acts against the Filipino people," they said. "The NPA is the brutal executioner and armed machinery that murdered thousands of innocent civilians. The NDF is the shield that provides protection and alliance locally and internationally. It serves as a deodorizer to the stinking smell of the 3 axes of the evil of the CPP-NPA-NDF."
Amid the prevailing public health crisis, the groups said they will not stop calling out the Dutch government until Sison gets back in the Philippines.
"As our nation grapples with pandemic due to the virus of Covid-19, we remain steadfast in our moral crusade to help our country achieve peace and development. It could only be attained by eliminating terrorist organizations and exposed their political intentions and facade," they said.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
