Joma still on terror list

A European Union (EU) court decision to remove communist leader Jose Ma. Sison from the regional bloc’s terror list is not yet final, an EU diplomat said yesterday.

Ambassador Alistair Mac Donald, head of the delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, said the European Court of First Instance’s (ECFI) decision is “not executory” since the Council of Ministers of the EU has two months to make an appeal.

“The council has a period of at least two months in which

to decide whether or not to appeal against the judgment of the court,” MacDonald said in a chance interview.

On Sept. 30, the ECFI annulled all decisions and a regulation of the Council of the EU that had maintained Sison’s inclusion in the terror list.

Sison, in self-exile in Utrecht, the Netherlands was earlier listed by the EU, Canadian, US and Philippine governments as a terrorist. The Communist Party of the Philippines’ armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), was also listed as a terrorist organization. Sison is also known by his nom de guerre Armando Liwanag.

Communist rebels insist on their removal from the EU list as a pre-condition to the peace talks with the Philippine government.

This terror label has prompted the Dutch government and other EU countries to freeze Sison’s bank accounts and cut off all social benefits he enjoyed since his arrival in the Netherlands .

The NPA has been waging an armed rebellion against the Philippine government for 39 years.

In its ruling, the ECFI said the national decisions done in the Netherlands and relied upon by the Council “did not relate to the instigation of investigations or prosecution or to a conviction for terrorist activity, contrary to the requirements of European Community Law.”

Netherlands-based non-government organization DEFEND said Sison could benefit from the judgment by claiming back the social payments for living allowance, housing, health insurance and old age pension which have been withdrawn from him since 2002.

Sison could also seek gainful employment or render professional services with remuneration; secure legal admission as a refugee and a residence permit; travel freely without restrictions, and could be free from being labelled and stigmatized as a terrorist as well as claim moral and material damages for what he had suffered since 2002, the court ruling added.

But MacDonald said there the ECFI’s decision was not yet final and executory, meaning Sison would remain in EU’s list of terrorists.

“The implications when you’re in the terror list is essentially related to finance, the financial assets or bank accounts. Those terrorist listing is basically to address the sources of finance of terrorist groups,” MacDonald said.

He said Sison was still not allowed to travel outside the Netherlands, despite the court ruling.

“I’m not sure if he has a Philippine passport nor does he have a Dutch passport. For the moment he’s in the Netherlands unless a special arrangement is made he would be able to leave Netherlands,” MacDonald said. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune