Welcome the Release of Sison!

Prof. Jose Maria Sison has been released from the National Penitentiary in Scheveningen, The Hague in the Netherlands.

This provocation against the revolutionary forces of the world was timed to coincide with the imperialist talk-fest APEC, held in Sydney last week. It was a gesture of support by imperialism for the Arroyo regime in the Philippines, but people all over the world rose to the occasion and pressured the Dutch by resolute actions outside its Embassies and consulates to free Comrade Sison.

Demonstrations in support of Sison also occurred in the Philippines in defiance of the state apparatus of the Arroyo regime.

Prof. Sison was released at around 6:30 p.m. (Philippine time) yesterday, Sept. 13, according to Connie Ledesma, a member of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace panel.

In a statement posted at the website of the Dutch Justice Ministry, the court said that there are no "sufficient indications that the accused [Sison], while living in the Netherlands, committed the offenses he is charged with, in deliberate and close cooperation with the perpetrators in the Philippines." It added, "Neither do they [charges] contain sufficient concrete indications that the accused incited others to commit these serious offenses."

Sison was arrested on August 28 and was charged with ordering the killings of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. The New People's Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has admitted the killings.

However, the Dutch court also said, "…there are many indications in the files which support the point of view that the accused is still playing a leading role in the Central Committee of the CPP as well as in the military branch of the CPP, the New People's Army (NPA)."

The progressive Filipino organisation Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) welcomed the development but said the persecution of Sison may not be over yet.

The group will continue to hold a mass action today, Sept. 14, to celebrate Sison's release and to warn the Dutch, U.S. and Philippine governments against further violating Sison's rights.