Submission to Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs on the listing of Jose Maria Sison

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Remove Jose Maria Sison from the terrorist list for financial asset freezing. 

The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) demands the immediate removal of Comrade Professor Jose Maria Sison of the Philippines from the DFAT terrorist list. Comrade Sison is not a terrorist, but a Communist.

His guiding ideology is Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. Marxism-Leninism condemns acts of terrorism and distinguishes between these and the armed struggles conducted by oppressed peoples. It is a characteristic of the latter that they do not indiscriminately target ordinary people, and that they are conducted according to ethical standards upheld by the revolutionary leadership.

As a revolutionary and a Communist leader of international significance, Comrade Sison has been subjected time and again to political persecution by the reactionary authorities of the Philippines and by US and European imperialisms.

Various attempts have been made to label him as a terrorist so as to circumscribe his political influence and limit the role that he plays in the peace process undertaken between the Philippines Government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) which began in 1992.  Comrade Sison is the Principal Political Consultant to the NDFP in the peace process.  He is also the founding Chairperson of the reconstituted Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and Chairperson of the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS).

Comrade Sison is not a terrorist and does not engage in or condone indiscriminate acts of terror.

He has been placed on the DFAT list because Australian governments slavishly follow the dictates of US imperialism.  No justification for the Comrade Sison’s inclusion on the list has been offered by DFAT except for the following statement jointly issued by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General on October 28, 2002 :

“The latest list includes organisations and individuals linked to Al Qaida and the Taliban and a number of internationally recognised foreign terrorist organisations, including Jemaah Islamiyah and the Communist Party of the Philippines.

“Similar action has been and continues to be taken by the United States, the European Union and other countries”.

This is entirely lacking in credibility, lacks any pretence at justification, and merely confirms that Australia lacks the capacity for independent decision-making in respect of foreign policy.

It is entirely relevant that on September 30, 2009, the European Court of the First Instance ruled that all of the listings of Comrade Sison as a terrorist were invalid. 

Comrade Sison has never been investigated or prosecuted for terrorism offences.

The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) expresses its solidarity with Comrade Sison and calls for his immediate removal from the DFAT list of terrorist organizations and individuals.

The Australian Government must cease interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, cease acting as a cheerleader for US imperialism, and display some self-respect as a sovereign and independent nation in its own right.

Central Committee
Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
July 11, 2013

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