Indian Government arrests the defenders of the rights of Prof.Jose Maria Sison

September 26, 2002

The Delhi police arrested 100 activists when they gathered in front of The Netherlands Embassy in Chanakyapuri in New Delhi today.

The activists belong to AIPRF, AIFTU, FAIG, Indian Nepalese Rights' Protection Committee, and CPI ML (New Democracy). They were protesting against the act of US designating Prof. Jose Maria Sison and the Communist Party of Philippines as terrorists and against the deprivation of the basic rights of Prof. Sison as a recognised refugee by The Netherlands Government by bringing him under the terrorist laws.

The organisations gave the adequate information to the Delhi police well in advance about the protest. However, the government of India decided not to allow the protest and issued prohibit orders overnight against the free movement of people (section 144) in the Embassy area in order to suppress the voices of protest and the activists were arrested as they arrived.

Later in the evening, they were released and the activists submitted a petition to the officials in the Dutch Embassy, which was addressed to the Government of The Netherlands, signed by the above-mentioned organisations. The Dutch officials listened to the activists and maintained that they were unaware of the developments regarding Jose Maria Sison, and said that the petition would be immediately sent to the Government of The Netherlands.

The organisations that participated in today's protest have resolved that they would continue the campaign in India in support of Prof. Sison's rights as decided by the all-India co-ordination committee of the Forum Against Imperialist Globalisation (FAIG) which met on 21 and 22 September in Jalandhar City in Punjab. Protests in different parts of India are planned along with a signature campaign from prominent intellectuals and democrats on a petition to be sent to the Dutch Government.

The activists feel that the attacks on the rights of Prof. Jose Maria Sison by the Dutch Government under the pressure of the US imperialists as the attacks on the people of the world who have been fighting against imperialism. US decision to designate Prof. Sison as a terrorist is nothing but terming all anti-imperialist/ anti-globalisation movements as terrorist acts. This indicates the real intentions of the US rulers who are the real terrorists. Prof. Sison is the founder and the Chief Political Consultant of International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS), which is brining together hundreds of people's movements against imperialism in the world to fight against and defeat the imperialist world order.

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