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Home/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ August 12, 2002, The Philippine Star, Malacañang in a bind over Reds' terror tag, by Paolo Romero and Aurea Calica,

August 12, 2002, The Philippine Star, Malacañang in a bind over Reds' terror tag, by Paolo Romero and Aurea Calica,

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August 12, 2002, The Philippine Star, Malacañang in a bind over Reds' terror tag, by  Paolo Romero and Aurea Calica, 

Washington’s decision to add the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to its list of foreign terrorist organizations has put Malacañang in a bind.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said although the CPP is not legally registered as a political party, it is not an outlawed group. 

"We have repealed that Anti-Subversion Law (which previously outlawed the CPP and other leftist groups). They are not illegal. They are not criminals. We could respond based on existing laws," Bunye said. 

The law was repealed during the administration of Fidel Ramos in the 1990s in an attempt to encourage the rebel group to negotiate peace with the government. 

Compounding the situation, Bunye pointed out, is that the Philippines has no anti-terrorism law yet. Pre-sident Arroyo had recently urged Congress to pass one. 

"If you remember, we don’t even have an anti-terrorism law so we don’t have a clear definition of what a terrorist organization is," Bunye said. 

In her State of the Nation Address last month, Mrs. Arroyo had urged Congress to pass an anti-terrorism bill as part of her administration’s commitment to help in the war on terror and amid efforts to build a "strong Republic." 

Malacañang will "come up with a position" once the Department of Foreign Affairs receives a formal notification from the US Department of State about the CPP’s inclusion on the terror list, Bunye said. 

"We’ll take a look at the documents and sit down and come up with a consensus," he said. 

Officials said the government will continue peace negotiations with the rebels despite the CPP’s terrorist tag. They said the US action may even force the rebels to sue for peace and speed up the talks. 

Retired general Eduardo Ermita, Mrs. Arroyo’s adviser on the peace talks, said Washington was aware that Manila was pursuing talks with the rebels and "they will not take issue with us" if it resumes negotiations. 

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said the US action "can help staunch the flow of finances and other support for local armed groups and, thus, help prevent further conflict and additional loss of life." 

"The designation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization is a determination that the United States government has made... supported by evidence based on the track record of the CPP-NPA themselves," Ople said in a statement sent from Tokyo, Japan. 

Bunye said the US decision "simply means that the US government will tighten its noose as far as the CPP-NPA are concerned." 

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion said, "If their accounts are frozen and foreign support (to the rebels) is stopped, then they have no choice but to continue with the peace process." 

Purificacion said the military so far has not received any information that the communist rebels were receiving funds from foreign sources. 

The CPP maintains ties with leftist organizations in western countries.

Avenues for peace Bunye said the appointment last week of two negotiators – Norberto Gonzales and Silvestre Afable – to conduct informal or "back-channel" talks with the rebels "goes to show that we are seriously pursuing all avenues for peace." 

Once an organization is on the US foreign terror group list, it is unlawful for a US citizen to provide it with support or resources, financial help or weapons. Financial institutions are also required to block its assets. 

Its members are also barred from entering the United States and can also be deported. 

US Secretary of State Colin Powell made the recommendation less than a week after returning from a tour of Southeast Asia, which included a stop in Manila to bolster support for the Philippine government’s anti-terrorism campaign. 

With the CPP now considered a terrorist organization by the US, Ople said this might spur the Netherlands to extradite communist rebel leaders Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni to Manila. 

That possibility could also force the rebels to sue for peace, he added. 

The government has long been asking the Netherlands to extradite Sison, the CPP’s founder, and Jalandoni or limit their movement for making threats against the Philippine government. 

Both live in exile in Utrecht, although Jalandoni is now a Dutch citizen. Despite evidence submitted by Manila, the Netherlands refuses to hand them over, saying they have committed no crime. 

"We also understand that it is possible that certain threats made by the CPP-NPA leadership in the Netherlands against US citizens and interests can be considered under US law as terroristic threats and, therefore, a crime," Ople said. "This issue would then largely be a matter of cooperation between the US and the Netherlands." 

"We have always maintained that the Dutch government should not give the communist rebels sanctuary," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja said. "Now we can use the US declaration as a leverage against the Dutch government in asking them to bring Sison and Jalandoni to justice." 

The NPA made a statement in April, believed issued by Sison, ordering the guerrillas to "inflict severe casualties on the invading US forces and to take punitive action against US economic and related interests." 

Earlier, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the US announcement was "expected due to the serious threats they have been making against innocent civilians, including Americans and US interests." 

Days ago, Sison ordered the NPA to attack power lines in response to Mrs. Arroyo’s order last week to redeploy troops fighting the Abu Sayyaf in Western Mindanao – also considered a terrorist group by Washington – against the NPA. 

Apparently to avoid being considered a terrorist by the Netherlands, he retracted his statement the following day and claimed that he was making "analytical commentary" on the insurgency and not an order to attack. 

The Philippines earlier this year was seen as the second front in the US-led global war on terrorism. 

About 1,000 US troops left the country last week after holding six-month joint military exercises to train Philippine forces fighting the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines. 

The Abu Sayyaf suffered serious setbacks during the Balikatan exercises. 

Mrs. Arroyo said the communist rebels took advantage of the military’s preoccupation with the Abu Sayyaf in recent months to step up attacks and infiltration of villages. 

Defense relations between Manila and Washington improved considerably after Mrs. Arroyo became one of the first world leaders to declare support for the US-led war against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. — With reports from Sandy Araneta, AFP

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