I am very happy that the European Court of First Instance (ECFI) has annulled all the decisions and the regulation of the Council of the European Union (EU) that have kept my name in its so-called terrorist blacklist, according to Prof. Sison.

The ECFI has ruled that the judgments of the Dutch State Council and the Legal Uniformity Chamber about my asylum case and those of The Hague District Court and Appellate Court about the false charge of murder, do not relate to the instigation of investigations or prosecution or to a conviction for terrorist activity, contrary to the requirements of European Community Law. Said court judgments in The Netherlands are in fact favorable to me but have been maliciously misinterpreted by the Council.

I thank all the people and organized forces in various countries for standing in solidarity with me in the struggle for my rights against the blacklist since 2002. I thank my international battery of lawyers for providing excellent legal assistance. I thank the International DEFEND Committee for rallying support for me beyond the confines of the court.

The main point in the ECFI judgment on my Case T-341/07 against the Council of EU is the removal of my name from the blacklist. As a consequence, my small bank account is unfrozen and I am allowed to engage in financial dealings like anyone else normally does. The ECFI judgment opens the way for me to exercise and enjoy the rights that have been curtailed and suppressed due to the false charge of terrorism.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel warmly congratulates its Chief Political Consultant Prof. Jose Maria Sison for his resounding legal victory in the decision of the European Court of First Instance to take him off the so-called terrorist black list of the European Union. We likewise heartily congratulate his international team of lawyers led by Jan Fermon of Belgium, who tirelessly worked for seven years to effectively counter the unjust terrorist listing by the Council of the European Union.

Seven years of EU terrorist listing and injustice are put to an end! The ECFI nullified the decisions and a regulation of the Council of the EU which unjustly labeled Prof. Sison as a "terrorist". The ECFI decision of 30 September 2009 demonstrated that Prof. Sison was not the subject of any investigation or conviction for any act of terrorism and therefore the Council of the EU had no valid ground at all to put Prof. Sison on its terrorist blacklist. The Court cited the statement of the then Dutch Foreign Minister De Hoop Scheffer on 8 October 2002 before the Dutch Parliament stating there was no reason to even start a criminal investigation against Prof. Sison. The Court noted that this was done less than three weeks before the Council of the EU put Prof. Sison on its terrorist blacklist on 28 October 2002.

The unjust blacklisting of Prof. Sison and two major allied organizations of the NDFP, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA) seriously prejudiced the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP. After the terrorist listing of Prof. Sison, the CPP and the NPA by the USA, the Council of the EU and some other governments, the GRP sought to divert the focus of peace talks from addressing the roots of the armed conflict through socio-economic and political reforms. It instead insisted on the NDFP to sign a so-called Final Peace Accord (FPA) it one-sidedly formulated.

Just as the terrorist listing has seriously jeopardized the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, so the major legal victory of our NDFP Chief Political Consultant, in the ECFI decision to take him off the terrorist black list, creates a favorable condition for the peace talks. It will encourage peace advocates in the Philippines and abroad to push further for peace negotiations that address the roots of the armed conflict.