RP wants exiled rebels to face charges

RP wants exiled rebels to face charges

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine government is studying how to seek the return from the Netherlands of an exiled communist leader on murder charges in the absence of an extradition treaty, an official said on Wednesday.

Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison and seven communist guerrilla leaders were charged on Tuesday in connection with the assassination of a lawmaker two years ago. Sison denied the charges.

But Dutch Justice Ministry spokesman Victor Holtus said on Wednesday the government had not received an extradition request nor had any contact with the Philippines.

The charges against Sison, who has lived in the Dutch city of Utrecht since 1987, are seen as part of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's talk-and-fight approach to the 34-year-old Marxist rebellion, considered the main security threat and a key impediment to economic development in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. --AP