Jose Ma. Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines founder living in exile in the Netherlands since 1987, has been arrested by Dutch authorities in Utrecht Aug. 27 allegedly because he issued the orders to murder his political associates, Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, in the Philippine several years ago. Reports are that the arrest was based on the filing of murder charges against him by Philippine authorities.

"The communist leader was suspected of giving orders, from the Netherlands, to murder his former political associates in the Philippines, Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara," the Dutch national prosecutor's office said in a statement quoted in an Agence France-Presse report.

Kintanar and Tabara led a faction of the CPP that broke away from the party in the early 1990s. They were subsequently assassinated by the New People's Army, the CPP's armed wing.

Lawyer Jose Jalandoni, son of National Democratic Front (NDF) chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni, said he was on his way to see his client but could not confirm if the arrest of Sison was related to the murder charges filed against the CPP founder in the Philippines.

However, Jalandoni said he did not know of any murder charges Sison is facing in The Netherlands, where the CPP founder has been living in exile since 1987.

In a separate phone interview, one of the lawyers helping work for the resumption of peace talks between the government and NDF said a judge and policemen went to Sison's house in the town of Utrecht to interrogate him.

The lawyer then said Sison was brought to The Hague, the Dutch capital.

The negotiations have been stalled for around three years because of the inclusion of the CPP, NPA and Sison in the terror lists of the United States, European Union and other countries.