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Jose Maria Sison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 8, 1939 Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, USA-occupied Philippines |
| Died | December 16, 2022 (aged 83) Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Ilocano |
| Political orientation | Marxism–Leninism–Maoism |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Philippines |
Jose Maria Canlas Sison (February 8, 1939 – December 16, 2022), also known as Joma, was a Filipino Maoist revolutionary who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).[1] He also founded the New People's Army in 1969, and the US-backed Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship imprisoned him until its overthrow in 1986. Sison later went into exile in the Netherlands but continued to lead the party from abroad.[2]
Early life
Sison attended the University of the Philippines during the late 1950s in the midst of the McCarthyite witch-hunt against anyone vaguely progressive. He took part in challenging the reactionaries and formed the Student Cultural Association of the UP (SCAUP) in order to defend against their attacks and study Marxism. He graduated in 1959 with a degree in English literature before traveling to Indonesia and studying both the Indonesian language and the activities of the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1962, before returning to the Philippines and becoming a university professor.[3]
Revolutionary
In 1962 Sison began working with Labor Party Philippines organising educational material for major labor federations and edited the Progressive Review newspaper from 1963 to 1967. In late 1962 Sison also joined the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930) and became a member of the executive committee in 1963. He cofounded the underground communist youth organisation Kabataang Makabayan in 1964 and served as a lecturer in political science from 1964 to 1968 and taught future Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte among others.[3]
Due to ideological disagreements, such as over the Sino-Soviet split, Sison left the PKP-1930 and founded the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on 26 December 1968 and founded its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), on 29 March 1969. The CPP under Sison's leadership began a protracted people's war against the Marcos dictatorship even as Marcos became more and more brutal over time. Sison himself was captured by the regime on 10 November 1977 and imprisoned, suffering mental and physical torture along with over five years of solitary confinement out of the nine he was imprisoned. Sison was released by the new government of Corazon Aquino on 5 March 1986 not long after the fall of Marcos and his charges of subversion and rebellion were nullified.[3]
Later life
Not long after his release from prison, Sison travelled to the Netherlands but whilst there the Filipino government cancelled his passport forcing him to apply for political asylum in the Netherlands. Sison continued to work with the CPP from the Netherlands and served in an advisory role to the National Democratic Front. In 2002, Sison, the CPP and the NPA were all designated at terrorists by the US and its allies at the request of the Filipino government and Sison continued to be harassed by the West until his name was removed from the list through a decision of the European Court of Justice in 2008.[3]
In 2020 Sison betrayed the socialist movement and collaborated with US propaganda outlet Radio Free Asia, an outlet which Sison had himself previously denounced repeatedly. Sison released a message attacking socialist China through Radio Free Asia and announced that the CPP would target Chinese firms blacklisted by the Trump administration, which calls into question Sison's history as a revolutionary.[4] Sison died two years later on December 16, 2022.[3]
References
- ↑ "Workers World Party pays tribute to ‘Ka Joma’ Sison" (2022-12-23). Workers World. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
- ↑ "Party for Socialism and Liberation statement on the death of Comrade Jose Maria Sison" (2022-12-28). Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Obituary – Jose María Sisón, 8 February 1939 – 16 December 2022" (2023-01-04). Lalkar. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04.
- ↑ John Malvar (2020-10-18). "Communist Party of the Philippines targets Chinese firms blacklisted by Washington" World Socialist Website. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19.