Philippine communist chief Jose Maria Sison died on Friday night time on the age of 83 after a two-week confinement in a hospital within the Netherlands, his celebration mentioned on Saturday.
Sison is the founding father of the Philippine Communist Party, whose navy wing – the New People’s Army (NPA) – has been waging an armed insurrection in one of many world’s longest-running insurgencies.
The battle between the NPA and the Philippine authorities has killed greater than 40,000 folks.
“The Filipino proletariat and toiling people grieve the death of their teacher and guiding light,” the celebration mentioned in an announcement on its web site.
The self-exiled communist chief has lived in Europe because the late Nineteen Eighties, after his launch from jail following the autumn of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose namesake son was elected president in a May election this yr.
Sison was placed on a US terrorist checklist in 2002, stopping him from touring.
The celebration mentioned Sison died peacefully at round 8:40 p.m. native time on Friday after being confined within the hospital in Utrecht. It didn’t give a motive for Sison’s confinement.
“Even as we mourn, we vow (to) continue to give all our strength and determination to carry the revolution forward guided by the memory and teachings of the people’s beloved Ka Joma,” the celebration mentioned.
Sison was also referred to as Joma and “Ka” means comrade.
President Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, had prioritized ending the battle when he took workplace in 2016, however he deserted peace efforts, infuriated by repeated insurgent assaults throughout the talks
At its peak, the NPA had 25,000 armed fighters, however now has about 2,000, the navy has mentioned.