Philippine Communist Party leader Jose Maria Sison died Friday night at the age of 83 after spending two weeks in a Dutch hospital, his party said Saturday.
Sisong is the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, whose military arm, the New People’s Army (NPA), is waging an armed rebellion in one of the world’s longest-running rebellions.
More than 40,000 people have died in conflicts between the NPA and the Philippine government.
“The Philippine proletariat and hard-working people mourn the death of their teacher and guiding light,” the party said in a statement on its website.
He has lived in Europe since the late 1980s after being released from prison after the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Sison was placed on the US terrorist list in 2002 and was barred from traveling.
The party said Sisson died peacefully around 8:40 pm local time on Friday after being held in a hospital in Utrecht.
“While expressing our condolences, we pledge to continue to do our best and remain determined to advance the revolution, guided by the memory and teachings of the people’s beloved Ka Joma,” the party said.
Sisung is also known as Joma, where ‘ka’ means comrade.
Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, made ending the conflict a priority when he took office in 2016, but was enraged by repeated attacks by rebels during the talks, prompting a peace effort. I gave up.
At its peak, the NPA had 25,000 armed fighters, but now has about 2,000, the military said.
