Ucapan selamat Joma
Message from Indonesian comrades
The history of revolutionary movement has its scientific and natural way of giving birth to its leaders. The practice has proved it. The revolutionary movement in the XIX century was build by Marx and Engels, the two founders of Marxism. It was the first generation of proletariat movement. The revolutionary movement of the XX century has given us three outstanding leaders: Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong. Today, the blazing revolutionary proletariat movement is forging its best leaders.
On the occasion of celebrating comrade Joma´s 70th birthday and more significantly his 50 years of service to the Filipino people and the people of the world pursuing the revolutionary proletariat line, we are honored to be offered the opportunity to express our appreciation.
Comrade Joma is one of the best leaders ever born by the revolutionary proletariat movement in the Philippine. In the beginning of the 50s, at young age, he was already directly involved in arousing and organizing anti-feudalist and anti-imperialist mass struggle. Then in the period of 1968 to 1977 he was one of the most responsible leaders in the reestablishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines, guided by Marxism-Leninism and Mao-Zedong Thought. That was the most important period in the history of the revolutionary proletariat movement in the Philippines and was decisive for the following periods. He led the rectification movement with the objective of criticizing, repudiating and correcting the errors committed and the manipulations made by modern revisionism which has caused great damages to the proletariat movement worldwide. That kind of task would always be present in each historical period of the movement. Lenin did it against right deviation of the social democrats (classic revisionism) and Mao Zedong continued the scientific and consistent leadership in the proletariat movement against modern revisionism.
The task of the revolutionaries of arousing popular mass struggle can not be separated from the task of formulating correct revolutionary theories in accordance with the concrete situation of the proletariat worldwide and with the particularities of their countries. Applying Marxism-Leninism and the fundamental thought of Mao Zedong in accordance with the concrete situation of the Revolution in the Philippines has been carried out correctly by the revolutionary comrades of the Philippines. The works of founding the base can not be separated from the role played by comrade Joma. The correctness of the guiding theory and the political line which has been carried out has been proved successful by the continuing development and extension of the revolutionary movement in the Philippines.
The present revolutionary subjective force in the Philippines, without doubt, is the most significant not only in Asia and semi-colonial and semi-feudal countries in the world but also in the world proletariat movement. It would not be exaggerating to say that today , Asia is the centre of the most advanced revolutionary movement and one of the most advanced representative is represented by the Filipino revolutionary proletariat movement under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
A correct line held firmly, determination and consistency in facing difficult times full of sufferings and hardships caused by the repression of the reaction are of fundamental importance. No revolutionary movement could exist without confronting the governing reactionary classes. Arousing and organizing people’s struggle against the dominant reactionary classes is the daily task of the revolutionaries worldwide. That is why repression, torture, slanders, prison, assassination, in short, death is the greatest risk in the life of all revolutionaries.
Comrade Joma has given us a good example. He personifies the attitude of firmness, consistency and perseverance of a revolutionary, very much needed in advancing the revolutionary struggle in the Philippines and inspiring the world revolutionary movement. He has successfully resisted the fascist persecution carried out by the government of Marcos and the present reactionary government of Gloria Macapagal. Persecution and harassment come also from the US imperialism, who, using slanders and vulgar rudeness, continuously strives against the revolutionary movement in the Philippines.
After the attack to the twin tower in New York on 11 September 2001, under the guise of “war on terror”, US imperialism put revolutionary organizations and their leaders as their targets, among them, comrade Joma himself. Living in a country which has been refusing to recognize his status as political refugee, going through difficult days , full of intimidation, he become a genuine internationalist.
Through his different theoretical works, and consistency in practice, comrade Joma has shown himself not only as the leader of the struggle for national liberation and democracy in the Philippine, but also as the inspiration for the struggle in semi-feudal and semi-colonial countries, and an outstanding figure in promoting Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as guiding theory with universal values for today’s revolutionary proletariat movement. Comrade Joma is an all-round revolutionary. Beside being an outstanding intellectual, he is an artist, a poet who finds his inspiration in common people’s lives and revolutionary struggle.
Comrade Joma is not only the leader of the Filipino people. He leads the most militant and consistent anti-imperialist struggle through the united front in the ILPS which is a formation integrated by 171 mass organizations from 30 countries spread all over the five continents: Asia, Africa, America, Europe and Australia. In its Third General Assembly celebrated in Hongkong, 2008, he was reelected as chairman of the ILPS. His leadership is of great importance in the midst of the deepening crisis of imperialism which would transform many countries throughout the world into potential sources of generating revolutionary movements.
Jose Maria Sison is actually not an unknown figure to the proletariat movement in Indonesia. In the 60s, being a student in Jakarta amidst the seething and stormy struggle of the Indonesian people, he became a witness and a disciple of the revolutionary movement of the people of Indonesia. And then in the 80s and 90s, comrade Joma and the Communist Party of the Philippines could not be separated from the role of being a teacher to the young generation of Indonesians who wanted to learn theoretically and practically from the progress of the revolutionary movement in the Philippines. The historical relationship of international solidarity between the Filipino and Indonesian revolutionaries which has been developing positively and mutually favorable will only get closer and will significantly advance the whole revolutionary movement, especially in the area of Asia Pacific .
On this special occasion, all democratic and revolutionary forces of Indonesia, once again, would like to express our greatest respect for comrade Joma. Our biggest hope is that the revolutionary movement in the Philippines, in which comrade Joma has an important role, would be able to advance and achieve one victory after another, and liberate the Filipino people from the repression and exploitation of the dominating reactionary classes and establish New Democracy with socialist perspective.
Congratulations on your 70th birthday and long life to you, comrade Joma!
Glory to the revolutionary movement in the Philippines!
Long live the friendship between the Filipino and Indonesian peoples!
Long live the International Solidarity!
