18.12.22 an
To Julie de Lima
To information office cpp

Dear Julie, friends and comrades

we have learned last night that comrade Prof. José Maria Sison, founding Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, passed away on December 16, 2022 at the age of 83.

On behalf of the German Filipino Friends (GFF), we express our heartfelt and solidarity condolences to you and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its members. Joma´s death is a great loss!

Since the founding of GFF in 1996, Joma was a close friend to many of us. He inspired us all over the years to develop mutual international solidarity work and German-Filipino friendship. We supported his struggle in Germany against the listing as a terrorist through US- and EU-Imperialists and informed people about his outstanding continuous work over more than 60 years, fighting against imperialism, anti-communism, oppression and for socialism.

During his political imprisonment his will and fighting spirit was unbroken. He remains a role model and inspiration for many people in the world.

We appreciated attending his birthday parties in the Netherlands. We will remember him as an optimistic and a culturally, literarily and musically gifted person. He brought the just struggle of the Filipino people close to us and many people in the world.

We will continue our work in this spirit and will not forget him!

in solidarity
for the board of GFF
Dagmar and Rosi