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Book Launch: Analysis for Changing Society, the World

Two books of Jose Ma. Sison launched in Toronto

By Dyan Ruiz

Sison’s two books.

From left, Bayan Canada’s Diwa Marcelino, Makibaka and NDF’s Coni Ledesma and Jesse Benjamin of BASICS community newsletter.

Friends, comrades, compatriots and kababayans gathered last Friday (Sept. 11, 2009) for the book launch of the first two of four volumes of the revolutionary writer, poet, and activist Professor Jose Maria Sison’s collected works.

The group was also gathered at Central Neighbourhood House in Toronto for Coni Ledesma, who was there to introduce his works, and speak about the prospects for human rights and peace in the Philippines. Ledesma is a member of the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and is the spokesperson for Makibaka, an underground women’s organization.

Ledesma stuck to a short speech, which simply shared a few thoughts about her experiences with ‘Joma’ Sison as a person, then opened the public forum up for questions. Joma’s extraordinary ability to write and analyze were the main topics of her praise. She points out how prolific a writer he is, brimming with ideas and keen insights. “He can analyze society so deeply and see the trends” to the point where he foresees major events in the future, such as the current economic crisis. Later she remarks, “the biggest contribution of Joma’s talents is– he gives an analysis for changing society, for changing the world… He gives you the tools to move the revolutionary movement forward.”

For Justice, Socialism and Peace is the first installment of a four-part series of Sison’s works. Volume one covers a selection from 1991 to 1995. Volume two is called For Democracy and Socialism, Against Imperialist Globalization and covers from 1995 to 2000. The other volumes have yet to be released.
According to Sison, the works reflect the most important events and issues in the Philippines and the world within the periods concerned. These include the gross crimes of the US-directed Aquino regime, the Second Great Rectification Movement of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the Centennial of the Philippine Revolution, poverty and low technology in the Third World, and the first Iraq War.

During the question period following Ledesma’s speech, she commented on the status of the peace talks between NDFP’s negotiating panel and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). The peace talks have been at a standstill since 2004. A reason provided is that NDFP does not believe in a ceasefire as a precondition for peace talks, as the GRP demands. She points out that in the past few years, “There has been an increase in extra-judicial killings and human rights violations” in the Philippines, perpetrated during the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) government. For example, the abduction of Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo in 2006 by the military without a trial, and the subsequent 18 months of torture they endured before they escaped from a Filipino detention camp.

The NDFP will continue to pursue the revolution and their armed struggle against the government, in conjunction with their talks with the GRP, as the means for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines, which is their main goal. “The spirit as a whole is very high” within the NDFP, despite the increasing intensity of GMA’s repressions. This is said to reflect GMA’s increased desperation, the growing strength of the NDFP and their move to “a higher state of struggle”.

The event was hosted by Bayan Canada, a progressive Filipino organization, which was formed to link Filipinos in Canada with the struggles of those back home. They collaborate with the international arm of Bayan in their fight against conditions causing the Filipino people to suffer. They advocate against conditions, such as the rule of corrupt dictatorships, which compel Filipinos to choose to leave the country to come to places like Canada.

The event was co-sponsored by Basics, a group dedicated to building media free from government, corporate or NGO influence. Through their newsletter, website, and radio show, they work to publicize governments’ roles in peoples’ oppression, here and abroad. They expose the people’s movements against them, which allows Basics to both help and learn from uprisings, such as those the Philippines, in the hopes of developing the people’s movement in Canada.

Diwa Marcelino from Bayan Canada and J.D. Benjamin from Basics provided the opening remarks and introduced Ledesma, who spoke after an audio tape of Sison addressing the Toronto audience was played. Ledesma stood in for Sison because he cannot travel freely. He is on the US and European Union’s terrorism list. The latter decision is under appeal in Luxembourg. The result of the decision will be announced at a Press Conference on October 1. Sison is seeking asylum in the Netherlands as a political refugee.

Towards the end of the evening, there was a musical interlude of one of Sison’s poems, “What Makes a Hero.” It was performed by members of the organization, Philippine Advocacy Through Arts and Culture (PATAC), Belinda Corpuz and Mithi Esguerra. The angelic and heartfelt tones of Corpuz over Esguerra’s guitar melody provided an emotional climax to the evening. A common line was, “a hero serves the people.” It was a fitting conclusion to the night, which voiced repeated calls to take action to advance the struggle for national liberation, democracy and socialism. The event ended with the audience meeting and greeting Ledesma, who responded with a friendly and amiable smile.

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