đź“· : Some items on display at the Joma Sison Legacy Museum.
By Raymund Villanueva | Kodao Productions
A museum was opened in honor of Filipino revolutionary and founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Prof. Jose Maria Sison in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
The Jose Maria “Ka Joma” Sison Legacy Museum formally opened its doors to the public last September 19 with a ceremony led by Sison’s comrade-wife Julie de Lima and Utrecht City Council representative Noura Oul Fakir.
The JMS Legacy Foundation, creator and administrator of the museum said the project had always an aspiration of the foundation since it was created after Sison’s death in December 2022.
“The JMS Legacy Museum is for everyone. We are very proud to have the museum open to inspire all to learn from Jomaʼs life and legacy,” de Lima said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the honorees’ comrades and supporters.
The opening ceremony was attended by both young and old solidarity activists, admirers, comrades and friends who were later treated to a guided tour of the museum.
The museum features rare photos, such as Sison and de Lima with Mao Zedong China in 1967, as well as select videos of Sison’s last interviews.
It also displays documents and belongings that weave the history of the Filipino revolution with Sison’s life story.
“The JMS Legacy Museum provides a unique opportunity to take a glimpse into the life of Ka Joma as an ardent revolutionary, committed internationalist, respected public intellectual, and distinguished poet,” the Foundation said.
University of Utrecht professor Dr. Mario Fumerton said, “Professor Sison showed strong enthusiasm to discuss with young Dutch people and students about the Philippine struggle, and the need for social change.”
“Sison was well-loved and respected by the Filipino migrant community in the Netherlands,” said Dutch artist F. den Hollander who attended the event.
The CPP Central Committee in its tribute to Sison declared him as “among the greatest of Filipinos of the past century for masterfully and creatively applying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the Philippines and the Philippine revolution, and giving the Filipino people the strength to carve the countryʼs future and attain their aspirations for national freedom and democracy.”
The JMS Legacy Museum is open for walk-ins and guided tours with regular hours starting in October.
Utrecht is a historical university and religious city where Sison and the international office of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines have been based since the late 1970s.
