27 May 2002
Today, Dr. Rodolfo Puente Ferro (a veteran of the Cuban revolution, founder member of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) and Head of the African section of the CPC) and Blade Nzimande, the General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) signed a Co-operation Agreement committing the two parties to ongoing co-operation, solidarity and mutual support.
This followed a CPC-SACP Bilateral meeting held in the SACP Head Office earlier today. The CPC-SACP meeting saluted the sterling and important work done by Cuban doctors in South Africa. Over the last few years they have seen more than 2 million patients, successfully conducted tens of thousands of medical operations and saved countless lives. They have sacrificed their lives and families in Cuba in order to serve the people of South Africa. The CPC and the SACP salute these heroes for their love for the people of Cuba, South Africa and other developing countries.
Through this Co-operation Agreement both the CPC and SACP are committing themselves to the deepening of struggles and solidarity between our peoples, in particular against the illegal and unjust economic blockade imposed by the United States of America on Cuba.
Both the CPC and the SACP condemn the recent false allegations made by the US President George Bush that Cuba is producing weapons of mass destruction. This is a veiled cover to continue with the unjust and illegal economic blockade.
This blockade includes the illegal and unjust conviction of five Cuban Americans in December 2001 in Miami (Florida US) on false charges.
The US government falsely accused them of spying for Cuba and murder. As their defence proved, these charges were false. They have been sentenced to long prison terms, solitary confinement and some even to life imprisonment.
The real reason that they have been victimised is because of their principled defence of Cuba whilst they stayed in the USA. Part of the Cuban Solidarity work in South Africa will include work to ensure that these heroes receive a fair appeal. The CPC-SACP meeting calls on all South Africans to express their solidarity with these heroes of the Cuban revolution.
The CPC-SACP meeting appreciated that the SACP and other organisations are part of efforts to build a strong and vibrant Cuban solidarity movement in South Africa and the SADC. SACP activists and structures are currently involved in the building of the Friends of Cuba Society (FOCUS) in all provinces of our country.
The CPC-SACP Co-operation Agreement also covers the following:
The current CPC visit will include the following activities:
Tuesday, 28 May
Wednesday, 29 May
Thursday, 30 May
CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel 011 339 3621
Fax 011 339 4244
Cell 083 651 0271
Email sacp1@wn.apc.org