22nd July 2002
The 11th Congress of the South African Communist Party (SACP) will launch an international campaign for the release of five Cuban heroes who were unjustly and illegally convicted in the United States of America. The US government 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. Their trial is part of the USA's illegal and immoral economic blockade against Cuba which has been in place for more than 40 years. The SACP calls on all South Africans to express their solidarity with these heroes and people of the Cuban revolution. These heroes are Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Rene Gonzalez Sechwrert, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, and Ramon Labanino Salazar.
The launch of this campaign underlines the international significance of the SACP's 11th Congress. The Congress will be attended by more than 60 international delegates from our region, from elsewhere in Africa, and indeed from all continents refer to list below. Some of the delegates will represent Communist and progressive parties that are in power in their countries, others will represent mass parties that exercise very substantial political influence in their countries. The opening of the Congress will also be attended by members of the diplomatic corps drawn from embassies and high commissions of close to a dozen countries with diplomatic relationships with South Africa. The idea that socialism has disappeared globally is something that we shall be challenging both in our theoretical discussions, and, practically with the evidence of international participation in the 11th Congress.
The SACP Congress will also focus on Africa
The agenda of this panel discussion will be as follows:
Tudeh Party of Iran
The struggle for democracy and socialism: The balance of forces in the Middle East
Communist Party of Israel
The agenda and class character of the Israeli state
Communist Party of the USA
The agenda and role of the USA in the Middle East crisis
Palestinian People's Party
The situation in Palestine
AKEL (Progressive Party of Working People of Cyprus)
International Solidarity with Palestine and the role of progressive forces
The SACP's 11th Congress will contribute to a better understanding of global realities, and a better and more robust understanding of what we have to do as South Africans in order to ensure that we do not lose our transformational agenda in attempting to please transnational investors.
The policy packages of neo-liberalism are resisted in countless ways by grass-roots communities, by indigenous minorities, by trade union movements, by (often conservative) fundamentalist religious movements, and many other forces throughout the world. Both in our country, and internationally, it is our experience that only a consistent socialist perspective is able to get to the roots of neo-liberalism, uncover its logic, maintain a consistent and clear critique of it, and develop coherent answers to its challenge.
The SACP intends to build on its capacity in this area, and thus play a leading role in the unfolding South African, Southern African and global struggles for development, democracy and national sovereignty.
LIST OF INTERNATIONAL DELEGATES TO THE 11TH CONGRESS
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel 011 339 3621
Fax 011 339 4244
Cell 083 651 0271
Email mazibuko@sacp.org.za