13 August 2016
SACP statement delivered by the Second Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Solly Mapaila at the celebration of Comrade Fidel Castro`s 90th birthday in Soweto, South Africa.
Today, 13 August 2016 Comrade Fidel Castro, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution turns 90! The South African Communist Party (SACP) joins the lovely Cuban people and the entire world`s revolutionary movements struggling for world peace, political liberation and universal economic emancipation in celebrating the life of the world`s most influential and great leaders, Comrade Fidel Castro, and in wishing him a happy birthday!
As we do so, we recall with a deep sense of solidarity the more than 600 assassination attempts at Castro`s life by the imperialist United States of America. But we also do so, equally important, with an overwhelming joy for his survival from each and every one of those deadly assassination attempts!
We whole-heartedly congratulate Castro and the Cuban people for staying the course of the struggle for freedom. For more than half a century since the Cuban Revolution, 1 January 1959 the imperialist interference of the U.S and manoeuvres by its collaborators failed to impose a regime change in Cuba and to destroy the Cuban people`s determination to pursue their own transformation and development trajectory of socialist construction!
The U.S has not changed its destructive agenda on Cuba. It maintains its draconian regime of an illegal economic blockade of Cuba, yet it is seeking normalisation of relations with Cuba.
The SACP is calling on the U.S to remove its inhuman economic blockade of Cuba, to terminate its regime change agenda and discard all measures, including the so-called soft power, by which it seeks to overthrow the government of the people of Cuba.
Let us, all the democratic people and revolutionaries of the world, draw our inspiration from the revolutionary spirit of Castro, take our cue from his enduring resilience and strengthen our solidarity with the Cuban people.
For so long as there is an oppressor, in this case that is the U.S and its imperialist allies, not only will the Cuban people but all of us remain oppressed in one way or another by those imperialists.
For all of us to achieve our freedom there is no option but to intensify revolutionary solidarity with each other and deepen our struggle against foreign dictatorships such as that of the U.S imperialist regime and its allies.
As Southern Africans we are saying thank you; we are saying thank you as South Africans; a big thank you to Castro and the Cuban people for defeating the racist apartheid South Africa in Angola paving the way to the liberation of the whole of Southern Africa and to our current democratic transition in South Africa. More than 2 000 Cubans gave their lives to defeat the racist regime of apartheid South Africa in Angola.
Comrade Castro, to you and the Cuban people we say, we are aware that when you left Angola after the historic victory you did not demand anything, you did not leave with anything but the corpses of your fallen combatants. We will forever be indebted to you for the march to freedom in our region and country, the march that you left behind for us to continue.
You taught us that a better world is possible through revolutionary struggles, that we must never lose confidence in the conviction of humanity to confront oppression in the struggle for freedom. We are continuing the revolutionary march.
We want to assure you that our revolution remains intact towards defeating the recalcitrant and brutal capitalist system. Capitalism has deepened class inequality and articulated it along race and gender. The racist system of capitalism has further deepened class inequality by reproducing poverty and unemployment, the latter mostly affecting the youth. This rotten system of capitalism continues its spectacular failure to solve the economic and broader social problems facing humanity. It continues to privilege the elitist few who, alone and privately enjoy the wealth produced by the labour of society.
We would like to take this opportunity, Comrade Castro, presented by your 90th birthday to also say thank you and the Cuban people for your unparalleled legacy of internationalism.
Thousands of the Cuban people, including educators, health practitioners and engineers have served humanity across the world. They continue to do so in pursuit of human development and in defence of human life. Very recently, Cuban health professionals took a lead in combating the Ebola outbreaks in Africa.
We say thank you for the training of health professionals from across the world, including the U.S, in Cuba.
You will always remain a great and unmatched example to all revolutionaries. Enjoy your 90th birthday, and may you and your revolutionary spirit see many more to come!
Long live the great revolutionary icon of humanity, Comrade Fidel Castro, long live!
Issued by the SACP.