With a tribute to the Cuban internationalists who fell in Africa, whose more than 2,000 names are inscribed on the Wall of Names in Freedom Park, the member of the Political Bureau of the Party and vice president of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa, began his activities in South Africa, where he will participate today in the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the memorial that honors the women and men who have built the South African nationality, the Cuban leader was received by Pinky Kekana, Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture.
“It has been a long journey to get here, but when there is friendship, you don’t feel the distance,” he commented to the host, who waited for him accompanied by Ambassador Bheki Langa, president of the Freedom Park Council, among other personalities.
The Vice President paid tribute to the Cuban heroes with a wreath, placed by Dr. Annette Álvarez Pérez, collaborator and daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Álvarez Rivero, who fell in Angola in 1987. The tribute was accompanied by another offering, in the name of the authorities and people of South Africa, posted by Pinky Kekana.
Then Valdés Mesa held, in the main room of Freedom Park, an exchange of more than an hour with Cuban collaborators, as well as with representatives of the African National Congress (ANC), the trade union movement, the Communist Party and members of solidarity groups. .
The acting Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Maropone Ramokgopa, later joined the dialogue, bringing a message from President Cyril Ramaphosa to the visitor. Both leaders maintain a long-standing friendship, dating back to when they were both union leaders.
Participating in the conversation were Dudu Enkosi, leader of the Democratic Teachers’ Union of South Africa; Ben Martins, Secretary of International Relations of the South African Communist Party, and doctor Ricardo González Vergara, Cuban collaborator.
Vice Minister Pinky Kekana reviewed the history of relations between Cuba and South Africa, the close friendship that was forged between Nelson Mandela and Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, and reaffirmed “the commitment to maintain the excellent cooperation that both nations maintain.
“Here we are,” he said, “to honor the lasting friendship that exists between South Africa and Cuba, a friendship rooted in brotherhood and the struggle we share to achieve freedom,” he stressed, recalling the definitive battle that decided the independence of Namibia and the end of the apartheid regime: Cuito Cuanavale.
Between Cuba and South Africa, Kekana emphasized, there are deep and special ties, and, recalling Mandela’s words, he emphasized: “your history is our history, our history is yours.”
Valdés Mesa highlighted how, in “these moments of enormous challenges, we remember the sacrifices of the South African people to end apartheid, under the guidance of Madiba and the other giants he led.
“We Cubans feel healthy pride for having actively contributed to this fight, even with weapons in hand, as happened in the crucial battle of Cuito Cuanavale, alongside the brave Angolan and Namibian combatants.”
Valdés Mesa thanked his South African friends for their permanent solidarity towards Cuba at a time when the policy of maximum suffocation marked by the economic and financial persecution derived from the blockade continues.
He highlighted that, just as the internationalist fighters did before, “today thousands of Cuban aid workers continue to help improve the quality of life in African countries in sectors such as health, education, construction and agriculture.”
He especially recognized the collaborators in South Africa, “for their commendable work, which helps maintain the direct link with this beloved nation, and honors the legacy of Fidel and Che.”
He stressed that the “invitation that our Government received to participate in the inauguration ceremony of President Ramaphosa, in this new stage of South Africa, is another example of the affection and friendship towards Cuba, which you, with your work, help to nourish and perpetuate”.
WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA
An affectionate greeting from the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba to the leaders and militants of the Communist Party of South Africa (PCS) was conveyed by the Cuban Vice President to comrade Solly Mapaila, general secretary of the organization, with whom he held, on Tuesday night ( local time) a meeting also attended by Lefika Cherry, a member of the Focus Friendship Association, as well as other members of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party.
Mapaila, a great friend of Cuba and the Revolution, praised the presence of the official Cuban delegation, which will, in turn, allow exchanges between both organizations to continue.
Valdés Mesa updated his South African colleagues on the reality of the Greater Antilles, and thanked the PCS and Focus for their permanent solidarity towards Cuba, in the face of the effects of the United States Government’s blockade against our country.
He highlighted the important role of the alliances that have been created in South Africa and the African continent to fight against this genocidal policy, as well as for Cuba to be excluded from the spurious list of countries supposed to sponsor terrorism.
Accompanying the Cuban Vice President are Dr. Tania Margarita Cruz Hernández, First Vice Minister of Public Health; Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Enrique Orta González, Cuban ambassador to South Africa, and Luis Alberto Amorós Núñez, director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Directorate of Minrex.
Taken from Granma
