Dear Sir
January 1, 2023, we joined the good people of Cuba to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution; an event that changed the face of Cuba. The Cuban Revolution was launched on 1 January 1959, and led by the late Commandant Fidel Castro. This historic event of the Cuban Revolution has deeply influenced numerous struggles in many parts of the world.
This year’s anniversary is celebrated also in the background of the inauguration of President Lula da Silva of Brazil. Sadly, the event has been robbed of its annual fanfare due to the death of the King of Soccer, King Pele.
The success of the Cuban Revolution has never been in the good books of the United States government from the beginning. The US saw that the overthrow of its client, the corrupt dictator General Fulgencio Batista posed a threat, even though not the case, to its economic, political and military interests, including the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Batista was a military dictator, who brutalized Cuba from 1952 to 1959.
The US had refused to talk to the leaders of the Cuban Revolution, and instead invented every covert activity to isolate the Caribbean nation, unleash collective punishment, wreck its economy and destabilize the Island’s institutions. This policy has continued to this date and the aim remained the same- to force the Cuban people to rise up and overthrow their revolutionary government. But this has failed and the Cuban Revolution is thriving without compromising its underlying values and socialist principles.
In spite all attempts to inflict harm on the revolutionary government Cuba did not abandon other nations and peoples that were fighting to free themselves from the shackles of colonialism and other foreign domination. Cuba played important role in the liberation struggle of Africa and other nations.
So, National Liberation Movements all over the world saw the Cuban Revolution as a good example to free their countries and peoples from the manipulative mechanism of imperialism. In the process, the Cuban Revolutionary Leader, Fidel Castro had to survive 317 assassination attempts on his life. Out of its own weak powers, due to the US blockade and undeclared economic war, Cuban accompanied South Africa to obtain its freedom and national sovereign independence from the obnoxious apartheid regime in 1994. Before this time, most countries of Africa had their independence with the support of the revolutionary government of Cuba.
The Cuban people will always celebrate January 1, as the day of freedom and human dignity, thankful to the Cuban Revolution. Despite the unjust blockade and other coercive actions initiated by the US, Cuba has achieved success in areas such as food security, health care, education and amateur sport. As manifested on the ground, in all of these, the Cuban Revolution has continued to extend its solidarity to help poor countries that really need help in nation-building and prosperity.
Although many of the great leaders who led the Cuban Revolution, including unforgettable figures like Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Vilma Espín and many others, are no longer on the scene and have succumbed to the will of God, their living monument, and that of the Cuban Revolution, is to be found in the changed living standards of the Cuban people and in the hearts of struggling people across the world.
On this historic day, we call on the US to have a second look at its policy towards Cuba and to remove all threats and obstacles that hinder the development of that country and people.
We call on the Joe Biden administration in Washington to follow the footpath of its predecessor, former president Barrack Obama and restore a peaceful, harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship with Cuba. This we believe was one of the reasons for US citizens rejected former president Donald Trump’s bid for re-election in 2000.
Long live Cuba!
Long live the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS).
Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh
International Executive Director
Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS)
