This morning, at the invitation of the Cuban Embassy in Greece, a ceremony was held to commemorate the 173rd anniversary of the birth of Cuba's National Hero, José Martí. The event took place in front of his bust in Athens, located in the Ilisia neighborhood.
Present were Mr. Loukas Karatsiolis, Director of the A7 North America, South America and Caribbean Division of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as ambassadors and other Ibero-American diplomats accredited to Greece. Among those in attendance were representatives of political parties, associations of friendship and solidarity with Cuba, and other members of the solidarity movement, Greek and Latin American friends, journalists and editors, as well as members of the Cuban community residing in Greece.
As is now tradition, the national anthems of Cuba and Greece were performed by the Athens Municipal Concert Band.
In his remarks, the Ambassador emphasized Martí's revolutionary ideas and anti-imperialist thought, stating that they are more relevant than ever because the empire that Martí denounced and warned against continues to act today with the same pretensions of supremacy, attempting to revive the Monroe Doctrine as an instrument of domination and coercion against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
In this context, he referred to the unjustified and criminal military aggression, a violation of the UN Charter and International Law, carried out against the brotherly Venezuelan people, in which the Constitutional President and his wife were kidnapped on their own territory, and dozens of people were murdered. In her remarks, she also remembered and paid tribute to the 32 courageous Cubans who lost their lives heroically confronting the aggressors and refuted the unprecedented pressures and threats and the economic war waged by imperialism against the Cuban people.
Cuban citizen Yanet Martínez spoke, recalling Martí's thought and condemning the actions of the U.S. government against Venezuela, the criminal blockade imposed on Cuba, and rejecting the threats they have been making against her people.
Those attending the ceremony placed floral offerings before the bust, and the Concert Band concluded the event by performing the world-renowned song "Guantanamera."