The Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Türkiye commemorated the 67th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, a foundational event that took place on January 1, 1959, and which irreversibly marked the history of Cuba and of the peoples of the world, opening the path to a profoundly humanist, sovereign, and solidarity-based project, led by the historic leadership of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.
The event, held at the Konak Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center in the city of Izmir, also marked the beginning of the commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, whose life and work continue to serve as guidance and an ethical reference for the emancipatory struggles of peoples against imperialism, domination, and injustice.
Held under the title “The people who made the Revolution, the Revolution that lives in the people,” the gathering was organized by the José Martí–Cuba Friendship Association and was attended by the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Türkiye (TKP), Kemal Okuyan, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Ankara, Alejandro Díaz Palacios, as well as representatives of political forces, social organizations, and friends in solidarity with Cuba.
The event was deeply marked by a tribute to the 32 Cuban combatants who lost their lives in Venezuela as a result of imperialist aggressions while carrying out internationalist missions. The ceremony began with a solemn moment of silence in honor of the fallen, reaffirming the revolutionary principle that an organized people is invincible.
In his address, Ambassador Alejandro Díaz Palacios highlighted the internationalist vocation of the Cuban people, forged over decades of resistance, even under the conditions of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than sixty years. He emphasized that Cuba has never renounced its commitment to solidarity with the peoples of the world and recalled the example of the Cuban combatants who, with courage and determination, defended sovereignty, life, and dignity, not only of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, but also the dignity of the Cuban people themselves.
Likewise, the Cuban Ambassador condemned the cowardly military aggression by the United States against Venezuela, demanded respect for Venezuela’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence, called for the immediate release of the Constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and his wife, Deputy Cilia Flores de Maduro, the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the Caribbean, and respect for Latin America as a Zone of Peace.
The Ambassador expressed his appreciation to the Communist Party of Türkiye for the solidarity demonstration held in front of the United States Embassy in Ankara on the day of the attacks, a gesture that reaffirmed the bonds of brotherhood and shared principles between the peoples of Cuba and Türkiye. He concluded his remarks by invoking the historic slogan of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz:
“Homeland or Death! Socialism or Death!”
The program included the screening of the documentary “In Praise of the Revolution,” as well as the projection of a fragment of the speech delivered by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, during a mass rally held in Havana immediately after the U.S. attack against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The presentation was accompanied by chants of solidarity and expressions of firm support for Cuba and Venezuela.
Subsequently, the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Türkiye, Kemal Okuyan, addressed the audience, affirming that the forces of imperialism are not invincible and paying tribute to the Cuban combatants who fell while fulfilling internationalist missions. He recalled that those who undertake such duties do not seek recognition or glory, yet their sacrifice also belongs to the peoples who struggle for a more just and sovereign world.
The event concluded with the screening of the documentary “Tribute to the Revolution,” which highlights essential moments of the Cuban revolutionary process and its enduring commitment to international solidarity, even in the face of aggression, external pressure, shifts in the global balance of power, and economic hardship.
Sixty-seven years after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, and at the start of the commemorations marking the centenary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, the gathering in Izmir reaffirmed that the Cuban Revolution does not belong solely to history, but continues to live in its people and in the conscious solidarity of the peoples of the world.
