A representation of Ghanaian political forces, graduates in Cuba, Cuban residents, academics, and other sectors, as well as personalities such as: former Ambassador Kojo Amoo Gotfreid; Mr. Kwesi Pratt, leader of the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG); Mr. Augustine Saakur-Karbo, General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), met at the Embassy of Cuba in Accra to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the assault on the barracks “Moncada” from Santiago de Cuba and “Carlos Manuel de Céspedes” from Bayamo.
The activity began with a minute of silence in memory of the recently deceased Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur. The Hon. Kofi Attor, director of International Relations of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Convener of the Solidarity Campaign with Cuba, made a summary of the meaning of the Cuban Revolution and the figure of the Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro, for the African continent. During his speech, he paid tribute to the Cuban internationalist combatants, emphasizing his decisive role in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which he said modified the correlation of forces in the south of the continent, ending apartheid. He also thanked Cuba for the presence of its collaborators in numerous countries in the region, including Ghana.
The Dr. Claribel Cabarrocas, on behalf of the Cubans living in Ghana, expressed the feeling of her compatriots by highlighting how thanks to the Revolution and Fidel they had the opportunity to study freely and to train as professionals. Mr. Benjamin Anyagre, thanked on behalf of the Association of Ghanaian Trained in Cuba (ESBECAN) the solidarity of the Greater Antilles, where they resided and were trained, mostly for more than ten years. The Hadj Abdul Hamid Samed, President of the NGO Institute for Peace and Progress, and who will visit Cuba in 2017, stressed his speech in the social work of the Cuban Revolution, especially in the fields of health and education.
The speakers explicitly condemned the criminal blockade that for more than fifty years has been imposed on the Cuban people for defending their sovereignty and national independence, and also denounced the attempts of the current US administration to destroy the path of dialogue initiated by the previous administration.
Mr. Michael Olusegun Oluusanya, a Nigerian youth resident in Ghana who recently visited Cuba, as part of the May First Solidarity Brigade, handed over a painting with a replica of the Moncada Barracks to the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Cuba, Julio Cesar Sánchez, who in his words of gratitude highlighted that military fortress assaulted 35 years ago, was transformed by the Revolution into a School City in which several generations of Cubans have been formed.
In his closing remarks, the Chargé d'Affaires ai, after thanking the government and the people of Ghana for their support to Cuba in the struggle for the lifting of the blockade, reiterated the significance of the 65th Anniversary, highlighting how major changes are taking place in Cuba, among them the election of Miguel Diaz Canel-Bermudez, as President of the Councils of States and Ministers, and the call for popular consultation of the new Constitution. He explained that what happens in Cuba is a continuation of the path traced by the generation that assaulted the barracks that 26th July, 1953.
The Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. who reiterated Cuba's solidarity with Africa and in particular Ghana, referred to how in 2019, when the Cuban Revolution reaches its 60th anniversary, it will also be 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ghana and Cuba, which were initiated with the historic meeting between Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.
The activity was covered by the Panafrican Television channel.