Oslo, October 11, 2024. On the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the fall in combat of Ernesto Che Guevara, members of the Norway-Cuba Friendship Association, the Communist Party of Norway, Cuban and Latin Americans friends living in this country, diplomats from the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the staff of the Embassy of Cuba, took part in a political and cultural event held in this capital on October 9 to pay a well-deserved tribute to the heroic guerrilla figther.
The president of the Friendship Association, Cihan Karakoc, was in charge of the introductory words of the event.
In her speech, the Cuban Ambassador, Maité Rivero Torres, recalled the circumstances of Che's capture and subsequent assassination in Bolivia and quoted President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez when he said: "History only remembers the cowardice of those assassins, but Che's colossal example endures and multiplies day by day."
The truth is that Che has not died, the Ambassador noted, as he remains a benchmark for good people and progressive forces around the world, who continue to seek in him inspiration to advance in the construction of a better world. In Cuba, she said, his figure becomes eternal when the new generations assume him as their paradigm and also when the people as a whole, united, grow, resist, make their way in the face of the adversities imposed by the US blockade, and move forward.
After recalling the historic date of October 10, 1868, which marked the beginning of the struggle for Cuban independence, the diplomat stated that the example of Che, of patriots like Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, and of Fidel, grows and multiplies in the Cuban people, who will not give in and will forever defend their Revolution and the Socialism.
The Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Ramón Gordills Montes, also took the floor, highlighting Che's relevant qualities, his significance in the history of the Cuban and Latin American revolutionary process, as well as the importance of following his example at the current juncture.
Ane Hoel, member of the Friendship Association's Board, read excerpts from the article “Che Guevara and the Revolution”, by Norwegian writer and journalist Sigbjørn Hølmebakk, published in 1968.
The program of the event included the screening of the documentary “From Gaza to Cuba”, recently released by the U.S.-based media outlet “Belly of the Beast”, as a way of expresing solidarity towards the just cause of the Palestinian people and exalting how the Cuban people follow Che´s legacy of solidarity and internationalism.
This documentary shows how, while the US finances Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Cuba, unjustly considered by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism, is training hundreds of young Palestinians as doctors, among whom is Murid Abukhater, who, while his family and friends are facing the bombings, struggles to concentrate on his studies and dreams of returning to Gaza as a doctor to help save lives. (Embacuba Norway)