Johannesburg, July 26, 2023 - The Gauteng Chapter of the Friendship Association with Cuba, FOCUS celebrated the 70th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, with an emotional activity showing the twinning between the peoples of Cuba and South Africa.
The event was attended by members from the country's governing alliance: the African National Congress (ANC), the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
The Cuban side was attended by embassy officials and workers, as well as representatives of the cooperation brigades operating in the country.
In his speech, the Cuban Ambassador Enrique Orta González highlighted the importance of this date, which marked the beginning of the last stage of the Cuban struggles for definitive independence. It was the "first action of a small movement of young people willing to give their lives for the freedom and independence of Cuba".
The member of the national Parliament, Hope Papo, who also chairs FOCUS Gauteng expressed his solidarity with Cuba, as well as his strongest rejection and denunciation of the blockade and the inclusion of Cuba by the United States in its unilateral list of countries sponsoring terrorism. Similar messages were shared in their speeches by most of the attendees.