Pretoria, March 24, 2019.- After her arrival in South Africa on the morning of today, the Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, Inés María Chapman attended the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Freedom Park.
With the laying of a floral offering, in this, her first activity as part of the program of activities in South Africa, the Vice President paid a deserved tribute to the Cuban heroes and to the thousands of combatants who lost their lives in the struggles for the liberation of Africa and the overthrow of the racist apartheid regime.
Participated in the commemoration, Cuban and South African fighters who served in the struggle against the apartheid regime, in the liberation of other countries of the continent and in the liberation of South Africa; Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the Minister of Defense and Military Veterans of South Africa; the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa, Michael Masutha; the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pamela Tshwete; the Ambassador of Cuba in Venezuela Mairin Moreno, the Ambassador of Cuba in South Africa, Rodolfo Benítez Verson; a representation of the Society of Friends of Cuba (FOCUS), Cubans residents in South Africa, South Africans graduated in Cuba and officials of the Embassy of Cuba.
During the event, the Vice President accompanied by the attending ministers handed out recognition certificates to the attending combatants. The South African ministers, one of the Cuban fighters and one South African, issue emotional speeches about the significance of Cuito Cuanavale struggle in the overthrow of the apartheid regime and the liberation of southern Africa. The act concluded with the performance of the song "It has not been easy" by the Cuban singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés by Dianelis Forestal Mejías, official of the Embassy of Cuba, and the speech of the Ambassador of Cuba in South Africa Rodolfo Benítez Verson.
Freedom Park is a monumental site of 52 hectares. The names of the freedom fighters in Africa are embedded in one of its huge walls measuring 697 meters. The name of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz also joined the list in 2017, by decision of the authorities of the installation.
