On March 28, Ambassador of Cuba, Rodolfo Benítez Verson, addressed the participants of the “Southern Africa Ministerial Roundtable on the UNESCO/AU Roads to Independence”, in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
PRESENTATION BY H.E. RODOLFO BENÍTEZ VERSON, AMBASSADOR OF CUBA TO SOUTH AFRICA AT THE GALA DINNER FOR THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE ON THE UNESCO/AU ROADS TO INDEPENDENCE. 28 March 2018
Thank you very much to the Ministry of Arts and Culture for inviting me to make some remarks on the 30th Anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale and its significance for Cuba, the Southern African region and the Continent as a whole.
Before doing that, allow me to briefly comment on the more general context so you can understand better the reasons behind the Cuban participation at that historical battle.
Relations between Africa and Cuba are profound and historic. As a result of the cruel slavery trade, nearly one million 300 thousand Africans arrived in our island centuries ago. After a complex process of transculturation, the Cuban nationality emerged. These realities are part of the essence of the Cuban nation.
Cuba feels extremely proud of its African roots. We selflessly shared the same fate of our African brothers and sisters in their struggle against colonialism and apartheid.
There is an African saying according to which: “The foot prints of the people that walked together can never be erased”.
The deep and special relationship between Cuba and Africa was cemented by the blood of heroic Cuban soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice combating in this continent for our belief in anti-apartheid, freedom and justice.
Cuba deployed for over 30 years close to half a million soldiers and officers in Africa, to support the struggles for national independence or against foreign aggression. More than 2 289 of them lost their lives.
The President of Cuba Raul Castro Ruz, when attending the funeral ceremony of President Nelson Mandela in SOWETO, said: “Cuba, that has African blood running through its veins, emerged as a nation in the struggle for independence and for the abolition of slavery. And later, enjoyed the privilege of fighting and building side by side with African nations”.
March 23, 2018 marked the 30th anniversary of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, a small town in the Angolan province of Cuando Cubango, 825 kilometers southeast of Luanda.
That remote town became a symbol of resistance and courage, after the victory of the Popular Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), together with Namibian, South African and Cuban internationalists, with the support of the Soviet Union, against the army of the opprobrious Apartheid regime.
By the beginning of November 1987, the South African armed forces had encircled the best Angolan units in the village and were preparing to annihilate them. The fall of Cuito was imminent, which would mean a devastating blow to the Angolan government.
The army of racist South Africa counted for its offensive with powerful infantry forces, modern combat aviation, tanks, long-range and anti-aircraft artillery, as well as high-precision weaponry.
In that context, once again, Cuba quickly responded to the Angolan government's call for assistance. Some dozens of thousands volunteer Cuban combatants, along with vital military equipment, traveled more than ten thousand kilometers from the Caribbean and crossed the Atlantic.
They reversed the travels of the slave ships that brought African slaves to Cuba in past centuries, and now returned to the land of their ancestors to rid the continent of racist domination.
The Cuban troops went south of Angola to attack from the southwest in the direction of Namibia. Meanwhile, 800 kilometers to the east, select Cuban units advanced towards Cuito Cuanavale and there they prepared a deadly trap for the powerful South African forces that were advancing.
The objective was not only to defend Cuito, it was to expel the South African Defense Forces from Angola once and for all. Commander in Chief Fidel Castro would describe later his strategy to the leader of the South African Communist Party, Cde. Joe Slovo. He explained that Cuba would stop the South African onslaught in Cuito and then attack in another direction, "like the boxer who keeps the opponent with the left hand and hits him with the right".
On March 23, 1988, the South Africans and the puppet armed group Unit for the Total Defense of Angola (UNITA), supported by the United States, launched their last major assault against Cuito. But they were definitely stopped by the revolutionary forces.
Fidel Castro emphasized the importance of the battle: "In Cuito Cuanavale the Cuban Revolution played everything, played its own existence, risked a large-scale battle against one of the strongest powers of those located in the Third World, against one of the richest powers, with an important industrial and technological development, armed to the teeth, at that distance from our small country and with our resources, with our weapons."
The Apartheid regime tried to present its defeat in Cuito as a tactical retreat. Throughout these years, some dubious authors have also tried to rewrite history, minimizing and even ignoring the relevance of the fight in Cuito Cuanavale. But the African revolutionaries never had doubts about who won the battle and its relevance.
African leader Oliver Tambo referred to Cuito Cuanavale as the Waterloo of racist South Africa.
Sam Nujoma, founding president of Namibia said: “The unprecedented Cuban heroic role in defeating the apartheid regime is one of the memorable and historic acts of international solidarity witnessed in recent history”.
Nelson Mandela would say about Cuba's participation in the fighting: "Your presence and the reinforcement sent to the battle of Cuito Cuanavale have a truly historic importance. The crushing defeat of the racist army in Cuito Cuanavale was a victory for all of Africa! That overwhelming defeat of the racist army in Cuito Cuanavale gave Angola the chance to enjoy peace and consolidate its own sovereignty! The defeat of the racist army allowed the fighting people of Namibia to finally achieve their independence! The decisive defeat of the aggression forces of apartheid destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the white oppressor! The defeat of the apartheid army served as an inspiration to the fighting people of South Africa! Without the defeat inflicted in Cuito Cuanavale our organizations would not have been legalized! The defeat of the army racist in Cuito Cuanavale made it possible that today I can be here with you! Cuito Cuanavale is a milestone in the history of the struggle for the liberation of southern Africa! Cuito Cuanavale marks the turn in the struggle to rid the continent and our country of the scourge of apartheid! "
Fidel Castro would explain years later: "We knew, how we were going to ignore it!, that those events would have a profound influence on the life of South Africa, and it was one of the reasons, one of the motivations, one of the great stimuli that drove us; because we knew that by solving the problem there in Angola, the forces that fought against Apartheid would also receive the benefits of our struggles."
Only when Pretoria complied with the obligations agreed in the peace agreement did the withdrawal of the Cuban troops from Angola take place, since the causes of their presence there had disappeared.
Our soldiers returned to our homeland with their heads held high, taking with them only the friendship of the African peoples, the weapons with which they fought with modesty and courage thousands of kilometers from their country, the satisfaction of the duty accomplish and the glorious remains of our fallen brothers.
We were not looking for gold, diamonds or oil in Africa. Comrade Fidel Castro said about the Cuban soldiers in Africa:
“From the African land in which they worked and fought voluntarily and selflessly, they only took back to Cuba the remains of their fallen comrades and the honor of having fulfilled their duty. That is why we know and value the human qualities of Africa much more than those that for centuries colonized and exploited this continent”.
The Cuban people, who then fulfilled their internationalist duty with arms in hand, today continues and will continue to develop their solidarity vocation, in the battles for health, education and development of the sister nations of Africa.
The Cuban Revolution is inspired by the maxim of our National Hero José Martí who said “Patria es Humanidad” – All of Humanity is our Homeland. We not only believe in this maxim, but we also practice it to the fullest
Despite our economic limitations and difficulties, we will not renounce any of our revolutionary and anti-imperialist principles; the defense of independence, social justice and people’s rights nor our commitment to cooperate with those in greatest needs.
Cuban cooperation workers, who work in all continents, will continue to make their contribution, including the 46 000 who are currently working in 61 countries, many of them in Africa, struggling for the life and health of human beings.
More than 29 000 Africans from 54 countries of this continent have graduated in Cuba. Some 6,000 Cubans are collaborating today in Africa.
In this 30 Anniversary of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, our first and emotional memory is for the fighters from Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Cuba who died defending noble ideals of justice and freedom. Cuito Cuanavale is a demonstration of how much we can achieve when we are united
The countries of the South must act together in solidarity. Alone, we will be swallowed by the strength of the powerful.
The blood spilled on Cuito Cuanavale was not in vain. We will never regret having written one of the most beautiful pages in the history of solidarity among peoples and among revolutionaries.
Thank you very much