61st
Anniversary of Cuban Revolution
Cuba Marches On! Cuba Resists! Cuba Wins!
- Isaac Saney, Spokesperson,
Canadian Network on Cuba -
New Year's event in Vancouver, December 31, 2019, organized by Cuban
friendship organizations, celebrates 61 years of the Cuban Revolution.
Sixty-one years! It is sixty-one years since the
triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Sixty-one years in which Cuba
definitively and defiantly embarked on a path that established
authentic self-determination, placing the Cuban nation firmly in the
hands of its people.
 It is profoundly
poignant that the Cuban Revolution has not only outlasted 11 U.S.
presidential administrations but has also existed longer than the U.S.
neo-colony that was imposed on the people of Cuba in 1898 when
Washington militarily intervened in that heroic island nation just as
Cuba's liberation fighters were on the verge of throwing-off
once-and-for all the yoke of Spanish colonialism.
The Cuban Revolution is a culmination of the struggles for national
independence and social justice, first launched on October 10, 1868 by
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, carried forward and deepened by
José Martí in 1895, and revived periodically
throughout the first half of the 20th century when Cuba languished
under U.S. hegemony. It is, therefore, the crystallization and
consummation of the historical aspirations of the Cuban people,
manifested time and time again in their re-affirmation and
determination to defend, strengthen and perfect the revolutionary
project.
However, the empire has never accepted the verdict of the Cuban people;
it has waged an economic war and a campaign of destabilization aimed at
restoring U.S. imperialism's domination and tutelage.
In the face of unceasing and escalating U.S. hostility, the Cuban
Revolution has made an invaluable contribution to the global struggle
for justice, social development and human dignity.
Cuba holds an admirable place in the international community regarding
the protection and promotion of the rights of its citizens. Cuba is not
a haven for the economic violence that reigns in so many countries.
In Cuba everyone is guaranteed an education and access to universal and
free health care.
In Cuba no one is "disappeared" or the victim of extra-judicial
execution.
In Cuba there are no homeless roaming the streets, no one left to fend
for themselves, eking out an existence in a dog-eat-dog society.
Besieged by imperialism, the heroic island nation has made invaluable
contributions to the well-being of the world's nations and peoples,
having established an unparalleled legacy of internationalism and
humanitarianism.
More than 400,000 Cuban medical personnel have served in 164 countries
fighting disease.
More than 2,000 Cubans gave their lives in the struggles to liberate
Africa from the scourge of colonialism and apartheid.
What Cuba has done nationally and internationally is no small feat. Its
impressive achievements have occurred in the midst of an all-sided
brutal aggression by Washington. The U.S. economic blockade -- the
principal obstacle to Cuba's social and economic development -- has
cost the island nation in excess of $1 trillion U.S. dollars,
constituting a flagrant violation of the human rights of the people of
Cuba.
Washington's objective is the negation and extinguishing of Cuba's
right to self-determination and independence.
Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959, the Cuban
people have resisted all attempts to take away their independence and
freedom, and re-impose foreign domination. They have repelled the
unceasing economic, financial and propagandistic assault by Washington,
including the April 1961 mercenary invasion.
Cubans have never wavered in their revolutionary resolve and
commitment. As Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel
Bermúdez declared in his December 21, 2019 address to Cuba's
National Assembly: "United we have won! United we will win!"
Long Live the Cuban
Revolution!
¡Viva la Revolución Cubana!
¡Venceremos!
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 1 - January 25, 2020
Article Link:
61st
Anniversary of Cuban Revolution: Cuba Marches On! Cuba Resists! Cuba Wins! - Isaac Saney, Spokesperson,
Canadian Network on Cuba
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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