ABORIGINAL NEWS GROUP STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF DR. FIDEL ALEJANDRO CASTRO RUZ

29.11.16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ABORIGINAL NEWS GROUP STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF DR. FIDEL ALEJANDRO CASTRO RUZ

A Communiqué from the ANG Public Information Bureau:

To the Sovereign People of La República de Cuba
To the International Indigenous Community
To all Colonised Peoples of the Fourth World
To all Brothers, Sisters and Comrades taking part in Anti-Colonial and Anti-Fascist Struggles


To Our Comrades in the Republic of Cuba and Across the Fourth World,

We, the editors of the Aboriginal News Group are saddened by the news of the passing of our comrade-in-struggle, Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, and we extend our sincere condolences, our solidarity and well wishes to his family; his friends and associates; his revolutionary colleagues and to all of the People of República de Cuba who gained (and retained) their national independence under his political and philosophical leadership.

For many in the Fourth World, Dr. Castro represented much more than Cuban Socialism. And if we look up to him, it is because he passionately articulated the struggles, dreams and hopes of millions of oppressed people(s) across Latin America; the Arab World and the Asian and African continents while ‘democratic’ and imperialist interests pursued capitalistic controls and gains at the expense of human and political rights across the Third and Fourth Worlds.

In objective reflection of his record, it is clear that history has indeed absolved Dr. Castro. He was a brave revolutionary commandant, an astute diplomat and a unique political philosopher that changed the course of history in Latin America. His passing also represents the close of an era that saw a massive change in how repressed populations and nations would decide to define their ‘Right to Struggle’ and conceptualise their own ideas of statehood. 

Dr. Castro was without equal. As a proletarian political leader, he devoted his entire life to the cultivation of an autonomous Socialismo Américas in Latin America and actively supported the international anti-colonialist, anti-racist struggles of the Third and Fourth Worlds. Under his direction and the generous goodwill of the Cuban people, the personal sacrifices of thousands of doctors; nurses; educators; engineers; soldiers and their families have worked (hard) to fight for a better world across the globe.

His political; military and infrastructure assistance to the African National Congress (ANC) anti-Apartheid struggle and the development of a new, post-colonial reality across the whole of Africa will never be forgotten. He is still praised for his unconditional support of Arabic anti-colonial struggles, Palestinian independence movements and mid-east communist organisations and this commitment was displayed when the Cuban government dispatched army units in support of Syria in the 1970’s and again in 2015. Greater Asia also received material and moral backing from Dr. Castro in his support of their right to their own forms of government and national independence. South Asians still remember, with affection, when Dr. Castro famously embraced Indira Gandhi at the sixth Non Aligned Movement conference and when he intervened and prevented a political crisis between Yasser Arafat of the PLO and the Jordanian government in New Delhi in 1983.

Having said this, it is also true that revolutionary excesses did occur and that political over-zealousness had indeed inspired unnecessary abuses by the Castro government upon many innocent Cubans. We rightfully praise Dr. Castro as a extraordinary leader, but he was not flawless. And we would be remiss not to soundly condemn Dr. Castro’s (chiefly defensive) allowances for unwarranted arrests; arbitrary political detentions; the physical and psychological torture of suspected traitors and the unlawful executions (during the post-revolutionary period) of army, police and government personnel who were accused of vicious crimes against private citizens, centrist nationalists, communists and their supporters. And no serious revolutionary committed to positive social change would dismiss a legitimate critical analysis of his detrimental decisions.

However, it is accurate to state that Anglo-Saxon puritanism – as expressed through American Exceptionalism and aggressive colonial subterfuge – decided long ago that the US government knew what was best for Cuba and has done whatever they thought necessary, since the end of the Spanish-American War, (and not through ethical means) to break the back of public support for the Cuban Revolution and its leftist leadership. In truth, the US government has always harboured a paternalistic view towards the Cuban People and has never respected their desire to be independent of foreign domination. This demand for independence is offhandedly perceived as childish insolence. And much like an abusive parent, the efforts and means employed to undermine Cuban sovereignty say more about the United States than it does about Dr. Castro or the positive nationalist revolution he lead.

Generations of conspicuous political hostility; unfair economic and trade blockades and (documented) black-bag sabotage operations waged against the island nation of Cuba – and Dr. Castro personally – by the principal capitalist power on the planet would be enough to make any government paranoid. Mistakes were made. But despite this, Dr. Castro and his Cuba have persevered and maintained their national independence. And his personal example of principled, revolutionary fortitude has served as a role model to socialists and communists; Indigenous nationalists; anti-imperialist revolutionaries and anti-fascist fighters around the world. 

Our comrade Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz – as Che before him – will live on spiritually in the hearts and minds of the oppressed and the revolutionaries who go forth with the struggle on behalf of those who cannot.

We can only hope that the Communist Party of Cuba will endeavour, in the aftermath of his passing, to ‘stay the course’ by working towards a Cuban Socialism that faithfully works for Cuban people without outside intervention. And we trust that historically and politically conscious Cubans will continue to resist a forceful return to a capitalist, colonialist-economy and sociopolitical environment wholly dominated by corporate-controlled agriculture interests; self-centred vulture capitalists; organised criminal organisations and pugnacious military-industrial opportunists.

The best way to pay our respects to Dr. Castro is to support the international movement he has represented since 1959. And we can do this by learning from the errors of the past and looking forward towards a brighter future for all oppressed peoples, everywhere.

If he could speak, he would demand no less from each and every one of us.


In Revolutionary Solidarity,

Viva Fidel!
Viva Cuba!
Viva the International Struggle!

– Editors of the Aboriginal News Group.

[Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:04:05 +0000 / 1480367045]

For further inquiries please contact:

ANG Public Information Bureau / The Fourth World:
apnsnews@gmx.pt