Fidel Castro during his historic visit to Angola, March 1977
An historic speech given by Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in 1975 about the support Cuba gave to the people of Angola in their fight against South African invasion and imperialist "rebels" at the time.
In November, 1975 the new leftist and anti-imperialist government of Angola was under threat of military defeat at the hand of these forces. In a move that stunned the world Cuban troops and aid arrived just in time to help defeat this attack.
This magnificent act of internationalist solidarity led to new blockades and embargoes by the US against Cuba itself.
In his speech in December, 1975 to the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, Castro reiterates Cuba's unwavering commitment to the anti-imperialist struggle and to the defeat of colonialism globally. He denounces the continued US and western imperialist support of racist Apartheid South Africa.
Castro says:
Some of them (the imperialists) wonder why we help Angolans, what interests we have there. They are accustomed to thinking that whenever a country does something it is in pursuit of oil, or copper, or diamonds, or some other natural resource. No!...We are fulfilling an elementary internationalist duty when we help the Angolan people.
Despite the success in 1975 staving off defeat the struggle against the imperialist forces would continue in Angola until 1988 with Cubans there to support Angola in many ways until the end. There were failures and setbacks along the way, of course, and with the counter-revolution in the USSR and the emboldening of imperialism there have been many setbacks since. But this remarkable victory remains.
Jorge Tamames wrote about this internationalist intervention by Cuba in Jacobin. He concluded of it that:
There should be nothing surprising in the realization that Castro’s interventions in Africa were imperfect. But...Cuba’s role in Angola should be looked upon as an example — perhaps the only one in recent history — of a foreign policy that was proudly interventionist, genuinely committed to emancipation, and in many ways successful. If we are to discuss internationalism in the twenty-first century, we could start from few better places.
An Act of Solidarity in ANGOLA
By Fidel Castro
Extracts from speech at the closing session of the first Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba on December 22, 1975.
While this Congress was being held, the President of the United States declared that, as a result of our aid to the sister people of Angola, any prospects or hopes or possibilities of improving relations between the United States and Cuba were more or less — cancelled.
It is odd that the President of the United States, Mr. Ford, should threaten us with that. Before, when we did have relations, they cut them off; when there was trade between the United States and Cuba. they cut it off. but now they have nothing else to cut off, and now they cut off hopes. (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE) This could be called 'the hope embargo' on the part of the President of the United States. (LAUGHTER) He has actually embargoed that which no longer exists. (LAUGHTER).
They were already indignant at the holding of the Conference of Solidarity with Puerto Rico, claiming that it seriously affected any possibility of improving relations. But, if we must renounce this country's dignity, renounce this country's principles in order to have relations with the United States. how can we possibly have relations with the United States?
Apparently, according to the mentality of the U.S. leaders, the price for improving relations, or for having trade or economic relations, is to give up the. principles of the Revolution. And we shall never renounce our solidarity with Puerto Rico. (APPLAUSE)
What kind of people do they think we are? What country do they think they are dealing with? The old Cuba? No! This is the new Cuba and this is a different country! (APPLAUSE) And until they get this fact into their heads. I cannot see any possibility of improving relations. because we shall never desert our Puerto Rican brothers, even if there are no relations with the United States for a hundred years. (APPLAUSE)
Now it is not only Puerto Rico; now it is also Angola. In all our revolutionary process we have always followed a policy of solidarity with the African revolutionary movement. One of the first things the Revolution did was to send arms to the Algerian combatants who were fighting for their independence. This impaired our relations with the Government of France, which was indignant at the fact that we were sending arms to the Algerian combatants and supporting them in the United Nations and in every international forum. But we were firm in that policy and helped them.
After the victory of the revolution, when the new Algerian state had to face certain risks and certain dangers, we did not hesitate in sending them our help, and we did send it.
As regards those who fought in Guinea-Bissau - we have the case of Pedro Rodrigues Peralta, member of the Central Committee, who was fighting side by side with the patriots of Guinea-Bissau.
We have given our support to the progressive governments and revo-lutionary movements in Africa since the very moment of the victory of the Revolution. And we will continue supporting them! (APPLAUSE)
This assistance has taken different forms: sometimes we have sent weapons, on other occasions we have sent men; we have sent military instructors, or doctors or construction workers, and sometimes we have sent all three, construction workers, doctors and military instructors. (LAUGHTER) Loyal to its internationalist policy, what the Revolution has been doing since the beginning is to help whenever it can help, wherever it may be useful and, moreover, wherever this help is requested.
Similarly, we are helping the MPLA and the people of Angola, (AP-LAUSF) with whom we have had relations and have been cooperating since the very beginning of their struggle for independence against Portuguese colonialism. Many of the Angolan cadres studied in Cuba.
But, what happens? Undoubtedly, Ford's statements are occasioned by the fact that the imperialists are irritated with us. And why are they irritated? Because they had it all planned to take hold of Angola before November 11.
Angola is a territory rich in natural resources. Cabinda, one of the Angolan provinces, has large oil deposits. This country has great mineral wealth - diamonds, copper, iron. This is one of the reasons why the imperialists want to take hold of Angola.
And the story is perfectly well known: many years ago, when the imperialists realized that these colonies would some day fight for their liberation, they began to organize their movements. Thus, they organized the FNLA, with CIA people. We are not the ones who say so, it has just been exposed by The New York Times in detail that the FNLA was organized by the CIA.
When the Angolan people were about to attain independence - just as Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Verde and other countries attained their independence - imperialism worked out a way to crush the revolutionary movement in Angola. They planned to take hold of Cabinda, with its oil, before November 11, to seize Luanda before November 11. And to carry out this scheme, the U.S. government launched South African troops against Angola.
You know that South Africa is one of the most hated and most discredited states in the world, for three million whites oppress fourteen million black Africans. And there they have established one of the most ignominious, shameful and inhuman regimes that could ever be thought of, condemned by the whole of the world progressive movement, condemned by all nonaligned countries, and condemned by the United Nations.
South Africa not only maintains this fascist and racist regime in the south, but also occupies the territory of Namibia, where it has established a kind of protectorate.
And the U.S. government, absolutely devoid of all scruples, launched the South African regular troops against Angola. Thus Angola was being threatened on the north by the FNLA and was attacked on the south by regular troops organized into armoured columns. Everything was ready to take over Angola before November 11. And the plan was very solid; it was a solid plan; the only thing was that the plan failed. They had not counted on international solidarity, on the support given to the heroic people or Angola by the socialist countries, in the first place, and by the revolutionary movements and progressive governments of Africa, or the support we Cubans, among the world's progressive governments, also gave Angola. (APPLAUSE)
The imperialists did not count on that. What was the result? On November 8 they launched an offensive against Cabinda and were crushingly repelled. What they went through in Cabinda was a sort of Giron: in 3 days, in 72 hours, the invaders were annihilated. In Luanda, they were 25 kilometers from the capital on November 10; they attacked with armoured columns; now they arc more than 100 kilometers from Luanda. The South African armoured columns, which had been attacking since October 23 and had advanced some 700 kilometers in less than 20 days, in a sort of military parade, were halted at more than 200 kilometers from Luanda and have not been able to advance any further.
That is how the heroic struggle of the Angolan people, supported by the international revolutionary movement, has made the imperialist plan fail.
And that is why the imperialists are irritated with us, among others. Some of them wonder why we help the Angolans, what interests we have there. They are accustomed to thinking that whenever a country does something, it is in pursuit of oil, or copper, or diamonds or some other natural resource. No! We are not after material interests and, logically, the imperialists do not understand this, because they are exclusively guided by chauvinist. nationalist and selfish criteria. We are fulfilling an elementary internationalist duty when we help the Angolan people! (APPLAUSE) We are not looking for oil, or copper, or iron; we are not looking for anything at all. We are simply practicing a policy of principles. We do not remain passive when we see an African people, a sister people, that the imperialists all of a sudden want to swallow up, and that is brutally attacked by South Africa. We do not remain passive, nor will we remain passive!
Thus, when the imperialists ask us what are our interests, we will have to say: 'Look, read a manual on proletarian internationalism so that you may understand why we are helping Angola.'
That is the cause of their irritation and threats.
Can you imagine what this country's future would be like if the price of renewing relations with the United States were a return to the past? (SHOUTS OF 'NO!') That this country refrain from expressing its solidarity with its revolutionary brothers in the rest of the world? (SHOUTS OF 'NO!)
That we refrain from expressing our solidarity with the Vietnamese, the Lao People, the Cambodians, the Africans, the Yemenites and the Arabs, and with Syria, Algeria, Guinea and all those countries? (APPLAUSE)
Our policy of solidarity is no secret. And one of the factors, one of the finest elements of this Congress was international participation. On the one hand, the presence of the representatives of the countries which have helped us, and among them the delegation of the Soviet Union, (APPLAUSE) which has given us great proofs and great lessons of internationalism. Because, in spite of the distance between us, the Soviet Union did not allow imperialism to stifle us, to swallow us up and to destroy us, because it sent us oil when they left us without oil, because it sent us weapons when we were threatened with aggression, because it also sent us men when they were needed. (APPLAUSE)
And numerous representatives of prestigious countries have been present. They have spoken and have addressed our people with great affection and with great respect, and have made us feel that we belong to a great revolutionary family, and that that family is a powerful one. (APPLAUSE)
The representative of Algeria spoke here. The representative of the Republic of Guinea spoke here. The representative of Guinea-Bissau spoke here. The representative of Somalia spoke here. The representa-tive of Yemen spoke here. The representkive of the Congo spoke here. The representative of Syria, a country at the vanguard of the struggle against imperialism in the Middle Fast. spoke here. (APPLAUSE)
And it is no secret to anyone that at a given moment of danger and threat for the Republic of Syria, our men were in Syria. (APPLAUSE) It is also no secret that at a moment of danger for the Republic of Algeria, our men were in Algeria. (APPLAUSE) And the cooperation of our people and of our Armed Forces with numerous countries in Africa and Asia has been very broad. And to the Vietnamese we said: 'For Vietnam we are willing to give our own blood!' (APPLAUSE)
Thus this revolutionary family has been forged. What is imperialism aiming for? That we break with this family? (SHOUTS OF 'NEVER!') That we stop being a people in solidarity with those sister peoples fighting against imperialism? (SHOUTS OF 'NEVER!') Then, which hopes or possibilities or prospects are embargoed. by the President of the United States? Because at that cost, then, there will never be relations with the United States! (APPLAUSE) Despite the fact that the policy of our Revolution is a policy of peace and of relations and coexistence with regimes of different ideologies and of different social systems. But they are not satisfied. It is as though we were to tell them they had to carry out an agrarian reform or to nationalize the electric power company in order to establish relations with us. What sort of conditions does imperialism intend to impose on our country?
We practice our solidarity with Angola, we are helping Angola. And we will continue to help the people of Angola! (APPLAUSE) And what we ask of the Congress of our pry is simply to support the policy adopted by the leadership of the ,Party of helping the heroic people of Angola in all possible ways and with all possible means! (ALL DELEGATES, STANDING, RAISE THEIR CREDENTIALS, I.ONG APPLAUSE AND SHOUTS OF 'ANGOLA, ANGOLA, ANGOLA!')
Let the imperialists know what the stand and the line of our country is. On the other hand, a more stupid policy than that which the imperialists are following in that country cannot be conceived. It is stupid, for they have just come out of the adventure of Vietnam and they are getting involved in one as serious as that of Vietnam. Why? Why? We want to give you some facts.
South Africa, that is to say, the racists, fascists, of South Africa, are hated tremendously by all the peoples of Africa. To say South Africa in Africa is to say Israel among the Arab countries. The policy of the United States supporting the aggression and encouraging the aggression of South Africa against Angola divorces them from and makes then, the irreconcilable enemies of all the peoples of Africa.
But there is something else. The province of Cabinda is firmly in the hands of the MPLA. As I told you before, the attack on November 8 was vigorously repelled. From that moment on, the popular forces have grown in strength and it will not be easy for the imperialists to take hold of Cabinda. There is, however, large-scale oil production in Cabinda, on the shelf, and there are installations along the coast. There are many U.S. citizens working in oil extraction. And, in spite of the war, production has not stopped one single day. And these are U.S. enterprises, and it is the combatants of the MPLA who watch over those facilities and have offered security and guarantees to the U.S. citizens working in those facilities at Cabinda. While the United States arms mercenary armies, while the United States launches South African troops against Angola, the MPLA combatants guarantee and give security to U.S. facilities and citizens in Cabinda.
In our opinion, this policy is correct. It evidences calmness, it evidences wisdom, it evidences maturity on the part of the African revolutionary movement, Those facilities are difficult to operate. The technology of oil exploitation on the coast is very complex. And what has been the policy followed by the Angolans? To give security, to give guarantees, to facilitate the development of this work.
This also proves the common sense of the Angolans, the intelligent way in which they conduct their policy. And it proves that the African revolutionary movement is willing to negotiate the exploitation of any natural resources when it is to their convenience to do so.
Something the African revolutionary movement will never negotiate with is racism, apartheid; it will never negotiate with the occupation of Angola by South Africa. Because the occupation of Angola by South Africa represents a grave danger for the whole of Africa; the occupation of Angola by the racists of South Africa represents a grave danger for Zambia, it represents a grave danger for Mozambique, for Zaire and for the People's Republic of the Congo, it represents a grave danger for the whole of Africa. And Africa is determined to support the movement of the MPLA, the struggle of the MPLA. And there are ever more governments and more countries in Africa willing to send weapons and to send men to fight against the South African racists. Africa is not going to let itself be devoured by South Africa. And the Cuban people will be side by side with the African peoples in that struggle. (APPLAUSE)
If South Africa insists on its policy, on its attempt of getting hold of Angola, it will have to face the struggle with all Black Africa.
I do not think the European countries would do such a stupid thing as to associate with South Africa in that fascist and racist crusade; and it is undoubtedly an act of great stupidity on the part of the U.S. government to associate itself with that campaign, when the Angolans themselves are giving proof of their sober and correct policy, to the extreme - I repeat - that it is the MPLA combatants who are now guaranteeing the oil installations and U.S. citizens in Cabinda.
We do not understand how the Ford administration will be able to justify that before the U.S. public opinion, or what pretext he may oave in carrying out that policy of aggression against Angola, in con-nivance with the South African racists.
This is the foreign policy issue we wanted to discuss; we want to tell the imperialists that we are not after anything there, that we practice our traditional internationalist policy: that we are helping the people of Angola, and that we are firmly determined to help them! (APPLAUSE) And that we, of course, greatly regret that Mr. Ford finds himself in the need of having to 'cancel' and 'embargo' the hopes. As far as we know, those hopes, in the context of such a policy, had no grounds.
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