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Havana. January 9, 2009
Never again will pain return to the hearts of mothers nor shame to the souls of all honest Cubans!
Speech given by General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, president of the Councils of State and Ministers, for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Santiago de Cuba, January 1, 2009, 'Year of the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution'
Women and men of Santiago;
People of Oriente;
Combatants of the Rebel Army, of the underground struggle and of every combat in defense of the Revolution throughout these 50 years;
Compatriots;
On a day like this, our first thoughts are for those who died in this long struggle. They are a paradigm and a symbol of the effort and sacrifice of millions of Cubans. Closely united, taking up the powerful weapons signified by the leadership, teachings and example of Fidel, we learned in the rigors of battle how to transform dreams into reality; how not to lose our heads and confidence in the face of danger and threat; to raise our spirits after major setbacks; to convert every challenge into victory and to overcome adversities, however insurmountable they might have seemed.
Those of us who have had the privilege to experience this stage of our history in all its intensity are well aware of the accuracy of the warning that he gave us that January 8, 1959, in his first speech after entering the capital:
"The dictatorship has been overthrown. The joy is immense. However, there is much to be done. We shouldn't deceive ourselves by believing that in the future everything will be easy; maybe everything will be more difficult in the future," he concluded.
For the first time, the Cuban people were attaining political power. On this occasion, alongside Fidel, the Mambises did enter Santiago de Cuba, leaving behind exactly 60 years of absolute domination by the nascent U.S. imperialism, which would not delay in demonstrating its real intentions by preventing the entry into this city of the (Mambí) Liberation Army.
The great confusion and, above all, the enormous frustration generated by the U.S. intervention were likewise left behind. But the Mambí Army, despite its formal dismantling, never lost its fighting spirit and the ideas that guided the arms of Céspedes, Agramonte, Gómez, Maceo and so many other of our forebears and combatants for independence.
For more than 50 years our people lived through corrupt governments and fresh U.S. interventions, the Machado dictatorship and the frustrated revolution that defeated him. Later, in 1952, the coup d'état, with the support of the U.S. government, reinstated a dictatorship, a formula applied in those years to ensure its dominion in Latin America.
It was clear to us that the armed struggle was the only way. Once again, revolutionaries would have to face - as Martí did before us - the dilemma of the necessary war for independence, truncated in 1898.
The Rebel Army once more took up the Mambisi weapons and, after the triumph, was transformed for ever into the undefeated Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The Centenary Generation, which assaulted the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Garrisons in 1953, had Marti's significant legacy, had his humanistic global vision that reaches beyond the attainment of national liberation.
In historical terms, the time between the frustration of the Mambisi dream and the triumph of the War of Liberation was a brief one. At the beginning of that period, Mella, one of the founding members of our first Communist Party and of the FEU (Federation of University Students), became the legitimate heir and bridge linking Marti's thinking to the most advanced ideas.
Those were years of a maturing of the awareness and action of workers and campesinos, and of the formation of a genuine, valiant and patriotic intelligentsia which has accompanied us to the present.
Cuban teachers, the loyal repository of the fighting traditions of their predecessors, sowed those traditions in the finest of the new generations.
From the very moment of the triumph it was evident to every humble man and woman that the Revolution was an avenging social cataclysm of justice that was knocking on every door, from the Fifth Avenue mansions in the capital of the country to the most miserable and remote shacks in our rural and mountain areas.
Revolutionary laws introduced not only fulfilled the Moncada program but exceeded it in bounds in the logical evolution of the process. Moreover, they established a precedent for the peoples of Our America, which 200 years previously, had initiated the movement of emancipation from colonialism.
In Cuba, American history took a different turn. Nothing morally valuable has been at a remove from the whirlwind that even before January 1, 1959, began to sweep away opprobrium and inequalities, while opening the way to the immense effort of all the people, determined to give themselves what they deserve and have raised with their own sweat and blood.
Millions of Cuban women and men have been workers, students or soldiers; sometimes all of these as circumstances demanded.
Nicolas Guillén's masterly synthesis summed up the significance for the people of the triumph of January 1959. "I have what I had to have," says one of his poems, not in reference to material wealth, but to being the owners of our own destiny.
This is a doubly meritorious victory, for it has been attained despite the sick and vindictive hatred of the powerful neighbor.
The promotion and support of sabotage and banditry; the Playa Girón [Bay of Pigs] invasion; the blockade and other economic, political and diplomatic acts of aggression; the constant campaign of slander aimed at denigrating the Cuban Revolution and its leaders; the October [Missile] Crisis; the hijackings of and attacks on civilian planes and sea vessels; state terrorism, with its terrible result of 3,478 dead and 2,099 maimed; attempts on the life of Fidel and other leaders; the murder of Cuban workers, farmers, fishermen, students, diplomats and combatants; these and many other crimes bear witness to the obstinate insistence on extinguishing, at any cost, the beacon of justice and honor signified by the dawn of that 1stt of January.
One after another, all the U.S. administrations have constantly tried to impose a regime change in Cuba, using one way or another, with greater or lesser aggression. Resistance has been the key word and the explanation for every one of our victories throughout this half-century of uninterrupted battling, in our invariable starting point was to fight for ourselves, while acknowledging the widespread and decisive solidarity we have received.
For many years, Cuban revolutionaries have abided by Martí's apothegm: "Freedom comes at a heavy price, and one must either resign oneself to living without it or decide to but it cost what it may."
In this plaza, on the 30th anniversary of the victory, Fidel told us: "We are here because we have been able to resist." Ten years later, in 1999, from this same balcony, he affirmed that the Special Period constituted "the most extraordinary page of revolutionary and patriotic glory and firmness [.] when we were left totally on our own in the middle of the West, just 90 miles away from the United States, and we decided to continue forward." End of quote. Thus we repeat it here today.
It has been a firm resistance, far from any fanaticism, based on solid convictions, and on the resolution of all of the people to defend them at any cost. At this time, our glorious five heroes are a living example of that unshakable determination. (Applause and exclamations of "Viva!")
Today, we are not alone facing the empire on this side of the ocean, as was the case in the 1960s when, in January 1962, the United States imposed on the OAS the absurdity of the expulsion of Cuba, the country that, shortly before, had been the victim of an invasion organized by the U.S. government and escorted to our coasts by its warships. As it has been confirmed, that expulsion was precisely the prelude to a direct military intervention only prevented by the deployment of the Soviet nuclear missiles leading to the October Crisis, known to the world as the Missile Crisis.
Today, the Revolution is stronger than ever and has never ceded a millimeter in its principles, not even in the most difficult circumstances. That truth is not changed in the least by the few who might tire or even renege on their history, having forgotten that life is an eternal battling.
Does that signify that the dangers have diminished? No, it does not. Let's us not delude ourselves. As we commemorate this half-century of victories, it is time to reflect on the future, on the next fifty years, which will also be ones of constant struggle.
Observing current turbulences in the contemporary world, we cannot think that the coming years will be easier. I am saying this not to scare anyone, but because it is pure reality.
We should also keep very much in mind what Fidel told us all, but especially the youth, at the University of Havana on November 17, 2005: "This country can destroy itself, this Revolution can destroy itself; those that cannot destroy it are them [the enemy]; it is us who can destroy it, and that would be our fault," he stated.
In the face of this possibility, I ask myself: What is the guarantee that something so terrible for out people would not occur?
How to avoid such a numbing blow that it would take a very long time to recover from and to attain victory once again?
I am speaking on behalf of all those who have been fighting from the moment the first shots were fired on the walls of the Moncada barracks 55 years ago and of those who fulfilled heroic internationalist missions.
Of course, I am also speaking in the name of those who fell in the Wars of Independence and, more recently, in the War of Liberation. I am speaking in the name of them all, and in the name of Abel and Jose Antonio, of Camilo and of Che, when I affirm, in the first place, that that demands from tomorrow's leaders that they never forget that this is the Revolution of the humble, by the humble and for the humble; (Applause); that they should never be misled by the siren songs on the enemy and should be aware that, given its very essence, the enemy will never cease to be aggressive, dominating and treacherous; that they should never distance themselves from our workers, our campesinos and the rest of the people; that Party members must prevent the destruction of the Party. Let's learn from history.
If they act in this way, they will always have the support of the people, even if they err in matters that are not in violation of basic principles. But, if their actions were to be inconsistent with such conduct, they wouldn't even be able to count on the necessary strength or opportunity to rectify, because they would have lost the moral authority that the masses only grant to those who never yield in the struggle. They could end up impotent in the face of external or internal danger and incapable of preserving the work that is the fruit of the blood and sacrifice of many generations of Cubans.
Nobody should be in any doubt that if that were ever to happen our people would put up a fight, and today's mambises would be in the frontline; they would never be ideologically disarmed nor would they ever lay down their swords. (Applause and exclamations)
It befalls the historical leadership of the Revolution to prepare the new generations to assume the enormous responsibility of continuing to move ahead with the revolutionary process.
This heroic city of Santiago and all of Cuba were witness to the sacrifice of thousands of compatriots, the accumulated anger at so many lives cut short by crime, the infinite pain of our mothers and the sublime courage of their daughters and sons.
This was the birthplace of a young revolutionary, killed when he was only 22 years of age, a symbol of that disposition to sacrifice, of that purity, courage and serenity, and of that love for our people: Frank País García.
This eastern land was the birthplace of the Revolution. It was here that the clarion call was made in La Demajagua and on the 26th of July; it was here that we landed in the Granma and initiated the battle in the mountains and the plains, the same struggle that later extended to the entire island. As Fidel said in History Will Absolve Me, "Here, every day seems as if it is going to be once again that of Yara and Baire."
Never again will poverty, ignominy, abuse and injustice return to our land!
Never again will pain return to the hearts of mothers be filled with pain nor shame to the soul of every honest Cuban!
That is the firm resolution of a nation on a war footing; a nation that is aware of its duty and proud of its history. (Applause)
Our people are well aware of every shortcoming in the work they have raised with their own hands and defended with their own lives. We, the revolutionaries are our own fiercest critics. We have never hesitated to publicly discuss our flaws and errors. There are plenty of past and recent examples.
From October 10, 1868, disunity was the main cause of our defeats. After January 1, 1959, the unity forged by Fidel has been the guarantee of our victories. Our people have been able to preserve that unity despite all of the vicissitudes and attempts at division, and have rightly placed shared aspirations above differences, crushing petty self-interest by dint of collectivism and generosity.
Revolutions can only advance and endure when the people take them forward. Having comprehended that truth and having invariably acted in accordance with it has been a decisive factor in the victory of the Cuban Revolution over its enemies, and over seemingly insurmountable difficulties and challenges.
As we arrive at the first half century of the victorious Revolution, let us pay tribute first to our marvelous people and their exemplary decision, courage, loyalty and internationalist and fraternal vocation; to their extraordinary demonstration of will, spirit of sacrifice and their confidence in victory, in the Party, in its maximum leader and, above all, in themselves. (Applause)
I know that I am expressing the sentiments of my compatriots and of many revolutionaries in the world, when I pay tribute to the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz. (Applause and exclamations)
One individual does not make history, we know that, but there are some indispensable people capable of decisively influencing its course. Fidel is one of them; nobody doubts it, not even his bitterest enemies.
In his early youth he adopted as his own one of Martí's thoughts: "All the glory in the world can be fitted into in a kernel of corn." He converted that into a shield against the fatuous and the transient, into his principal weapon for transforming praise and honor - even if well-deserved - into greater humility, honesty, fighting spirit and the love of truth, which he has invariably placed above all else.
He made reference to these ideas, 50 years ago, in this same plaza. His words that night are totally valid today.
At this very special moment when we meditate on the road we have trodden and, above all, of the even longer journey ahead, when we reiterate our commitment to the people and to our martyrs, allow me to conclude by recalling the premonitory alert and the call to combat made by the Commander in Chief in this historic place on January 1, 1959, when he stated:
"We do not believe that all of the problems are going to be easily solved; we know that the way is fraught with obstacles, but we are people of faith, who always stand up to great difficulties. Our people can be sure of one thing, and that is that we might be mistaken once or many times, but the only thing that can never be said of us is that we stole, that we betrayed."
And he added:
"We will never let ourselves be led astray by vanity or ambition, [.] there can be no greater reward or satisfaction than fulfilling our duty," he concluded.
On this date full of significance and symbolism, let us reflect on these ideas, which constitute a guide for true revolutionaries; let us do so with the satisfaction of having fulfilled our duty up until now; with the guarantee of having lived with dignity the most intense and fruitful half-century of our country's history and with the firm commitment that, in this land, we will always be able to confirm with pride:
Glory to our heroes and martyrs! (Exclamations of "Glory!")
¡Viva Fidel! (Exclamations of "¡Viva!")
¡Viva la Revolución! (Exclamations of "¡Viva"))
¡Viva Cuba libre! (Exclamations of "¡Viva!")
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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