Reflections on Fidel Castro’s internationalism in Cuba on ICAP’s 65th anniversary

Some 240 activists and representatives of solidarity organizations and movements with Cuba from 32 countries highlighted today the internationalist thought and action of the historical leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.

Gathered at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), the participants reflected on the legacy of the institution’s founder, which will celebrate its 65th anniversary on December 30th, having promoted and coordinated international support for the causes of the world’s peoples.

Speaking on the panel, René González, director of the Fidel Castro Ruz Center, emphasized that Cuba’s commitment to solidarity arose and was strengthened in the struggles of Latin America and Cuba for independence, with the participation, commitment and solidarity of Latin American patriots in those struggles.

These values, González pointed out, are part of the humanist essence of the Cuban Revolution, which drew on the thought of  Cuba’s National Hero José Martí and the ideology of Fidel Castro, who stated that “To be an internationalist is to repay our own debt to humanity.”

For her part, the center’s deputy director, Sissy Abay, recalled that Cuban solidarity was expressed from the very first moments of the revolutionary triumph on January 1, 1959, through concrete actions in various parts of the world, and today Cuba is a recipient of that support.

According to the president of ICAP, Fernando González, solidarity is a fundamental pillar of Fidel Castro’s thought and action, and is understood here as a human duty and an unrenounceable principle of the Revolution, which continues to manifest itself in a practical and consistent internationalism.

At the event, representatives of solidarity organizations and movements from the United States, Australia, Europe, Asia, and several Latin American nations presented the actions they are taking to support Cuba in the face of its complex economic situation and the unprecedented intensification of the blockade and U.S. aggression.

Photos: Bill Hackwell

translation: Resumen Latinoamericano – English

Source: Siempre con Cuba