speech made by Fidel Castro January 15 at the close of the Tricontinental Conference held in Havana. The translation is the official one published in the January 16 issue of the special English edition of the daily Granma provided for delegates at the gathering. We have attempted ,to follow the text: exactly, correcting only a few obvious” typographical errors.
(In our opinion the first part of the speech contains much — that is commendable, particularly its bold defiance of imperialism and its eloquent appeal for militant. resistance against the aggressive moves of: imperialism. We share.in, particular the view that true peace can be achieved.in Vietnam only "when | the Yankee imperialists. no longer occupy the territory or part of. ‘the territory of Viet Nam: and when the Yankee imperialists withdraw their’ mercenary troops and dismantle their military. bases in the territory of Viet Nam."
(In the first part of his speech, Castro stresses the need for unity in the difficult struggle against the imperialist foe. Unfortunately, in the last. part of his speech. he violates the very precepts he has. just..advocated so forcefully. He singles out a secm tor of the. revolutionary forces, for attack on a basis reminiscent of Stalin's time. His target is "Trotskyism." We have scheduled: for the next issue of World Outlook a full reply by the United Secretariat of the Fourth International, the. world party of socialist revolution founded by Leon. Trotsky in. (1928. This’ reply, we think, will prove to be of considerable. interest, to, ali well wishers of the Cuban Revolution... pid te Po ber ag - _ ;
(Meanwhile, we should like to point to just two “of the glaring flaws in. Castro! s attack. (1) Neither the publications he cites nor the individpals he. mentions are Trotskyis st. Aside from "Felipe Albaguante, leader of the Mexican Trotskyites, " a creation of. the — Mexico City El Universal and United Press International or even more sinister agencies, , Castro quotes lengthily from only one person who claims to be "Trotskyist." Castro: does not. identify him. We will. The lengthy quotations. are utterances of Posadas, the obscure leader of a small group that split. from the official Trotskyist movement a few years ago. Posadas holds opinions about the world situation that only a crank could entertain; they have nothing to do with Trotskyism or any other rational outlook. as can easily be verified by anyone genuinely interested in ascertaining the facts. (2) Besides refraining from quoting from official Trotskyist publications, all of which strongly support the Cuban Revolution, Castro says nothing about the North American Trotskyists who are struggling on a not unimportant front as revolutionary. socialists. The truth is that the Trotskyists in the United States and Canada have not only stood in the forefront of the defense of the Cuban Revolution from the beginning -- and pointed to it as an example for all Latin America and a source of immense inspiration to revolutionary socialists in the heartiand of imperialism -- they have constituted one of the main
sources inside the United States and Canada of documentary material about revolutionary Cuba. It should be sufficient to point out that they have published more speeches by Fidel Castro and the other Cuban leaders than any other. Political tendency in the English a speaking world... | .
(Castro's attack against "Trotskyism" will not change the attitude of the Trotskyists toward revolutionary Cuba. Their support is based on the -solid principles of. class solidarity with a workers state under-imperialist blockade and attack and not on personal admiration. for individual leaders ‘however brilliant their role. At the same time it is not the custom of the Trotskyist. movement to let an attack of this kind go by without reply. To do so: would be a disservice to the struggle for a socialist world, not to mention the interests of truth. As we indicated above, the official answer ‘of -the Fourth International has been scheduled for _Teproduc— tion in the next issue of World Outlook. )
Distinguished Delegates, —
Cuban Comrades:
The significance of this event which culminates tonight does not escape us. Despite the auguries and predictions of imperialism, revealing the imperialists' great. hopes that this Conference would bear no fruit, that this Conference,“in treating problems of. the international communist movement, was bound to be divided and doomed to failure, the results of the Conference have .been what they least expected: the Conference has been a SUCCESS; this Conference has created. a Tricontinental ‘Organization; it has arrived at agreements. which represent the most heartfelt. aspirations of the peoples struggling” for their liberation; it has created a Committee of Aid to Liberation Movements. And not only that,-there is yet another agreement ‘which’ unquestionably pains the imperialists ‘very much: that is, that Cuba has been chosen as the héadquarters of the Executive Secretariat of the Organization until the next Tricontin- | ental Conference | is held. (Applause. )
It is not-a duiestion of expressing here ar feeling of. national | pride. Because of thie particular circumstances. of jour country, its geographical position, the efforts of imperialists to isolate it 7 from the world, and the measures adopted to prevent:practically any-one from visiting us, the fact that this Conférence has taken place: so successfully in our homeland, in additionto the fact that-des- | pite all obstacles and difficulties, our country has been considered the appropriate place for its. temporary headquarters, undoubtedly pains | the Yankee imperialists: extraordinarily.
“Therefore, this has. ‘been: a great victory for the revolutionary movement. Never before has a meeting of such wide scope and magnitude taken place, in which the revolutionary representatives of 82 countries have gathered to discuss problems of common interest.
—~PP-
Never before has there been so broad a meeting. The peoples -: of three continents are represented here, the revolutionary movements of the peoples of three continents, having a common antiimperialist position, representing the struggles of their peoples,. representing different philosophical ideas or positions and different religious beliefs, representatives in many cases of different ideologies, but having in common the most important factor which today unites the peoples of these three continents and the whole world: the fight against imperialism (APPLAUSE) -- the fight against colonialism and neo-colonialism, against racism and, finally, against all those phenomena which are the contemporary expression of what we must call imperialism, having its center, principal axis, and principal support in Yankee imperialism. -
And that which the peoples of our epoch have in common, was what made possible the meeting, the agreements and the conclusions of this Conference. Obviously it was not an easy task. It might seem to be, but it was not nor could it be an easy task, because at a meeting of representatives of peoples so diverse, of movements so different, with particular problems which involve practically all the contemporary problems of the world, it was not easy. Without arduous labor, the development of criteria and agreements acceptable to all could not have been achieved.
In these past.few days, as we have been discussing different questions and as we discussed the Final Declaration, we remembered how Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Applause) worked for many months developing and writing the Communist Manifesto and how they published it only after having rewritten, retouched and perfected it a great number of .times.
And naturally. in our Conference, lasting only two weeks -less than two weeks -- in only a few days, we had to draw up a document incorporating all the different criteria, drafted in such a way as to satisfy all delegations as fully as possible. In spite of these limitations, the final document is, without doubt, the profoundest, most complete, the most radical of any that has been drafted and agreed upon in any Conference of this kind...
For the first time, the representatives of the peoples of Latin America took part in a meeting together with the peoples of Africa and Asia. Naturally, in the:case of Latin America, the majority or almost all of the representatives belong to liberation movements and represent peoples who are fighting or will fight for liberation. And our delegation represented the only people totally » liberated from Yankee domination, and wielding revolutionary power.
We understand:that this Conference will undoubtedly. occupy a place in the history of the struggle of the .peoples for their liberation, in the history of the revolutionary movement. Likewise, we understand that the bonds established,the ties created among all the movements,the increase of the strength of the revolution, and the organizations established, will play an unquestionable role in the aid, solidarity and growth of revolutionary struggle.
We have had -the opportunity to acquaint ourselves more .pro-. foundly, in:greater detail, with. the thinking and concrete situation of each of the movements fighting for liberation at present. We. have had the opportunity of learning ebout the concrete situation of each of the peoples who are fighting and, above all, we have had the opportunity: of: witnessing the -growtn of solidarity among the.,... peoples (Applause), the increase of the strength of the revolutionary movement on a world scale, and how the aid of the peoples to each other, the aid or all the peoples t /O each people engaged in the struggle -- sid on a scale and. at a level never known before to mankind -- grows and will be able to grow in the future.
And how in spite of the military and technological power of the imperialists, the united strength of revolutionary peoples. will be unquestionably more powerful. (Apvplause. ) ,
Imperialism will.be inevitably defeated. Who have taught us this lesson? The peoples have taught it to us. Who among the peoples have in our times taught us the most extraordinary lesson? The people of Viet Nam (Applause). Viet Nam is a small country. The imperialists have divided it into.two parts: North and South Viet Nam. For us, for revolutionaries, there is only. one Viet Nam. (Applause. )
The Yankee | imperialists have unleashed a large part of their “power against: the people.of South Viet Nam. Hundreds of thousands of regular soldiers of tie imperialist armed forces, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers drafted by the puppet government, hundreds of planes, thousands of helicopters; and yet. Yankee imperialism has not been. able to crush this part of the people of Viet Nam. 7
Trying.to intimidate their brothers of the other part of Viet Nam, they started daily bombings with hund reds of planes, to force their surrender, to try to make the Vietnamese kneel down. And yet, according to what. the imperialists themselves confess instead of gaining ground they have lost ground. And, to the astonishment of the world, the people of Viet Nam, showing the most ex traordinary example of heroism known in the history of any liberation movement -- because a revolutionary movement never had to face more powerful forces -- are frustrating and defeating Yankee imper- BAA SE might.
But they not only bomb Viet Nam. They also continuously bomb the patriots of Laos (Applause) and threaten to bomb and attack the people of Cambodia (Applause). This attitude, these threats of the Yankee imperialists, reveal their impotence and their despair. They are the consequence of a situation which becomes ever more critical for them in that part of the world, the consequence of the defeats they have been suffering in that region of Asia where, undoubvedly, a decisive battle is being waged between the peoples and imperialism, not Yankee imperialism alone, but also Yankee imperialism and its allies, Yankee imperialism and its partners in edventure in Asia. This situation is manifested by the mobilization of South Korean, Australian and Thai soldiers and by the attempts to obtain,
Oh
the complicity, either in the form of military forces or auxiliary troops, from the largest possible number of governments in the world.
This battle against the peoples of Viet Nam and Laos, together with the threats against Cambodia, shows the need for increasing to the utmost the help and solidarity to those peoples.
Yankee imperialists enjoy there the help of one state, Thailand, where they have numerous bases and a considerable number of troops, and from where they threaten Laos, Viet Nam and Cambodia.
This does not mean that such a situation will last indefinitely; we are sure that, as in the case of the peoples of Viet Nan, : Laos and Cambodia, the time will come when the people of Thailand will demand a settling of accounts from the Yankee imperialists. (Applause. ) The time will come when that country, also oppressed and exploited, inspired by the example of neighbouring brother peoples, will also join the struggle against the imperialists. But in the meantime, the imperialists have not only carried the war to Viet Nam, to the whole of Viet Nam, as well as to Laos, but they are also threatening Cambodia. And Cambodia is a small country, not yet attacked, but seriously threatened by Yankee imperialists. And therefore the need arises for us, the revolutionary states, to help strengthen the defenses of the small country of Cambodia. (Applause. )
7 While talking with the representative of Cambodia, during his participation in the Tricontinental Conference, when we heard from his own lips the situation of his country and the dangers which threaten it, we told him our opinion. And we also told him that although we are a small State a long way from Cambodia, we Cubans are ready to contribute, to the extent of our strength, to help strengthen their defenses (Applause), and that all we need is for them to tell us, all we need is for:them to ask, in any circumstances, whenever they consider it necessary, and we are ready to give our contribution. . oo oo -
And we are ready to do the same with ‘respect to Laos and with respect to North Viet Nam and to South Viet Nam! (Applause. )
We are a small State, quite close to the coast of the imper-= ialist Metropolis; our arms are eminently defensive, but our men, our revolutionary militants, our combatants (Applause) are ready to fight wholeheartedly against the imperialists in any part of the world (Applause). Our country is small, and even though our territory may be partially occupied by the enemy, that would never mean that we would stop fighting. .
The world is big and the imperialists are everywhere. And. for Cuban revolutionaries, the battlefield against imperialism covers the whole globe! (Prolonged applause.)
Without boasting and without immodesty, that is the way we Cuban revolutionaries understand our internationalist duty; that is
the way our people understand their duty, because. they realize that the enemy is one and the same:: the same who attacks our coasts and our land, the same who attacks others. And “because of that we state and prociaim that revolutionary movements in-any. corner of the globe can count on Cuban combatants. (Prolonged applause.)
Thousands upon thousands of Cubans have expressed their desire and willingness to-go to any-part of the world, wherever they may be needed, to aid the revolutionary movement. (Applause. )
And this is logical.
If Yankee imperialists take the liberty of bombing wherever they wish and of sending their mercenary troops to suppress the revolutionary movement in any part of the world, revolutionary peoples feel they have the right to help, even with their physical presence: (Applause), the peoples who fight against the Yankee imperialists.
And thus, if each one helps according to his capacity, if each one helps according: to his possibilities, the Yankee imperialists will be defeated. And if there is any place where they are doomed to suffer a-crushing defeat, that Place ‘is South East Asia (Applause).
Because there it is possible to establish a correlation of
forces incomparably superior to those of the Yankee imperialists.
That is why we have not the slightest doubt that they will be defeated, that they will be crushed by the peoples themselves of that area, and if they increase their forces and those of their reactionary allies, they will be defeated not only by the forces of the peoples of that area, but by the forces: of the socialist camp and of the ‘other peoples - (Applause.) That: is why the Yankee imperialists launch their hypocritical peace offensive in order to create confusion and deception. And that is why the peoples of Viet Nam have correctly stated that peace, true peace, can only be achieved when the Yankee imperialists cease attacking, when the Yankee imperialists no longer’ occupy ‘the territory or part of the ter- _vitory of Viet Nam and when the Yankee imperialists withdraw their mercenary troops and dismantle their military bases’ in the territory of Viet ‘Nam.
That is to say, they have told the imperi Jalists the only thing. that under these circumstances they could tell them: that. true peace -- since they are the only disturbers of the peace -will be achieved when they withdraw from Viet» Nam (Applause. ).
~And it is’ evident that the imperialists” are waging a hopeless fight there, that the imperialists are waging a fight which will inevitably lead them to defeat. And » consequently, whey | want to turn defeat into a false peace.
And it is logical for the people of -Viet Nam to refuse “tniss it is “topical for the people of Viet Nam to be unwilling to trade |
their victory for this sort of false peace.
' And if we were in a similar situation, I am completely sure . that we would say exactly the same. (Applause. ) We would refuse to negotiate while under bombardment, we would refuse to negotiate in the midst of aggression, we would "refuse to negotiate while under occupation.
And that is why our people and the Conference unanimously supported the positions and the points set forth by the Government . of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Liberation Movement of South Viet Nam. (Applause. )
On this question, on this theme, the most burning issue of the present moment, there was practically unanimous agreement. And it is very good for the Yankee imperialists to know the degree of solidarity of the peoples of the world with South Viet Nam. It is. good for the Yankee imperialists to understand the degree of support that the people of Viet Nam have. throughout. the world.
For that reason we consider that this Conference of Solidarity of the peoples of the three continents has expressed itself and has acted in such a way that the support and the feelings of soli darity towards Viet Nam have been made evident,.and that this, furthermore will grow. And what is felt for Viet Nam is also felt for Laos and Cambodia, the other peoples in that area who have been attacked, or run the risk of being attacked. In all the problems of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the position of the Conference. was Similar.
The peoples and the liberation movements of Africa and in order not to leave out any, I also want to mention that, in that zone of Asia, a small country is struggling to win its liberation. That people, though not very well known, is a people that is struggling bravely: the people of North Kalimantan (Applause) received | the warm support of the Conference, as also did the people of Yemen and the people of Palestine (Applause)..
Those from Africa -- as I was saying before -- the liberation movements which were so worthily represented. at this Conference; the people of Portuguese-occupied Guinea and those of the Cape Verde Islands, represented here by one of the most serious revolutionary movements of Africa (Applause), and by one of the most talented and brilliant leaders of Africa, comrade Amilcar Cabral (Applause), who made us feel tremendous confidence in the future and in the success of their fight for liberation; the liberation movement. of Angola and Mozambique, two other Portuguese colonies (Applause) who fight arms-in-hand for their liberation; the people of Zimbabwe, oppressed by the racist minority in Southern Rhodesia (Applause); the people of the Congo (Leopoldville) (Applause); the oppressed people of South Africa (Applause); the Protectorates of Swaziland, Bechuanaland and Basutoland (Applause), the names of which reveal in their grammatical roots the imperial profile.of the country that colonized them. And thus, all the liberation movements of Africa were represented with dignity and had the warm support and solidarity of all the delegates.
: In Africa, the imperialist attempts to penetrate, divide .ouand: subdue are more evident each day. During the last.weeks, coups. d'etat have become fashionable. Coup d'etat in the Congo; coup d'etat in the Central African Republic; coup d'etat in Nigeria, as. the cables report, demonstrating the desperate efforts. of imperial ism to fortify its: domination of that part of the world. re
In Africa, a decisive struggle is also. being waged, -and the role of revolutionary movements, the role of the new states: which have not been contaminated ‘by the evils of neo-colonialism, will be © of extraordinary importance in resisting this pressure and this penetration on the :part of the imperialists. Because there, the help given the revolutionary movement, the determined aid to liber-~ ation movements, the determined aid given the majorities oppressed by racists, will be a decisive factor. The sense of responsibility, the seriousness and ‘the unity of African revolutionary leaders will: be equally decisive.
Some movements have suffered certain blows, | they have suffered certain setbacks. But these setbacks must not cause discouragement; they must. serve as an experience, they must serve as a lesson, so that measures may be adopted and the necessary steps taken to overcome the present difficulties, and thus overcome the faults and weaknesses of the revolutionary movement.
The movement of solidarity, which started in Africa and Asia, and has already extended to the third continent of the world oppressed and exploited by imperialism, will celebrate its next meeting -by agreement of the Conference -- in the city of Cairo, accepting the invitation of President Nasser (Applause), who offered the capital of the United Arab Republic as the site of the next Triconental Conference in 1968; and we are certain. -~ and we must dedi-. cate our best efforts to that end -- that, by that. date, among the peoples who have liberated themselves from-imperialism and colonialism, we will greet several more brother peoples of Africa (Applause). .
The problems of Latin America -- starting with the most burning, the most critical issue: the: problem of the military occupa- tion of. the Dominican Republic by the regular troops: of Yankee imperialism -- have merited.the attention: of this Conference and the full support of the delegates representing their respective peoples.
Latin America faces in the years to come, on the Dominican scene, one of its most serious struggles. The Dominican Republic, a small country occupied by tens of thousands of Yankee soldiers, faces a long and hard struggle. The Dominican Republic, the Dominican people, must not confront Yankee. imperialism alone. (Applause. )
In many other nations of America ‘there are ample conditions for armed revolutionary struggle. This struggle nas been nea Wey 2 for some time now, in Venezuela (Applause), in Peru (Appleuse), Colombia (Applause), and in Guatemala (Applause).
In Latin America there should not be just one, or two, or
threé peoples ‘struggling alone against imperialism. The correlation of forces of the impérialists on this Continent, the proximity of its metropolitan territory, the zeal with which they will try to defend their dominions in this part of the world, require a:common. strategy on this Continent; more than.amywhere else: a common -and simultaneous. struggle. (Applause.) If the imperialists have'to facé not just the Dominican people alone, or the Guatemalan people alone, or the: Venezuelan people. alone, or. the Colombian people alone, or the “Peruvian people alone; if they must also fight -- at the same time as in“éach of these countries -- against other oppressed =. peoples; such as those of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, “Argentina (Applause) and other peoples of Central America; if the struggle is cdrried.out.on a broad-scale, if each one of’ these peoples,® if each one of the revolutionaries of this continent fulfills his» duty.-- and the duty of every revolutionary, as stated in the De- = claration-of Havana, is to carry out the revolution (Applause and’ Shouts), but to carry it out not with words but with-deeds (Applause), to be a revolutionary, not only in theory, but in practice (Applause and Shouts) -- if revolutionaries devote less of their energy and time to theorizing and more to practical work, and if” they don't emit.so many agréeméents, alternatives and dilemmas; and finally understand that sooner ‘or later all, or nearly all, of the: peoples will ‘have. to fight,-drms in hand, “for their liberation’ (Applause and Shouts); then | ‘the hour of liberation of this contin : ent will be nearer.
“ ‘Ana among the peoplé: who theorize, and those who eriticize: “the ones who theorize while also ‘theorizing ‘themselves: Geughter), quite ‘a lot of" ‘energy and: time is, unfortunately lost. oe oe
We pelieve: that on this ‘continent , “in- all or almost all: countries, the. struggle will-assume more. “violent forms. And when” one’is: aware of this, the only correct thing to do is to prepare for the: time when’ ‘that struggle arrives: prepare! (Applause. » oo
Naturally, this struggle will first explode where -- as stated in the Declaration of Havana -- the conditions of imperialist oppression are more inhuman,-where all doors are absolutely ‘closed, such ‘as in the majority of the countries on this continent. And. even in the countries where the bourgeoisie and: ‘imperialism impose their: class domination. through constitutional means, as-is the -: case of Uruguay, evidence can be found, increasingly cléear,.of the force of the mass movements and the revolutionary spirit of the people (Applause).
And we must express the great. sympathy ‘of our country ° tomo wards Uruguay, ‘because it-is a very, very: small country, with no mountains, surrounded by two giant reactionary countries, but where invariably, without exception, under all circumstances Uruguay' s solidarity and support of the Cuban Revolution has al- © ways been similar ‘to that given by the people of Venezuela’ (Ap- es plause).
We still remember how, immediately after the breaking of
diplomatic relations with Cuba, because of the OAS decision im- ~ posed by the United States as a sanction against Cuba, the people: of Uruguay, guided by their revolutionary organizations, went into the streéts to protest with incomparable energy against: that ser vile, and traitorous act towards a people of this: continent. aan
So. with reference to this problem of Latin America, ‘distinguished delegates, allow me‘to. speak at tength on some questions,’ since we are situated on this continent.
The Yankee imperialists not only: have used the economic blockade, against us, not only have they used armed aggressions, not only have they mortally. threatened us under certain circumstances , not. only have they carried out. against ‘this country all kinds of _ sabotages, infiltration of spies, and: ‘pirate raids, but Yankee imperialism has employed more subtle weapons against our country, such as the weapons of propaganda and slander. In addition to. this, Yankee imperialism and its agents have’ tried to destroy the pres-— tige of the Cuban Revolution; they have tried to picture the Cuban Revolution as alien to the revolutionary struggles of this continent, and have tried to discredit the Revolution in a most vile and slanderous manner. They have availed themselves of all means , of all events , ofall weapons. |
OF course, the “imperialists would: like a detailea discussion of these problems;.an irresponsible person, a charlatan, a puppet ef any sort, does not mind making any kind of irresponsible charge or uttering: any. sort of calumny. re It is well ‘known that only the. enemy is “interested in the way - this word, called’ solidarity, is carried.out in practice, not -only.among the revolutionary peoples of this: continent , ‘but those of all the world (Applause).
‘But what has happened? There is a fact I am going to mention, as an example showing how imperialism and its agents work, and it .:is. extremely interesting. I refer to the campaign carried. out by ‘imperialism and.its agents with re sand to the. departure of our comrade , Ernesto Guevara | (Applause). |
Tr think this’ ‘is a matter which ‘has to be ‘taken by, the "horns" (Laughter): in order to make some things. clearer.
A few revolutionaries in this country, and some few outside of this; country, know when.comrade Ernesto Guevara left, what he has been doing. all this time; and of course the imperialists would be most eager to learn, in every detail, where he is, what he has Gone show he 1§ doing it.. wade OF: Gourse ,. apparently. they do: not know it and, if they do, vhey_ conceal. it. Claughter.) ee -
“But - naturally, ‘these. ‘are. matters which in! ‘time, when cir- - cumstances. allow it, will be. clarified. However, for us, revolutionaries, these clarifications are not necessary; it is the
enemy who tries to use these circumstances in order to scheme , to create: confusion and . ‘Ge, Slander. 7
Comrade Guevara. joined. US, “during our exile in Mexico, “and. always, from the very first day., he clearly expressed the idea that when the struggle was completed in Cuba, he would have other duties to fulfill in-anogther place,’ and we always. gave him our word that no State interest,. nO - national interest, no circumstances -. — would lead us to ask him to,remain in our country, ‘or hinder hin from carrying out that wish, that desire. And we fully and faithfully kept that promise made to comrade Guevara (Applause). ; Naturally, if. comrade Guevara was . going to leave the country, “it was logical for him to do it secretly, it was logical ‘for -him to move secretly, it was logical for him :-not Go. be in contact with journalists, it was logical for him not to give any press.conferences. It was logical for him to act as he did, because of the task he proposed to undertake. a . ‘And, yet, how the imperialists. have tried to” derive profit from thes circumstance and how. they. have used it!
That is why I have brought ‘some papers with me. Don't be alarmed, thinking that I am going to read all of them. I am merely . going to read several things, for here is what all imperialist and bourgeois papers have written with regard to the case of Major Guevare, what the newspapers in the United States have written, their magazines, their news agencies, the bourgeois newspapers of Latin America and those of the entire world. And let us see who, precisely, have been the main spokesmen, in the imperialist campaign of intrigue.and.slander. against Cuba in regard to the case of comrade Guevara. To begin with, certain elements have been used constantly during the last decades against the revolutionary movement.
And so, if you will concede me a little time, I will look for a very interesting item among a great many.
Ah, I found’ it. (Laughter and Applause. ) This is a UPI cable dated December 6, 1965, which reads: "Ernesto Guevara was murdered by Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro (Shouts) following orders from the USSR" (Shouts) "declared Felipe Albaguante, leader of the Mexican Trotskyites, in a statement made to El Universal. He adds that Che was liquidated because he insisted on on aligning’ Cuba with the Chinese line." (Shouts. )
This, naturally, was in tone with a campaign that Trotskyite elements began to. launch everywhere simultaneously. —
And on October 22, the weekly Marcha published an article in which a well-known Trotskyite theorist, Adolfo Gilly, stated that Che had left Cuba because of differences! with Fidel arising from the Sino-Soviet conflict, and that Che*could not impose his opinions on the leadership. He said that Che, in a confused manner, advocated extending the Revolution to the rest of Latin America, in opposition. to the Soviet line; that the Cuban leadership is divided
between a conservative wing, including old leaders. of the Popular | Socialist Party and the followers of Che and Fidel, with his team: in a central oscillating and conciliatory position. He added that Che had left Cuba because he lacked means to express himself, and that: Fidel was afraid to face the masses and explain Che's case...
This same Trotskyite theorist on October 31, 1965, writing in ce.
the Italian publication Nuovo Mondo in an article branding the Cuban... _ leadership as pro-Soviet and accusing Fidel of not having explained politically to the people what had happened to Che. He says that Major Guevara was defeated by the Popular Socialist Party and the Castroite team; he criticises Che for not having taken his struggle to impose his own political theory to the masses, and finishes by saying that the Cuban state, paralysed by its policy, did not openly support the Dominican Revolution.
And I am going to refer to this a bit more fully a little : further on.
In the issue of October 1965 of the. newspaper Batalla, organ of the Spanish Trotskyites, it was stated that the mystery surrounding the case of Che Guevara ought to be cleared.up. It said that .:. friends of Che supposed that the letter read by Castro was false and ask themselves whether the Cuban leadership tends towards submission to the Kremlin bureaucracy.
On approximately the same date, the official Trotskyite organ in Argentina published an article affirming that: Che is dead, or in .; prison in Cuba. It said "...he entered into conflict with Fidel Cas- tro because of the operation of the: Trade Unions and the organization of the militia."
It added that "Che was opposed to the Central Committee being composed of the favorites of Castro, especially the army officers, followers of the Moscow right wing."
But one of the dirtiest, most insulting and most indecent writings was that by the leader of the Latin-American Political Bureau of the Fourth International in the Italian publication Lotta Operaia. From this article, extremely ‘10ng; I shall read only three paragraphs.
Tt begins by ‘sayine:
"An aspect of the deepening of the worldwide.crisis of bureaucracy is the expulsion of Guevara. Guevara was thrown out now, and not eight months ago.. The discussion with Guevara lasted eight months, which were not spent drinking.coffee; they have fought rigorously and perhaps there have ‘been deaths; perhaps they discussed at gun point. We cannot say if Guevara has been killed or not, —-: but the right to suppose that they have killed him exists. Why does Guevara not appear? They have not shown him in Havana, fearing the consequences, and the reaction of the population. But, after all, hiding him produces the same effect: the population asks why Guevara
does not come out, does not appear. There is no political accusation; he is politically praised. a
"Why have they not shown Guevara? Why has he not spoken?, How is it possible that one of the founders of the Cuban worker's state , who a short time ago travelled throughout the world on behalf of that: worker's state, should suddenly say: I have grown weary of the Cuban Revolution; I wiil make revolution elsewhere? _
"On the other hand, ‘they do not say where he has gone, and “he does. not show-up. If there is no divergence, why does he not appear? The entire Cuban people understand that there is a tremendous struggle, and: that. ‘this struggle is not over.
"Guevara was and is not alone.. ‘If they take such measures against Guevara, it is because he has great support. And besides this great support, there is’ enormous concern among the people.
"Not long ago, the Cuban Government published a rather severe decree: all arms must be returned to the State... At that moment, the issue was a-bit.confuséd. Now-the objective of that resolution is _ clear: it was against ‘the Guevara - ‘Faction. ‘They are afraid of an UP= rising. * eh aes : _ .
Another paragraph: "Why have they silenced Guevara? The Fourth International must carry on a public campaign in this respect, demanding the appearance of Guevara, the right of Guevara. to defend himself and discuss, appeal:to the masses, not to trust the measures adopted. by the’ ‘Cuban’ ‘government, because these are methods of pur= eaucrats and maybe murderers. They have eliminated Guevara to .. silence his struggle; they have silenced Guevara, despite the fact. that his position was not consequent from the view point of a revolutionary,: because it tried to harmonize his positions within the revolutionary trend." | Ot inns Dos
And further on it says: "This demonstrates, not the power of Guevara or of a pro-Guevara group in Cuba, but the maturity.of the conditions’ in the rest of the worker's states so that in a short time these positions will bear fruit. Bureaucracy. is- not deceived by procedures: and methods of. this kind.:To- bureaucracy, the elimination of Guevara means an attempt to eliminate a base for possible. regrouping of revolutionary tendencies which continue to develop World Revolution. This is the basis of Guevara's elimination; and not only for the danger this represents to Cuba, but because it includes the rest of the Latin. American Revolution.:. Bo
"Guatemala is:-on. Cuba! s side ,. with the, program of the Socialist Revolution. And notwithstanding its strength and the speeches..of its leader, Fidel Castro, Cuba has not been able to prevent the. .. transformation of: the "13th of November" Movement into a socialist revolutionary movement which fights directly for, socialism."
Tt is by no means: a‘ coincidénce that this gentleman, leader of the Fourth International, mentions here very proudly the case. of Guatemala and the "14th of November" Movement, because precisely
in regard to this Movement that Yankee imperialism has used one of. | the most subtle tactics to liquidate a revolutionary. movement, that.... . is, the infiltration of agents of the Fourth International in it, ones who brought it to adopt -- on account of the lack of political knowl- — edge of the principal leader of this Movement -- this discredited —_ thing, this anti-historic thing, this fraudulent thing which emanates > from individuals so known to be at the service of Yankee imperial— ism, as is the program of the Fourth International.
How did this happen? Yon Sosa was , undoubtedly, a patriotic. officer. Army officer -- as a movement of a group of Army officers --. . as a matter of fact, the mercenary troops who later invaded Giron | : took part in the crushing of this movement -- and through an individual who was a merchant, who took charge of the political part of the movement, the Fourth International arranged matters so that this leader, lacking knowledge of the profound political and historical problems of revolutionary thought, allowed that agent of Trotskyism -- who:we have not the slightest doubt is an agent.of imperialism -- .. to take charge of editing a. newspaper in which the program of the Fourth. International was - copied from head to tail.
What the Fourth ‘International thus committed was a true crime against the revolutionary movement, to isolate it from the rest of the people, :to isolate it from the masses, -by corrupting it with the stupidities, the discredit and the repugnant. and neuseating thing that is Trotskyism today within the field of politics. (Applause. ) For if Trotskyism represented at a certain stage an erroneous position, but.a position within the field of political ideas, Trotskyism became in later years a vulgar instrument of imperialism and reaction.
These gentlemen reason in such a way that, for instance, with regard to South Viet Nam, where a vast revolutionary front has united the immense majority of the people and has closely grouped different sectors of the population around the liberation movement in the struggle against imperialism, to Trotskyites this is absurd, it is counterrevolutionary. And these gentlemen have the incredible effrontery to express themselves in this way when faced with the . facts and the realities of history and of the revolutionary movements.
Fortunately, the revolutionary movement in Guatemala was saved. And it was saved because of the clear vision of one of the officers who, together with Sosa, had started the revolutionary movement, and who, on understanding. that folly, that stupidity, broke away from the "14th of November Movement" and organised, with _ other progressive and revolutionary sectors, the Rebel “Armed Forces _ of Guatemala (Applause).
And this young officer, who had such a clear vision of the Situation, is the representative of the revolutionary movement of Guatemala in this Conference, Major Turcios (Prolonged Applause). Major Turcios has to his. credit not only having been one of the. first in the armed struggle for the liberation of his oppressed.
people, but also the'merit of having saved the Guatemalan revolutionary movement from one of the most subtle and perfidious stratagems pf Yankee imperialism. He raised the revolutionary flag of* “Guatemala and its anti-imperialist movement; rescuing it from: the: dirty hands of mercenaries ain the service of Yankee imperialism.
-And we hope that: Yon ‘Sosa, whose patriotic intentions at the. beginning of the struggle are not in doubt, and whose condition as. an honest man is not in doubt -- although we do have very serious reservations about his attitude as a revolutionary leader -- will “not take too long to separate himself from'those elements and rejoin the revolutionary movement in Guatemala, but this time under another leadership, under another leader who demonstrated, in moments such as those, clarity of vision and the attitude of a revolutionary teader. (Applause. ), _
- This position adopted by the Trotskyites - is ‘the same as. ‘that. adopted by all the newspapers and news agencies of Yankee imperial— ism; the same as that adopted in the case of comrade Ernesto Guevara by all the imperialist press in the United States, by its news agencies, by the Cuban counterrevolutionary press, by the bourgeois press in all the Continent and in ‘the rest of the world. That is to say , this.campaign of slander and intrigue against Revolutionary Cuba’ in the case of comrade Guevara made all the reactionary and bourgeois’. sectors of the imperialists, all the slanders and all the intriguers against the Cuban Revolution, coincide exactly.
Because it is unquestionable that only reaction and only im-: perialism can be interested in discrediting the Cuban Revolution, in destroying the faith which the revolutionary movements have placed in the Cuban Revolution, in destroying the confidence the peoples of Latin America have placed in the Cuban Revolution, in destroying their faith. And that is the reason why they have not hesitated to use the filthiest and most indecent weapons.
~ This same Gilly, who once ina while poses “among: other U. S. intellectuals in the Monthly Review, a magazine of the United States. was villainous enough to write the following paragraph, which:is. well worth analyzing, on thé crisis of the Dominican Republic. This is what he said:
phe | culminating point of this crisis must have’ been the Dominican Revolution, where the State of the Cuban workers was paralyzed by its own policy, without openly supporting. the Revolution, although in Cuba there was tremendous internal ‘pressuré for a policy of active support. If this crisis was previdus to that of the Dominican Republic, undoubtedly the Dominican Republic hastened ‘the revolution.
This person had the vileness to accuse the Cuban Revolution of not having given active aid to the: Revolution in the Dominican | Republic. ‘And while the imperialists were ‘accusing Cuba, while’ ‘they were trying to justify their intervention with the pretext. that leftists and Communists, trained in Cuba, were heading the uprising
there; while imperialism was accusing Cuba and presenting the Dominican Revolution, not as an ‘internal question but as an external problem, this person accused the Revolution of not having given .active aid. |
And what does active aid mean? Did they expect that Cuba, whose weapons and resources are well known, could stop and should stop the landing of U.S. troops in the Dominicen Republic? Cuba has weapons to defend itself and has these defense weapons in an infin- | itely inferior number with relation to the imperialists. And these © gentlemen are so despicable, so shameless, that they blame Cuba. for not having prevented...Because what else-does active support mean? Because all that Cuba could do under those circumstances, all that it could have done, and should have done, it did. To ask Cuba to prevent the landing is like asking: Cambodia in southeast Asia to prevent bombings of North Viet Nam, and to: prevent occupation of South Viet Nam by Yankee marines. (Applause. ) . Os
Unfortunately, the forces of Cuba are limited. But.to the extent of these forces, in the best way possible, and in the most decided manner, as well as the most adequate in the circumstances, Cuba lends and will lend its maximum support to. the Revolution.
To those who believe that this country. is “afraid of. the imperialists, to those who believe -- witha spirit. of. superiority or with insolent deliriums of superiority over everybody. -- that this country is afraid of the imperialists -- it would have been worth their while to have lived a few hours, here,.in this country, during the October Crisis, when, for the: first time a small people like ours saw itself threatened with a massive attack of nuclear weapons on its territory, and to have seen the attitude taken by this people and the attitude taken by the Revolutionary Government (Applause).
A lot of nonsense, a lot of nonsense, a lot of foolishness is written, above all °y irresponsible people, when certain documents cannot be published. :
But some day mankind will know, and some day.mankind will learn all the facts. That will be the day when the villains will see that comrade Guevara was not murdered; each of his steps will be fully known. They will also know then the position taken by Cuba in those difficult days, and how serene this people was. When that day comes there will be nobody, no matter how. insolent, no matter how provocative; who will dare to doubt the feeling of solidarity of this people and the valor :of this people -- that valor demonstrated by its conduct. Despite the fact that this is a country ninety miles from the imperialist metropolis, over whose head tremendous danger will hover during the coming years, to the same extent that the revolutionary movement grows -- the revolutionary movement that grows following, above all, the example of the Cuban Revolution -the growing revolutionary movement , that increases because of the example of.Cuba, because of the victories. of. Cuba, because of Cuba's posture before the eneny. by
And we must keep in mind that when this country defies this danger , ‘it is not a country having millions of men under arms, it. is not a country having nuclear weapons, because. here our missiles. are moral (Applause) ; and the number of millions is not infinite, © the number of men is not infinite, but the dignity and decorum of this people is infinite.
Anda the. coming years will speak for us, and the coming years.” _ will be responsible for destroying the slanderers, not those who are. known agents of the imperialists, but those who are confused, the’... intriguers, those who let themselves be misled and are used as tools” to spread lies against our Revolution. eo!
Highly rewarding is the fact that has been demonstrated in _ this Conference. Because in this Conference many things were proved. In the first place, it was proved how discussions can revolve, above all, around really interesting matters and around what is really inmportant for the peoples who are struggling. It was proved how the peoples -- regardless of their strength, their resources. and their size -- raise their voices and express their opinions, and how.the peoples are capable of having their own criteria and their .own independent voices. All this was demonstrated by this Conference. But, in addition, we Cubans feel satisfaction at knowing that the Cubans © and the revolutionary movements, no matter from which continent, were always united in the same positions; and that the united force, . the revolutionary criteria, and the’ most honest positions prevailed; _ that in this Conference -- as an answer: to..intriguers and slanderers, the peoples, the revolutionary liberation. movements, at all times, demonstrated a great confidence, an immeasurable confidence in Cuba . and its revolutionary Party; and that for this reason our country was honored by granting it the General Secretaryship and choosing it” as the temporary headquarters of the Organization.
And considering the task which has been performed by the Cuban delegation, by the Cuban Committee for Solidarity, working on behalf of the Conference; tirelessly struggling in order to overcome all 7 difficulties; maintaining at every moment an objective and just posi tion of principles; even to the point of risking the relations of ~ Cuba with some countries, as in the case of Indonesia, when it was left in the hands of the “Cuban Delegation to make a decision, it rejected the official delegation of Indonesia, risking our relations with an important State in that part of the world.
And although for us all States are equally important, and all peoples are entitled to equal rights,in any event this fact should be an example of how fair the Cuban Delegation was,or.tried to be just, tried to be objective and tried to maintain a position of principles.
We know how hard all the delegations worked, because in the opinion of many who have attended various international conferences this is one of the conferences where the most serious and tireless work has been done. Therefore, since the headquarters will be in Cuba, and Cuba will hold the position of Secretary. General -of the Organization, the Political Bureau of our Party has agreed to
appoint Comrade Osmany. Cienfuegos, Secretary General of the Organi- . zation (Applause).
All the Delegations have had the opportunity of knowing the efforts, and the honesty with which these efforts were. made by Comrade Osmany, both in the preparatory work. and in. the course of the Conference. It must be acknowledged that everybody cooperated, that. all contributed, in one. way or another, to. unify viewpoints and to the success of this Conference..
For, as I said before, these viewpoints did not always coincide but everyone, in the end contributed to its success witha really disinterested effort.
I do not want to finish without. referring to two matters: the deep concern that fills us..all about the events. in Indonesia, about the news from Indonesia that over a hundred thousand revolutionary activists have been savagely murdered; about the news that Aidit and some other leaders of the Communist Party in Indonesia have been murdered. I want. to state our repugnance, our protest and our solidarity with the Indonesian-revolutionaries persecuted today by the militarist reaction instigated by Yankee imperialism. And, at the _ same time, as a homage to-someone who had much to.do-with the succéss of this Conference, I want to state that Ben Barka (Applause) was a decisive factor with his firmness, with his personal work, in the organization of this First Tricontinental Conference. His effort and his work was the cause of the later events.
It is the general opinion that Ben Barka has been murdered in a cruel and cowardly manner. And if this Conference of Solidarity has the duty to take a step precisely in loyalty and as an elementary duty towards one who so devotedly worked for its success, it must demand that the murder of Ben Barka should be made clear and that the murderers of Ben Barka should be punished.
Everything indicates that the direct responsibility falls upon the Minister of Interior of Morocco, General Oufkir, to whom all indications point and upon whom all suspicions fall.
This Conference must not rest until the facts are clearly known: who were the actual perpetrators, and who were the intellectual authors of the assassination of Ben Barka, the murder of he who was President of the Preparatory Committee of this Tricontinental Conference. And this monstrous and repulsive action showed from the very beginning the interest of imperialism in jeopardizing the Conference to make it fail. Yet the results of this Conference show that the blood of Ben Barka was not shed in vain, and that the crime committed against Ben Barka, his assassination, as those of Lumumba, Aidit and Sandino, that with none of these horrible crimes, that with none of these barbarous actions, will imperialism be able to check the victorious march and the final liberation of the peoples.
It is only fair that we devote our thoughts to those who have sacrificed themselves for the victory of their peoples, to
ih hance a
those who have fallen victims of imperialism in all Continents andecs that we propose to be always faithful to this cause, to be always ©». faithful, in Asia, Africa and in Latin America, to the cause of those who have given their lives and: their blood for the liberation of the peoples. The people of our country, as you have been able’ to see, is of diverse ethnic origin, as @-result of the: mixing of © 584 peoples of different continents, and-therefore fraternally bound to - Latin America, fraternally bound to Africa, fraternally bound to: © all the peoples of all continents. The people of Cuba has done the. utmost to make the stay of the delegations here pleasant, has shown all its enthusiasm, its hospitality and its warmth.
Thousands of Cubans have incessantly worked “for the success ~~ of this Conference regardless of rest or vacations; they have worked to care for the representatives of brother peoples. Our entire people has lived through © a great festival of international solidarity dur-": ing: ‘these days. od
a Our ‘peopte has‘ ‘felt as its own -each and every one of ‘the problems’ of. atl. ‘the- peoptes. Our people, as I> ‘said ‘on January *2; welcomed you- “with © ‘apen arms and bids’ you farewell embracing you,’ las: a symbol of & bond which will never -be broken; a symbol of its fra ternal feelings of solidarity towards all- peoples. ‘wito | struggie, for whom it is willing ‘to "shed! Ats: blood. :
Our country or deothi*
We will win!