On this very important day and occasion of the Cuban people, the ANC wishes to once more express its solidarity with Cuban people in their struggle to exercise their right to self determination.
The ANC also wishes to salute the Cuban people for the immense role they have played in the national liberation struggle both in South Africa and the Southern African region as a whole.
Without the internationalism and sacrifice of the Cuban people and its government in supporting progressive national movements in our region, we possibly would not have reached the historic victory of April 27, 1994.
The ANC also takes this opportunity to once more thank the Cuban people for the support they gave to our comrades in exile. The Cuban government selflessly sacrificed their own precious physical, financial and human resources to ensure that our members in exile were fed, provided with basic necessities, as well as opportunities to further their education. The people and the government of Cuba remain a shining example of practical solidarity to oppressed peoples of our continent.
On this occasion we also wish to express our solidarity with Cuban people in the light of continued blockade by the United States. We call upon the USA to allow the people of Cuba to freely develop as a nation, and to immediately lift the blockade. The US government is maintaining this blockade despite the fact that it has been strongly condemned internationally. Also, an increasing number of US citizens themselves have called for the lifting of the blockade.
We also wish to assure the government and the people of Cuba that in the ANC they have an unwavering ally in its struggle for self-determination without foreign interference.
Issued by:
The Department of Information and Publicity,
P.O. Box 61884,
Marshalltown 2107,
Johannesburg.
26 July 1995