South African Ruling Party Expresses Solidarity with Cuba

During a four-day meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Petoria, members of the African National Congress (ANC) board also congratulated the Cuban government on the 60th anniversary of the Revolution and the 66th Day of National Rebelliousness.

According to the statement, the meeting debated the main objectives of the organzation’s work at the national and international levels, and approved a resolution of solidarity with Cuba, initially adopted by the ANC National Conference last year.

The document demands that the United States lift the economic, commercial and financial blockade that it has imposed for almost 60 years on Cuba, and supports the promotion of growing trade between Cuba and South Africa.

At the closed-door meeting in Irene, on the outskirts of Pretoria, the NEC also extended ‘warm congratulations on the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the Day of National Rebellion,’ said ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule.

In particular, it highlighted the role of the historical leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, in the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks on July 26, 1953, an action that initiated the last stage of the Cuban people’s struggle for their definitive liberation, reached January 1, 1959.

The support of the ANC agreed with the publication in South African media of an article by the deputy minister for International Relations and Cooperation, Alin Botes, who is a NEC member, under the title ‘Cuba, South Africa and International Solidarity’.