The Struggle for the Release of the Five Cuban Heroes and for the end of Economic Blockade on Cuba is a Class Struggle Benson Ngqentsu, 29 September 2014 “The dominant ideas in a class divided society are the ideas of the ruling class” Karl Marx There are two crucial events that took place recently, events that should have dominated media head-lines internationally. These are the deployment of a sizeable number of medical practitioners to the West Africa in the fight against the Ebola epidemic and also the holding of the 10th Colloquium on the Cuban Five. But because these crucial developments pose a serious threat to the barbaric and inhuman system of capitalism and its headquarters, the US, they were not covered by the media, either print or electronic. This lack of coverage confirms Karl Marx praxis that, “the dominant ideas in a class divided society are the ideas of the ruling class”. Indeed, neither of these two major events was in favour of the current ruling imperialist class. Having attended and participated at the recent 10th Colloquium for the release of the Five Cuban Heroes held in Havana on 11th-12th September 2014, I observed and appreciated the unity of communists and non-communists from around the world. These internationalists were firm on their demand for the Release of the Five Cuban heroes, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labonino, Antonio Guerreo, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez who were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States. These are unjustly imprisoned in the United States after being arrested by the FBI on Sept. 12, 1998 and convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami in 2001, in a political prosecution by the U.S. government. Utilising a class-based analysis one can see that the unity of this important struggle is inextricably linked to the struggle against imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism. This is a struggle against capitalist dominance, with its manufactured triple evils of our society, poverty, inequality and unemployment. Very importantly, progressive forces internationally have the responsibility to correctly and locate the arrest of the heroic Cuban Five as a renewed capitalist offensive, targeting the revolutionary Cuba as the entry point following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990’s. The arrest of these heroes who were arrested while in their mission for a peaceful world order followed their publicly known and acknowledged known mission to keep Cuban government informed about the terrorist attacks on Cuba from the US soil carried out by counter revolutionary forces sponsored by the US government. The US imperialist regime knew of the bombings carried out on Cuba, notably in Havana, that brutally killed many innocent people.. As many progressive authors probed this question, Martin Koppel concluded that not only had Washington done nothing to prevent the attacks, but it had given these counter-revolutionary groups a green light throughout more than five decades of US diplomatic, economic and military aggression against the Cuban Revolution. The current imperialist offensive against the revolutionary Cuba including now the detention of the Five Cuban heroes dates from 1959, following immediately on the triumph of the socialist revolution in Cuba, a country just ninety miles away from the US shores. I would argue therefore that the campaign for the release of the Five Cuban and against the imperialist’s economic embargo of Cuba form part of a bigger class struggle against immoral and inhuman capitalist order. Against this background, it is time for progressive forces in South Africa and internationally to intensify international solidarity campaign on Cuba. In the course of our international solidarity work and in defence of the Cuban revolution, we must see to it that this campaign has a practical meaning to the working class internationally, as well as an impact on Washington. To link of this campaign to our struggle against capitalism has to be articulated in a manner that every conscious worker anywhere in the world, knows and understand the internationalist character of our struggle and the plight of the people of Cuba. Every worker must know about the cause Fernando Gonzalez, or any other of the Cuban Five are persecuted for and clearly articulate our demand for their unconditional released. Their release is part of our broader revolutionary task to weaken and defeat the greedy and the corrupt system of imperialism which continue to oppress the people of the world. We ought to appreciate the dialectic relationship that exists between waging this important struggle in every political and legal mean. The humanity must be woken up to recognise that the release of the Cuban Five and the end of economic blockade is a necessary struggle to free humanity from the bondages of imperialist dominance. It is a significant advance towards an international socialist order, the only system in which the world will no longer be ruled with the barrel of gun in a struggle to conquer other nations. South Africa’s solidarity work with the revolutionary Cuba has to be undertaken within a particular political context. Among other things that context defines that Cuba is rejected and despised by the Democratic Alliance, a key tool of imperialism in the South African soil. In defending the imperialist privileges, imperialism heavily finances DA and the like minded South African media to adopt a very hostile stance to Cuba. This is reflected on the DA’s stance of the Cuban government programme for training young working class South Africans for medicine studies in the Cuban universities free of charge. In an a well directed offensive to the working class, the DA decided not to participate to this good gesture due to its permanent commitment to the imperialist agenda. This position, from the defenders of white privilege and servants of imperialism in South Africa, is mainly based on their historical memories that Cuba played a pivotal role in the 1980s in Southern Africa to dislodge apartheid and imperialism. We will remain indebted on the selfless contribution Cubans made in our struggle to defeat apartheid militarisation and invasion of Angola at Cuito Cuanavale. Their role immensely contributed in forcing the apartheid regime to realise that minority rule was over and that negotiations were inevitable. The history of the liberation in South Africa in particular and of Africa in general is incomplete without recognising Cubans’ contribution. Based on this brief historic reality, progressives in South Africa, particularly our government should take our solidarity beyond motions at congresses and in Parliament. As the ANC recently pronounced itself against US puppet Israel, the same policy stance should be taken against US imperialism. South Africa’s academic fraternity, churches and their congregations and scholar and student bodies must join the demand of the release of Cuban in recognition of revolutionary character and role of the Cuban people and the solidarity work that made our democracy possible. Our class enemy, imperialism with the USA as its headquarters, relies on terrorist acts and suppression for their continued international dominance. As Thomas Sankara once observed, “he who feeds you controls you”. We see how desperate is the international capitalist media to underreport inhuman and unjust acts by the US, which has the highest percentage of its population behind bars of any country in the world. This is the USA’s necessary pre-condition for its dominance both at home and abroad. We are aware that Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labonino, Antonio Guerreo, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez are amongst the 2.2 million men and women who are languishing in US prison cells. Once again, let me re-iterate the necessity to take the struggle for the defence of the Cuban revolution to another level. The international campaign has achieved the release of two of the Cuban Five – Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez – and we must now build consistent mass action throughout the world to demand the unconditional release of the remaining three. Because Rene and Fernando will never be really free until their three comrades too are freed from the US prison, we shall continue to demand ‘Release the Five Cuban heroes and End Economic Blockade on revolutionary Cuba.’ · Benson Ngqentsu, the SACP’s Brian Bunting District Secretary and the NUM’s Western Cape Regional Organiser, writes on his personal capacity
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 10:07:56 +0000