Friends of Cuba gather in Istanbul: Cubans will not surrender!

Hundreds of people attended the event titled "Cuba Will Win," held at the Kadıköy Nâzım Hikmet Cultural Center to show solidarity with Cuba. Speaking at the event, TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan stated, "Cubans will not surrender," while Elier Ramirez Canedo, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, also delivered a speech at the gathering. 

A solidarity event was held at the Nâzım Hikmet Cultural Center in Kadıköy, Istanbul, for Cuba, which has been resisting the blockade imposed by the US for decades and has recently been threatened with attack by Trump. 

Speaking at the event titled "Cuba Will Win," Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) General Secretary Kemal Okuyan said, "We have known this story for a long time. Anti-communism and hostility toward socialism are the most dangerous viruses in the world, and they have no cure. Therefore, we have no intention of trying to eradicate a disease that has no cure, but we still need to remember why we are in solidarity with Cuba so that we can carry out our solidarity with Cuba in a more powerful way."

"WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH EVERYONE WHO DEFIES US IMPERIALISM"

"An attack is being carried out by Zionist Israel and imperialist US against our neighbor Iran right next to us. For now, there is a temporary ceasefire. We do not have any closeness to the regime in Iran, but didn't everyone gathered here feel excitement in the face of Iran's resistance? Didn't our humanity rise up?" said Okuyan, adding, "Think about it; we felt excitement because a people in a country under the rule of a social system we do not like are defying US imperialism. For sixty-seven years, a tiny island right next to the US has been defying the US, and we are not going to be excited about this, is that it? That is the first reason. We stand in solidarity with everyone who defies US imperialism. Those are the golden rules," he stated.

"YES TO CUBA, NO TO BARBARISM"

Okuyan spoke as follows: 

"Cuban society is an advanced society. The criteria for advancement vary. Some measure advancement by the number of automobiles, others by human values. Thanks to the revolution, thanks to socialism, Cuba has created an advanced society. With what did it create it? It created it with its education. With what did it create it? It created it with its health system, its culture, its sports, and its people. This is what advancement is. And they want to kill that advancement by destroying Cuba's material resources.

Years ago, a theory was put forward that we never adopted, right? The clash of civilizations. Forget that, but there is a clash of civilizations in the case of Cuba. There is a struggle between the advanced Cuban society and the barbarians. In this struggle, we are on the side of Cuba, that is, on the side of advanced humanity. Yes to Cuba, no to the barbarians."

"CUBA DEFENDS ADVANCED MORAL VALUES"

"Does Cuba not have problems? It does. Cuba's problems have increased and accumulated due to the US blockade, but on the other hand, the values that keep Cuba standing continue to remain alive. We communists actually do not like to talk about morality much. Because for years, the exploiting classes have numbed humanity by saying morality, morality, morality. But the moral values symbolized in Cuba that we uphold are a bit different. Those moral values do not crush people. They elevate people. That is why we are in solidarity with Cubans. Because Cuba defends, produces, and creates advanced moral values. 

"THE CUBAN REVOLUTION HAS CREATED LEADERS"

"Every great social transformation creates its own leaders. The Cuban revolution created an extraordinary leader from before to after. It is not easy. Many revolutions have taken place in the world. The October Revolution took place under the leadership of a very great leader. It also created other leaders. 

When we look at the Cuban revolution, it created Fidel, whose 100th birthday we will celebrate, and it created Che. 

Therefore, when we look at Cuba, we are also blessing and elevating some names who have dedicated their lives to a very noble struggle and have been an example to all of us. They have rendered great services to humanity. Therefore, if we are in solidarity with the Cuban revolution, one reason is the signature left by the leaders of the Cuban revolution."

"WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE HAPPENED, CUBA CAME TO TURKEY"

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan continued his words by recalling that Cuban doctors came to Turkey during the earthquake period:

"Cuba is an internationalist country. We all know how Cuba supported the struggle of the Angolan people against racism. Thousands of kilometers away, without any self-interest. Cuba's interests are the values they defend. They went and fought in Angola. They lost their most precious children on the African continent. But it is not limited to this. Wherever they could extend a helping hand to a people, Cuba rushed there. Despite so many problems, they continue to do this. 

They did the same thing in Turkey. When the earthquake happened, Cuba's best doctors came to the earthquake zone. They tried to heal the wounds of our people together with us. Are we going to turn our backs on them? Are we going to ignore it? 'Why are we in solidarity with Cuba?' Because Cuba has been carrying humanity on its back for sixty-seven years."

"THIS IS A CLASS STRUGGLE"

Emphasizing that what is happening is a class struggle by its very name, Okuyan said:

"We are on a side in the class struggle. If Cuba is on a side, we are too. This is a fight to the death between the laborers, the poor, and the multinational corporations in the world. Because in the background of this barbaric attack launched against Cuba, there is a plague called capitalism, called imperialism, a center of barbarism. If a struggle is being waged here, it is our duty to continue this solidarity.

"THE US TELLS CUBA 'GIVE UP YOUR INDEPENDENCE'"

"The US tells Cuba to give up its independence, give up its sovereignty, but beyond that, give up socialism. Switch to another social system. Switch to the social system with which we have sunk the world, which has given the whole world poverty, unemployment, and war. Cuba, on the other hand, says, 'Despite all my problems, I will not give up socialism.' Socialism is a social system that we, as communists, are struggling to establish in our country and in other countries. Of course, we will be in solidarity with Cuba. Because they continue to defend socialism under such difficult conditions. They are upholding socialism for us, for people in other parts of the world, and for people in other geographies."

"CUBANS WILL NOT SURRENDER"

"We do not need a justification to defend Cuba," said Okuyan, adding, "Cubans will not surrender. It is impossible for them to surrender. They are very hardworking, they love their country very much. They are creative. They are struggling with major problems, but they are determined. They continue to smile. Their morale is quite good. Despite all the troubles. I underline this. Despite all the difficulties, they continue to live. They continue the struggle. Therefore, no one should expect Cuba to surrender its soul so easily," he said.

Emphasizing that Cuban revolutionaries know very well how to struggle and fight, Okuyan said, "They are not in favor of war. But if there is a direct intervention against Cuba, we all know what will happen from Cuba.

Now, on one hand, preventing this, preventing direct intervention by US imperialism, is possible by increasing solidarity in Turkey and in the world. It is possible by reminding the US of the cost of this. This is one dimension of solidarity," he said.

CUBA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN BEGINS

Speaking about the solidarity campaign to be launched to support Cuba, Okuyan provided the following information:

"Now, within the next few days, the Jose Marti Cuba Friendship Association will launch a campaign. The campaign aims to collect solar panels for Cuba. We call on you to explain Cuba's resistance to our people, to explain our solidarity with Cuba, and in addition, to support this campaign as much as your strength and means allow. So far, US imperialism has not managed to stop the sun.

There is an energy mobilization that will largely eliminate Cuba's foreign dependency in energy. We will also contribute to this mobilization as much as we can."

"FIDEL PLACED CUBA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD MAP"

Speaking at the event, Elier Ramirez Canedo, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, said, "Fidel's example is shared by millions of people. Fidel's example has multiplied. Right now, these millions are continuing the struggle both in Cuba and all over the world. Fidel gave the Cuban people their pride and dignity. He did not just lead a kind of revolution that would ensure a fairer distribution of wealth. At the same time, he led a revolution in which a very deep cultural and social transformation was achieved for the Cuban people. Fidel placed Cuba in the middle of the world map. And the independence struggles he led set an example for the struggle for independence and justice of peoples all over the world," he said. 

"65 YEARS AGO, WE DEFEATED THE WORLD'S GREATEST POWER"

Canedo's statements are as follows: 

"His anti-imperialist thought, his anti-colonialist thought, his anti-racist thought, his internationalist and environmentalist thought will continue to be a flag for revolutionaries all over the world today and tomorrow.

History did not just vindicate him. It also ensured that he left behind a large amount of ideas like a constellation. Fidel did not just challenge the borders in front of US imperialism. He did not just break these borders; he also displayed a rebellion and destructiveness against the institutionalized idea of impossibility and dogmas. The more difficult the conditions became, the more concrete his will to fight became.

He had the power to turn adversity into victory and impossibilities into infinite possibilities. For him, honor, patriotism, and commitment to principles and ideals were a matter of life and death. He perceived socialism as a scientific model, as a practice. He was someone who knew how to show tactical flexibility while passing through every conjuncture, but while doing so, he always managed never to break away from the strategic goal. He always managed all issues and all situations by paying attention to the smallest detail. And undoubtedly, he was a master in policy-making and political production. 

Today, April 19, is also the anniversary of a very important date led by Fidel. Because on April 19, 1961, exactly 65 years ago, at the Bay of Pigs, a tiny people defeated the world's greatest power with all their honor and all their consciousness.

65 years ago, on a date exactly like today, on April 19, the Cuban people defeated the landing carried out on the island by mercenaries financed and supported by the US in less than seventy-two hours.

That is why being here with you on this date today also has a very great symbolic meaning for us. Because the Communist Party of Cuba was also born from those days. Because after the Bay of Pigs victory, Cuba decided to build and protect not only its borders, not only its shores, not only its independence, but also its socialism.

"AN INTERVENTION AIMED AT LEAVING CUBA IN THE DARK"

However, the Bay of Pigs is also an issue of today for us. The Cuban people are still fighting the Bay of Pigs struggle today. Right now, we continue to struggle under a very heavy, very perverse blockade aimed at suffocating the entire Cuban people. This is a heavy blockade policy aimed at breaking the will of the Cuban people. This blockade application has existed for decades, but in some periods, it has been tightened to unbelievable levels. For example, during the coronavirus time, during the pandemic period, it was strengthened with special measures. They even prevented the entry of oxygen machines into the country so that help would not reach our citizens experiencing the disease at that time. But now we are talking about an application of weight that even exceeds that. This is an intervention aimed at cutting off all the country's energy sources. A blockade aimed at leaving Cuba in the dark. A blockade that aims to leave it without fuel and create conditions that will prevent the functioning of the country.

"WE SHOWED THAT IMPERIALISM CAN BE DEFEATED"

That is why, comrades, friends, friends, remembering the Bay of Pigs under these conditions is a strategic memory and a strategic choice for us at the same time. Because the Bay of Pigs showed us that imperialism is not invincible. The Bay of Pigs showed us that a people, no matter how small, can defeat even the giant of the world, imperialism, by maintaining their dignity, maintaining their consciousness, and making the appropriate preparations.

"CUBA WILL NEVER SURRENDER"

Cuba is standing, have no doubt about that. Cuba will never surrender. All these experiences showed us that the homeland, the motherland, and ideas will be protected with weapons in hand, but that this is not enough, and that a country can also be defended with ideas, with media wars, with communication, and with consciousness. However, Fidel was not just the leader of a single battle. He was there as a commander in all the battles of the Cuban people, and today we say that Fidel is accompanying us in our current battles and our current struggles.

He knew how to place Cuba on the world stage with an extraordinary vision. You know, his vision regarding the world was very unique. His worldviews were not born from academies in the field of diplomacy. His worldview was born directly from his knowledge of history, his studies in the field of history, Marti's teachings, and his desire for solidarity with the struggles of other countries in the world. 

According to his vision, Cuba's independence, Cuba's liberation, was not independent from the liberation of the rest of the world. It was not independent from the liberation of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Fidel became the leader who supported internationalism the most and brought it to the forefront in Cuban history. For Fidel, what we call international solidarity was not a decoration, it was not just an ornament. It was not just rhetoric either.

"FIDEL CONTINUES TO BE A GUIDE"

In the past, US governments often tried to negotiate with Cuba. In return, they expected Cuba to give up its principles and independence. Fidel said, "Our principles are in no way open to negotiation."

Fidel believed that the world was very poorly managed. And he thought that the segment we call the first world also had a system that threatened the future of the planet and the future of the human species. He thought that the understanding of civilization needed to be transformed. He thought that human beings should be placed at the center of this understanding of civilization, not capital.

His intelligence, this brilliant approach of his, still continues to be a guide for all social movements, critical intellectuals, thinkers, and peoples resisting neoliberalism and imperialism. 

"EITHER SOCIALIST CUBA OR DEATH!"

In a period when Cuba is being tried to be suffocated by a blockade on the US side, is under the threat of an energy siege, is under the threats created by this, and is also under the threat of an extremely aggressive military attack, international solidarity is of fundamental importance for us.

Cuba's struggle is actually everyone's struggle. Because we are all waging this struggle with the dream and thought that another world is possible. As Jose Marti said, whoever stands up for Cuba today stands up for all of humanity.

As a child of that beautiful Caribbean country, as a patriot, as your friend, I assure you with great certainty that either Socialist Cuba or death! We will continue to win victories in the hundredth year of our historical leader, commander-in-chief Fidel Castro."

After the speeches, the event ended with songs by Yürüyen Merdiven, Gülcan Altan, An Vokal, Ayşe Tütüncü, and Hakely Nakao Chavez Öztürk.

News Source: 12punto