CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Successful Evening Commemorates 40th Anniversary of the Death of Che Guevara

CANADA, October 15, 2007.- A capacity audience of 100 people gathered Friday evening, October 12th to pay tribute to the memory of Ché Guevara, the great hero of the Cuban Revolution, 40 years after his death, and to talk about the Cuban Five and other current struggles Cuba is facing.

The evening was organized by the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee and took place in Mondragon Coffeehouse and Bookstore, housed in an historic building in the Exchange District of downtown Winnipeg.

The first speaker was a Cuban now living in Winnipeg whose entire family was involved in the revolution and who had the great honour, as a young soldier, of meeting Ché. He spoke eloquently of the place Ché holds in the hearts of Cubans and why he is considered the model for all Cuban youth to follow.

The next speaker, originally from South Africa, spoke about Ché’s internationalism and the high regard for him throughout the world.

Another member of Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity then spoke about the case of the Cuban Five, -- ‘los cinco’ -- who are also heroes to Cuba. They have been in U.S. jails since September 12, 1998, charged, tried and convicted falsely for conspiracy espionage and murder when all they did was monitor and report on the activities of notorious terrorist groups based in Miami who had been responsible for a multitude of attacks against Cuba and more than 3000 deaths. He gave a succinct outline of the case and called on participants to attend an important conference in Toronto Nov. 9-10 called Breaking the Silence: Solidarity Conference for the Cuban Five, organized jointly by the solidarity networks in Canada, Quebec and the U.S.

The keynote speaker of the evening was the Cuban Ambassador to Canada, Ernesto Sentí, who paid tribute to Ché by talking about his legacy in the character of the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban people and in Cuba’s achievements since the Revolution. He explained the effects of the U.S. blockade on Cuba, and pointed out that Cuba’s biggest crime in the eyes of successive U.S. governments has been that of upholding its dignity and independence, of refusing to bow down to imperialism. He called on people to support the ideals of peaceful coexistence, of supporting Cuba and all nations in their desires to make their own decisions and set their own course in this world. His words were well received by the audience, who broke into applause many times throughout his speech.

A young Aboriginal girl, nine years old, also addressed the audience about her experience of speaking at the United Nations, a forum which Ché Guevara addressed several times in his lifetime as well.

Musicians and singers from the Chilean community, Grupo Amistad, and others, sang songs dedicated to Ché, explaining that it is a labour of love to participate in such a commemoration of a great hero.

The participants also contributed generously to a fund to assist Aboriginal youth from Manitoba to participate in next summer’s Ché Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade, which will undertake its 16th trip next August. (Cubaminrex-Embacuba Canadá)

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