CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Cuba, Italy Celebrate 50 Years of Support and Solidarity.

CUBA, 27 April 2011.- The 50th anniversary of the founding of the Italy-Cuba Friendship Association (AAIC) and the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs victory were recalled on Monday by Cubans and Italians in this capital.

During the commemorative ceremony, Elio Gamez, vice-president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), said that the work of the Association has been constant and outstanding all these years, something for which Cubans will always be grateful.

He underlined the selfless work of its members to spread the truth about Cuban reality and to expand the struggle for the release of Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino and Gerardo Hernandez, the five Cuban antiterrorists unfairly incarcerated in the US since 1998.

He also recalled the emergence of the AAIC during the days of the so-called October Crisis on the island, when the Italian people supported the Revolution with demonstrations in some of their cities. In those days, recalled Gamez, a young man died on the streets while expressing his support for the Cuban cause, which turned him into the first martyr of the solidarity existing between the two nations.

In addition, he recalled that this date is of great significance, since Italians celebrate their national holiday on the occasion of the historic victory over the fascist regime, which caused the death of thousands of their compatriots.

Andrea Paulieri, member of the Association, mentioned the defense of values like mutual support between countries and unity as the main objectives of the organization, in a context in which scourges like racism, oppression and wars consolidate.

Present in the ceremony was Giustino di Celmo, a friend of the island and father of Fabio di Celmo, the victim in 1997 of terrorist acts organized by counterrevolutionaries currently protected in US territory.

Also participating were other guests, representatives of the ICAP and the Federation of Cuban Women, and of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Investment, among others. (Cubaminrex-AIN)

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