Luanda - Angola ambassador to Cuba, Maria Cândida Teixeira, expressed the gratitude of the Angolan people and all the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the generosity and sacrifice of the Cuban fighters who fought in the historic Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
The Angolan diplomat was speaking during the ceremony commemorating the 36th anniversary of the Cuito Cuanavale victory, organized last Friday, in Havana, by the group of SADC ambassadors accredited in Cuba.
According to a note sent to ANGOP, the event was also associated to the celebrations for the Liberation Day of Southern Africa, marked on March 23rd, simultaneously with the anniversary of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
On the occasion, Ambassador Cândida Teixeira, who spoke as chairperson of the SADC group in Havana, highlighted that Cuban internationalist fighters fought side by side with Angolans and Namibians more than 14,000 kilometers from their homeland.
She stated that the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale meant the end of the oppression of racist minorities and transformed the geopolitical situation in Southern Africa, which made it easier for other nations to achieve peace and tranquility.
Occurring between 1987 and 1988, she recalled, the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was more than a military confrontation, but “a turning point in the history of Southern Africa”.
For the Angolan diplomat, it was a battle that, although fought on Angolan lands, transcended national borders, uniting different peoples in a common struggle against foreign domination and the racist oppression of the apartheid regime.
For his part, Cuban General Rasiel Falcon Ramirez, one of the protagonists of that decisive battle, considered that the Cuban contribution to the cause of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Angola “marked forever our ties sealed with the blood of both peoples”.
"Today, 36 years later, we are pleased to know that we remain united, Cubans and Angolans, in the common effort to achieve prosperity for both nations with self-determination, sovereignty and social justice," he said.
He recognized that the “compelling” victory at Cuito Cuanavale and, above all, the lightning advance of the powerful group of Angolan and Cuban troops, put an end to foreign military aggression, forcing the units of the racist South African regime to “swallow their usual arrogance”.
He also recalled that the Cuito Cuanavale's outcome forced the apartheid regime to sit down at the conversation table, which culminated in the peace agreements for southwest Africa, signed by Angola, South Africa and Cuba, at the United Nations headquarters, in New York, in December 1988.
Alongside the SADC ambassadors in Havana, senior officers of the Cuban Armed Forces, former combatants, leaders of the Communist Party and the Government of Cuba, as well as other representatives of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Cuba, were also present at the event.
Similar ceremonies took place in other Angolan diplomatic missions and representations in several countries around the world, including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, France, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, among others. IZ/CF/DOJ
