in my tours of the country.
As
a point of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in
public, except at times when it is required. Many tasks related to
defense should not be made public and have to be handled with
maximum care, and that has been one of my fundamental
responsibilities as FAR minister. Moreover, I have always been
discreet, that is my way, and in passing I will clarify that I am
thinking of continuing in that way. But that has not been the
fundamental reason why I don’t appear very often in the mass media;
simply, it has not been necessary.
No essential orientation has been overlooked…
Effectively, the Comandante en Jefe’s
Proclamation gave the information that could be given at that time
and moreover, proposed specific tasks for everyone. The main thing
is to dedicate oneself in body and soul to fulfilling them. That is
what all the leaders at different levels have been doing, together
with our people who have known how to maintain an exemplary
discipline, vigilance and working spirit.
On behalf of the Comandante en Jefe and the
Party leadership, I will take the opportunity of thanking everyone
for the innumerable displays of support for the Revolution and for
the content of his Proclamation, as well as the demonstrations of
affection that have been expressed by figures from the cultural
sector; professionals and workers in all sectors; campesinos,
soldiers, housewives, students, pioneers; among them numerous
believers, public figures and religious institutions from the
overwhelming majority of denominations; finally, the people of Cuba.
It has been a conclusive demonstration of their unbreakable unity
and their revolutionary consciousness, essential pillars of the
fortitude of our country.
The breadth of support coming from all over the
world has also been impressive.
Yes, really heartening. That is why I should also
like to express thanks for the numerous messages of solidarity and
respect from all over the world, from people of the most diverse
social categories, from simple workers to intellectual and political
figures, as well as a significant and representative number of
religious institutions and figures. All of them have done so without
any conditions whatsoever. Messages from the few who did not act in
that way were not accepted or acknowledged.
Also, they have been joined to date (August 17) by
some 12,000 signatories supporting the call made 10 days ago by
prominent cultural personalities from more than 100 countries, among
them various Nobel Prize winners, condemning the interfering and
aggressive statements of the government of the United States, and
which also exposes the openly interventionist nature of the Bush
Plan, as we are calling that monster that would seem to be dusted
off from the times when – as at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th – they frustrated the independence of Cuba and
imposed their administrators on us.
Now they have also designed one for the supposed "transition."
One McCarry, who recently stated that the United States does not
accept the continuity of the Cuban Revolution, although he didn’t
say how they are thinking of averting that.
One gets the impression that the enemies of the
Revolution have been left speechless by the conclusive reaction of
the Cuban population, immune to their giant and disgraceful campaign
of offenses and lies. They are talking with surprise at the calm
reigning in Cuba, as if it was something unusual and not exactly
normal, and which all of us here knew would happen in a situation
such as this.
Yes, it would seem that they have come to believe
their own lies. The most probable is that their "think tanks" and
many of their analysts are now drawing other conclusions.
As you were saying, absolute tranquility is reigning
in the country. And something even more important, the serene,
disciplined and decisive attitude that can be felt in every
workplace, in every city, in every neighborhood. The same one that
our people always assume in moments of difficulty. If we were to be
guided solely by the internal situation, I am not exaggerating in
affirming that it would not have been necessary to mobilize even one
pioneer from among those who guard the ballot boxes in the elections.
But we have never ignored a threat from the enemy.
It would be irresponsible to do so when faced with a government like
that of the United States, which has is declaring with the greatest
audacity that it does not accept what is established in the Cuban
Constitution. From over there, as if they were the rulers of the
planet, they are saying that there must be a transition to a social
regime of their liking and that they "would take note of those who
oppose that." Although it seems incredible, this boorish and at the
same time stupid attitude was assumed by President Bush a few days
ago.
They’ll have to waste a lot of paper and ink...
A lot. For that reason I would advise them to do the
opposite. To "take note," as they say, of the annexationists on the
payroll of the U.S. Interest Section here in Havana, those who are
going to receive the crumbs of the announced $80 million earmarked
for subversion, because the bulk of it will be distributed in Miami,
as is usually the case.
On the contrary, the list is going to be
interminable. They would have to list the names of millions and
millions of Cuban men and women, the same ones who are ready to
receive their designated administrator with rifles in hand.
At this juncture, they should be very clear that it
is not possible to achieve anything in Cuba with impositions and
threats. On the contrary, we have always been disposed to normalize
relations on an equal plane. What we do not accept is the arrogant
and interventionist policy frequently assumed by the current
administration of that country.
Recently rereading Party Congress documents, I found
ideas that seemed to have been written today. For example, this
excerpt from the Central Report presented by Fidel to the Third
Congress in February 1986:
"As we have demonstrated many times, Cuba is not
remiss to discussing its prolonged differences with the United
States and to go out in search of peace and better relations between
our people."
And he continued:
"But that would have to be on the basis of the most
unrestricted respect for our condition as a country that does not
tolerate shadows on its independence, for whose dignity and
sovereignty entire generations of Cubans have fought and sacrificed
themselves. This would be possible only when the United States
decides to negotiate with seriousness and is willing to treat us
with a spirit of equality, reciprocity and the fullest mutual
respect."
Similar formulations are contained in the documents
from the other Party Congresses and have also been reaffirmed by its
first secretary on diverse occasions.
Nevertheless they are continuing with the same
aggressive and arrogant policy as always.
That is the reality. More than 20 years have passed
since Fidel pronounced the words that I have just cited; they have
that 485-page interventionist plan that I already mentioned,
approved in 2004, in which they detail how they propose to dismantle
the achievements of the Revolution in health, education, social
security; agrarian reform and urban reform; in other words, to kick
the people off their land, out of their homes so as to hand them
back to their former owners, etc. etc. etc.
To cap it all, just a few days ago, on July 10,
President Bush officially approved a document complementing the
former one, and which they had posted with a very low profile on the
Internet in June. They have openly stated that it includes a secret
appendix that is not being published "for reasons of national
security" and "to ensure its effective implementation;" those are
literally the terms that they used, and which constitute a flagrant
violation of international law.
For a while now we have been adopting measures to
confront those plans. These were reinforced particularly when the
current U.S. government initiated the unbridled warmongering policy
that it has maintained to date, including the announced intention to
attack without previous warning any of those places that they call
the "sixty or more dark corners of the world."
A notable escalation of aggression…
Effectively, and in 2003 the plans became more
explicit. On December 5 of that year, Mr. Roger Noriega, then
assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs,
declared – I don’t know if it was intentional or a slip – that "the
transition in Cuba – in other words – the death of Fidel – could
happen at any moment and we have to be prepared to be agile and
decisive." That "the United States wanted to be sure that the regime’s
cronies have no hope of holding onto power" and, so as to leave no
doubt, he added that they were working "to ensure that there was no
succession to the Castro regime." Subsequently he and other senior
U.S. officials have returned to the theme insistently.
What other form exists for obtaining these goals
that is not military aggression? Thus, the country adopted the
pertinent measures for counteracting that real danger.
Faced with similar situations, Martí taught us what
to do: "Plan against plan. Without a plan of resistance, a plan of
attack cannot be defeated," he wrote in the newspaper Patria
on June 11, 1892.
The United States government is not revealing the
contents of that appendix because it is illegal. Its publication
must be demanded, above all now that they have spoken about its
existence in order to threaten Cuba.
On the contrary, our defense plans are transparent
and legal, simply because they do not threaten anybody; their sole
objective is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the
homeland; they do not violate any national or international law
whatsoever.
The country’s media has informed about the
seriousness and reach of the measures that we have been adopting
recently to steadily strengthen our defense. Just over a month ago,
on July 1, the issue was analyzed extensively by the Fifth Plenum of
the Central Committee of the Party.
Some of the empire’s war hawks thought that the
moment had come to destroy the Revolution this past July 31.
We could not rule out the risk of somebody going
crazy, or even crazier, within the U.S. government.
Consequently, at 3 a.m. on August 1, in fulfillment
of the plans approved and signed on January 13, 2005 by compañero
Fidel, and after having made the established consultations, I
decided to substantially raise our combative capacity and readiness
via the implementation of the projected measures, including the
mobilization of several tens of thousands of reservists and militia
members, and the proposal to our principal units of regular troops,
including the Special Troops, of missions demanded by the political/military
situation that has been created.
All of the mobilized personnel has completed or is
currently completing an important cycle of combat training and
cohesion, part of that under campaign conditions.
These troops will rotate, in approximately equal
numbers, as the proposed objectives are attained. All of the
reservists and militia members who are to participate in these
activities will be informed, with the necessary anticipation, of the
date of incorporation into their units and the time that they will
remain in these to fulfill their guard duty to the homeland.
To date, the mobilization that we began on August 1
has developed satisfactorily, thanks to the magnificent response by
our reservists and militia members, as well as the commendable labor
undertaken by the military commands and especially by the Defense
Councils, under the leadership of the Party, at every level.
It is not my intention to exaggerate the danger. I
never have done so. Up until now, the attacks during these days have
not gone further than rhetorical ones, except for the substantial
increase in subversive anti-Cuba broadcasts over radio and
television.
They have announced the use of a new airplane...
Previously, they were using, at varying intervals, a
military airplane known as Comando Solo. From this past August 5,
they began using another type of aircraft that has effected daily
transmissions. On August 11, it did so in conjunction with the
aforementioned Comando Solo.
In fact, on the 5th and 6th, our radars detected
that transmissions were being made from international waters, in
outright violation of the agreements of the International
Telecommunications Union, to which the United States is a signatory,
which once again we are condemning via the corresponding channels
and agencies, given that moreover these transmissions are affecting
broadcasting in our country.
In reality, we are totally unconcerned at the
hypothetical influence of this crude and abysmally-made propaganda,
very much below the cultural and political levels of the Cuban
population and which moreover our people reject, just as they reject
the little signs on the U.S. Interests Section. That is not what
this is about; it is above all a matter of sovereignty and of
dignity. We would never passively allow the consummation of that
aggressive act, and that is why we interfere with it.
All things considered, they are spending millions in
U.S. taxpayers’ money to achieve the same result as ever: a TV that
is not seen.
I add to these reflections on the country’s defense
an idea expressed by Fidel in 1975, in his Central Report to the
First Party Congress, which I have quoted so much that I know it by
heart:
"As long as imperialism exists, the Party, the State
and the people will give their utmost attention to the services of
defense. The revolutionary guard will never be neglected. History
shows with too much eloquence that those who forget this principle
do not survive the error."
That has been our guide throughout many years, and
continues to be today for more than enough reasons.
I think that we Cubans have shown during these days
that we all share that conviction.
I agree with you, and that is why I conclude by
ratifying my congratulations to the Cuban people for their
overwhelming demonstration of confidence in themselves; a
demonstration of maturity, serenity, monolithic unity, discipline,
revolutionary consciousness and — put this in capital letters —
FIRMNESS, which reminded me of the conduct of the Cuban people
during the heroic days of the so-called Missile Crisis in October
1962.
They are the fruits of a Revolution whose concept
Fidel summed up in his speech of May 1, 2000, in 20 basic ideas that
constitute the quintessence of ideological political work. They are
the results of many years of combat that, under his leadership, we
have waged. Let nobody doubt, as long as we remain like that, no
enemy will be able to defeat us. •
REVOLUTION
is a sense of the historic moment; it is
changing everything that should be changed; it is complete
equality and freedom; it is being treated and treating others
like human beings; it is emancipating ourselves through
ourselves, and through our own efforts; it is defying powerful
dominating forces inside and outside of the social and national
sphere; it is defending values that are believed in at the cost
of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness, altruism,
solidarity and heroism; it is fighting with audacity,
intelligence and realism; it is never lying or violating ethical
principles; it is the profound conviction that there is no force
in the world capable of crushing the strength of truth and
ideas. Revolution is unity, it is independence, it is fighting
for our dreams for justice for Cuba and for the world, which is
the foundation of our patriotism, our socialism and our
internationalism.
Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz
May 1, 2000
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Once achieved, military invulnerability can only be maintained with
constant improvements
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