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Hasta Siempre,
Madiba
• In the name of the Cuban
government and people, Miguel
Díaz-Canel signs condolences book at South African
embassy
Claudia Fonseca Sosa
FIRST Vice President Miguel Díaz
Canel Bermúdez signed the condolences book at
Havana’s South African embassy in posthumous tribute
to former President Nelson Mandela.
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"In Mandela, as Cubans, we recall the
integral and valiant revolutionary,"
wrote Díaz-Canel. Foto: Juvenal Balán. |
In the name of the Cuban government
and people, Díaz Canel, member of the Communist
Party Political Bureau, expressed the great loss to
Cuba signified by the death of Mandela, a great
friend.
"In Mandela, as Cubans, we recall
the complete, valiant revolutionary, the political
leader and defender of peace, social justice,
equality. We also appreciate the untiring fighter,
firm in his convictions," he wrote.
Díaz-Canel also made reference to
Cuba’s modest contribution to liberation struggles
in Africa and the defeat of the apartheid regime. "Mandela
recognized that we Cubans did not go there to
colonize, but to share the same trenches."
Other signatories of the condolences
book were Communist Party Political Bureau members
Esteban Lazo Hernández and Abelardo Colomé Ibarra,
President of the National Assembly of People's Power
and Minister of the Interior, respectively. Also
present at the embassy were José Ramón Balaguer
Cabrera, member of the Party Secretariat and head of
its International Relations Department; Council of
Ministers Vice Presidents Antonio E. Lusson and
Ulises Rosales del Toro; and Acting Foreign Minister
Marcelino Medina.
Napthal Manana, the South African
ambassador in Havana, expressed his thanks for the
solidarity shown by Cuban authorities and the people
with his country’s government and the family of the
deceased leader, who considered Cuba a great friend.
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