The Workers Party of Ireland conveys comradely greetings to all the parties participating in this meeting and expresses its appreciation to the Communist Party of Cuba for hosting this timely and important event.

 

When Fidel Castro delivered his famous speech, History Will Acquit Me, the path had been laid for the revolutionary process which led directly to the victory of the Cuban Revolution on 1st January 1959. 

 

On the centenary of Fidel's birth, we honour not only a revolutionary leader but the enduring achievements of a people who refused, and continue to refuse, to surrender to imperialism. Fidel's legacy is not a relic of the past - it is a living test to the power of collective revolutionary struggle.

 

A century after his birth, the Cuban Revolution still stands as one of the remarkable transformations of modern history. In 1959, the Cuban people overthrew a brutal dictatorship backed by foreign corporate interests and organised crime. They inherited a society defined by poverty, illiteracy, racial segregation and exploitation, and within a short time built a socialist state committed to universal education, free healthcare and equality.

 

Within a few short years, Cuba achieved literacy rates surpassing many advanced countries. It built a healthcare system admired across the world, sending doctors and medical staff to peoples in need long before "international aid" became a fashionable phrase. These achievements were victories won through struggle, discipline and revolutionary conviction. 

 

For over six decades Cuba has faced an economic blockade designed to strangle its development and destroy Cuba's revolutionary state. Yet despite sabotage, sanctions, violent assaults and relentless pressure, the Cuban people have refused to surrender their independence. Their resilience is not accidental; it is the direct result of the revolutionary consciousness forged under the leadership of Fidel and the Cuban Communist Party. 

 

Today, as Cuba confronts intensified criminal sanctions and renewed attempts to break its spirit, defending the Revolution is not merely an act of solidarity - it is a defence of socialism, human dignity and the right of people to determine their own future. 

 

This criminal blockade waged by U.S. imperialism is a violation of these principles and has been repeatedly and overwhelmingly condemned by states at the United Nations General Assembly. 

 

Marking Fidel's centenary means reaffirming the truth he embodied: a small nation, united and determined, can defy imperialist aggression regardless of the might of the aggressor. Cuba's achievements demonstrate that another world is possible, one built, not on exploitation but on socialist principles, central planning and proletarian internationalism.

 

The towering figure of Fidel represents not only Cuba's political, social and cultural development but also remains a symbol of resistance for peoples across the world confronting imperialism, exploitation and oppression. 

 

The Workers Party of Ireland, condemns the ongoing economic, financial and commercial blockade which has been in place for over six decades and continues to inflict severe hardship on the Cuban people. This cruel and vindictive attempt at economic coercion is designed to destroy Cuba's development, sovereignty and independence.

 

Our Party recently collected a large consignment of humanitarian supplies for shipment to Cuba to help counteract the shortages caused by the deepening criminal blockade. Our Party has condemned the recent resolution passed by the European Parliament calling for the suspension of political dialogue and co-operation agreements with Cuba and for further sanctions. We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the Cuban people and their Communist Party and their right to pursue a socialist course of development without foreign imperialist interference. This demands the immediate and unconditional lifting of the criminal blockade, and an intensified international campaign of solidarity by the communist and workers parties to preserve Cuba's revolutionary path and achievements.

 

Cuba's struggle is not symbolic, it is concrete and rooted in a struggle between a sovereign socialist country and a global capitalist system that seeks to destroy it. This remains a central concern for our Party. Across the world, including the brutal and continuing genocidal Zionist assault on the Palestinian people, humanity faces a relentless assault. Imperialism is not simply a specific foreign policy enacted by a single state. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism where there is a struggle for the control for the control of markets, fields of investment, trade routes, sources of raw materials and energy waged across the world. The competition between the capitalist powers and inter-imperialist rivalry inevitably leads to conflict and wars, and the intensification of local and regional conflicts accelerates the risk of generalised global war.   

 

War is not an aberration. It is the logical extension of imperialist competition. As Lenin pointed out, the deepest economic foundation of imperialism is monopoly and a monopoly, once it is formed and controls thousands of millions, inevitably penetrates every sphere of public life, regardless of the form of government. 

 

On 16 April 1961, Fidel Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution. Let the solidarity of the international communist movement reflect that objective; the consolidation and defence of Cuba's socialist state; the preservation of social ownership of the means of production, and the victory of the working class.

Long live Socialist Cuba!

Long live Marxism-Leninism!

Long live proletarian internationalism!

 

(Gerry Grainger, International Secretary, Workers Party of Ireland)