Cuba is invincible against agression: Raul Castro
Campaign News | Saturday, 13 March 2004
Unity of the people is the key to our defence, says armed forces minister
Santiago de Cuba, March 12 (AIN) Army General Raul Castro, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, said that the Cuban people, their army and their Communist Party are an invincible monolithic block, against which any acts of aggression directed at Cuba would be crushed.
That is the short answer to those who question how this small island has resisted so many attacks over such a long time, stated Raul Castro. His words came during a ceremony held to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the Frank Pais Second Eastern Front-a rebel war front that played a key role in the final defeat of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship.
At the historic Mayari Arriba complex, Raul Castro emphasized that the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces will never slacken, and warned against late night schemers and charlatans who speak of a "transition in Cuba." The armed people of Cuba will not let their accomplishments be taken away, he said.
Accompanied by relatives of fighters who died during the revolutionary struggle, of the five Cuban political prisoners currently held in US jails, members of the Western Army and locals from the mountains, the founder of that guerrilla front
paid tribute to those who died in the war of liberation and after the triumph in 1959.
Special homage was paid to one hundred of them, whose remains were buried today in the mausoleum there.
Next to an eternal flame that symbolizes the glory and history of this land are kept the ashes of another 159 guerrillas who died during the eleven and a half months that the front's action lasted.
Raul Castro said that the only homage worthy of these fighters was to prepare ourselves better for national defense, to continue the construction of socialism, to promote the new programs undertaken by the Cuban Revolution and to offer solidarity and help to those who need it in the world.
A musical piece by renowned Cuban pianist Frank Fernandez was especially composed for the ceremony.
Haydee Aguilar, a local school girl, and Yosvany Mestre, a student from the Camilo Cienfuegos Military School, spoke about the commitment of young people in Cuba to carry on the work of the Revolution and thanked the previous generations for the sacrifices made in attaining a more just and rewarding society.
Soldiers from the Cuban Frontier Brigade that keeps watch over the illegally occupied US naval base at Guantanamo and a Western Army Tank Unit along with Special Troops, militiamen, cadets, and members of the Youth Work Corps all participated in the military parade.
http://www.periodico26.cu/english_new/cuba/raul120305.htm
