Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores - Republica de Cuba

[OYID]

((Will spruce up later))

[OYID]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN RELATIONS - LA HABANA, REPUBLIC OF CUBA
AUGUST 7 1968, YEAR 9 OF THE REVOLUTION

People of Cuba,
Peoples of the World,
Revolutionary parties and organizations throughout the planet,
Men and women of good heart and solidary spirit,

Brothers,

The Republic of Cuba has been profoundly dismayed at the news of renewed Zionist aggression against the oppressed and long-suffering Palestinian people. Our Revolution has from the start stood in solidarity with the Arab states against Imperialism in all forms, and we hold a special place in our heart for a people resisting what amounts to no less than a modern-day settler-colonial endeavor sponsored and supported by the worldwide masters of Capital and their loyal attack-dogs, the capitalist States. Comandante Che Guevara spoke proudly of the Revolution's commitment to fighting injustice wherever it may be found, and the Palestinian case is no exception. Even now we sit in awe at the sheer audacity of the Zionists, who spit on the face of the peoples of the world, for even as in the UN a resolution was being voted on which condemned their blatant violation of Palestinians' rights, their troops marched on Samaria and Judea, and their government declared its "formal annexation" of the Occupied West Bank.

As is obvious, the Republic of Cuba condemns these actions, but their scale and scope have convinced us that further action is still needed. In personal conversation, Comandante Fidel Castro has spoken to me of how he sometimes wishes he were not a grown head of state but still a young and careless freedom fighter, one that might travel to Palestine to fight alongside the brave Palestinian marquis or, at any rate, take direct action against the representatives of Israel and Zionism wherever they might be found with whatever resources were available. But, for better or for worse, the Cuban Revolution is at a different stage, and there are other actions it can take to materialize its solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people.

In 1959 Comandante Che Guevara had the privilege of being invited by President Gamel Abdel Nasser of Egypt to visit the West Bank and witness firsthand the destruction caused by the horrors of Al-Nakba. There, he met with heroic Palestinian leaders such as Abdullah Abu Sittah, Qassem El-Farrah and Mustafa Abu Middain. During his visit, he was shocked by the intense conditions of poverty and dispossession in which the Zionist settlers had left the Palestinian people, but was also adamant that the only way forward was resistance. This is the course of action that the Palestinian people have taken, and we see it today in the actions of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and, most recently, those of the Palestine National Liberation Movement, who have only resorted to violence as a last recourse against the callous and senseless march of an inhumane colonial war machine, much like the indigenous resistances of Latin America's own colonial history.

Back then, the indigenous resistance was alone, but now, through the immortal science of Marxism-Leninism, the peoples of the world can stand together in solidarity and push back as one against the Zionists and their allies of the Western capitalist military-industrial complex. As our comrades of the PFLP have explained in their publications, Israel plays a policing role in the Middle East, and it is in that capacity that it receives so much aid from the West, as it can serve as a sort of beach-head against any and all revolutionary efforts by the Arab peoples. Thus, it is imperative for the liberation of the Middle East as a whole that the Zionist Fortress be overrun. This effort will require actions on many fronts, and the Cuban Revolution calls on Revolutionaries the world over to consider what actions they can take against this injustice, such that they may continue with their own strategies, but also aid the internationalist proletarian cause.

For our part, the Cuban people will be clear: there can be no accommodation whatsoever towards the Zionists. It is in light of this realization, and in consideration of the facts expressed before, as well as of the many other crimes committed by Israel and guided by the basic principles of the immortal science of Marxism-Leninism, that the Republic of Cuba formally withdraws its recognition of the State of Israel. This decision comes after great deliberation, but it is definitive and final, and thus we cut off all diplomatic ties with the Zionist entity and join in the international cry for the withdrawal of Zionist occupiers from Palestinian lands, especially in the recently stolen territories of the West Bank. The original decision to recognize Israel was made in 1949 by a pre-revolutionary government, and thus doesn't match the will of the Cuban people at the present time. It was also made before the record of Zionist crimes was so extensive, and can therefore be forgiven for its naivete.

The Cuban Revolution stands proud today, convinced as ever of carrying on the legacy of Latin America's revolutionary history. As a final note, we would also like to announce that Nakba Day will from now on be in Cuba celebrated as a solemn day of remembrance, as a symbol and as a warning to Never Again allow such a thing to happen to a downtrodden people, and that Palestinian refugees can count on Cuban solidarity now and forever as we stand united against Neo-Colonialism, Imperialism and Tyranny.

As Che used to say: ¡Hasta la victoria siempre, camaradas!

[Aesculus]

Israel unconditionally surrenders to Cuba and pledges to vacate the middle east effective immediately