AN AFRICAN HERO IS GONE

Commander Risquet

By Kwesi Pratt, Jnr

Commander Jorge Risquet Valdes, is by all standards an African hero who has contributed most significantly to the struggle for national liberation and against apartheid and racism on the African continent.

Risquet as he was popularly known commanded an internationalist force including Ghana’s captain Kojo Tsikata which defeated the apartheid army in the battle of Quito Conavale in Angola.

 It was this victory of the internationalist forces which paved the way for negotiations leading to the freedom of South Africa, the independence for Namibia and the consolidation of the independence of Angola.

Reports from the Cuban Capital Havana say that Commander Risquet died in the morning of last Monday.

 He was the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and was formally designated as Commander of the Cuban Revolution.

  Risquet fought alongside comrades Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guvera and many other revolutionaries to topple the British dictatorship in 1959.

Two years ago, he visited Ghana as a guest of the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) and delivered the key note address at the annual Founder’s Day lecture.

On that visit he had discussions with President John Dramani Mahama, Captain Kojo Tsikata and former President Jerry John Rawlings.

 In that lecture, Commander Risquet revealed important secrets about the collaboration between Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Commandant Fidel Castro in the liberation struggle in Africa.

 He revealed that under an agreement with the Government of Ghana, Cuban Internationalist fighters were allowed to use the Accra International Airport as a transit point without being searched.

Commander Risquet also disclosed that 2,400 Cuban fighters lost their lives in the national liberation struggle in Africa.

He described Nkrumah’s struggle for African independence as “singular, intelligent and passionate”.

The full text of commander Risquet’s lecture on Nkrumah would be published in subsequent issues of “The Insight”

Editorial

A SALUTE FOR RISQUET

News of the death of Commander Jorge Risquet Valdes has reached “The Insight” with shock in spite of his advanced age.

Commader Risquet is a distinguished African hero by all standards given his role in the decolonization process in Africa.

It was the internationalist force under his command which defeated the apartheid armed forces in the famous battle of Quito Conavale in Angola, paving the way for an end to apartheid, the independence of Namibia and the consolidation of the independence of Angola.

Commander Risquet has paid his dues to the world wide movement for the liberation of all peoples under the yoke of imperialism.

We salute Commander Risquet for his bold contribution to the global anti-imperialist struggle.

 May his ideas and ideals continue to live on long after his death.