NPP COMPLAINS: It Says the Electoral Register is Still Bloated

Mr Peter Mac Manu

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) won the 2016 polls on bloated register, the party’s campaign manager, Peter Mac Manu has said.

The NPP in August last year claimed that following a painstaking investigations it had conducted it discovered that the 2015 Togolese voters’ register has 76,286 “potential matches” on that of Ghana’s.

This led to the purging of about 50,000 names from the 2016 voters’ register ahead of the conduct of last week’s polls that saw the election of the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo as Ghana’s president-elect.

“…There’s been a lot of issues that post elections analysis would have to bring out. There’s been issues of bloated register and I still maintain that Ghana’s voters register is bloated,” said Mac Manu on Monday in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM.

The NPP over the years, he said had complained about the register that it cannot understand why out-going president, John Mahama garnered a whopping 400,000 more votes “over his parliamentary candidates” in the 2012 elections.

When asked by Kojo Yankson, host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show that he [Mac Manu] thought the NPP won the 2016 polls on a bloated register, Mac Manu replied that “of course the register is bloated and I won’t deny that.”

“But we prevented the excesses from being played out on voting day,” he added.
That notwithstanding, he stated that the NPP won the elections as a result of the need for change that percolates every sphere of the country.

He said in “…2008 and 2012 elections were quite different and different from the 2016 election. If you look at the political environment; the electoral environment, the economic environment, the security environment - they’re different."

“…So you have to update yourself and measure up to the current environment to be able to take advantage because it is a competition… a competition of ideas and the key person in this whole saga of elections is the voter. So you have to measure up to the concerns and needs of the voter and you are going to meet it and that’s exactly what the New Patriotic Party did for the 2016 elections,” he added.

Editorial

SO FAR, SO VERY GOOD

Out-going President John Dramani Mahama and in-coming President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appear to be handling the transitional process very well.

They have all placed emphasis on the need to pursue what they have described as the broader Ghanaian interest with a focus on how to improve the living and working conditions of the people.

President Mahama whiles acknowledging defeat pledged to do all he can to ensure a smooth transition of power to the new administration.

Nana Akufo –Addo on the other hand has told his supporters that he would not be an NPP President but a president for all Ghanaians.

All these are very reassuring even though the transition period has also seen several cases of politically motivated violence.

It is our hope that the goodwill being exhibited by the leaders can help to end the needless violence and create conditions for Ghana’s forward march.

So far, so very good.

Independent Prosecutor Will Fight Corruption Efficiently – Nana Addo

President Elect, Nana Akufo Addo

By Delali Adogla-Bessa

President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo, has reiterated the point that his incoming administration will establish an independent prosecutor’s office to deal with corruption in his administration.

Nana Akufo-Addo contends that, an office devoid of political influence will assist in arresting the issues of corruption that have plagued Ghana.

In an interview with the BBC, the President-elect said such a move would also allay the fears of witch-hunting of political opponents.

“We have decided that we want to take the politics out of it [the fight against corruption], so that the screams of witch-hunting and others will not arise, by establishing an office of a special prosecutor or somebody who will be independent of the executive and whose remit will be to investigate and tackle issues of corruption.”

“Hopefully, that person is going to be somebody who is going to command the respect of the society, and at the same time has an independent mind to make the decisions,” he said.

Fixing economy a priority

Aside the efforts to establish an independent prosecutor’s office, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that, his main priority will be fixing the economy and addressing the youth unemployment rate in the country, which the world bank has pegged at 48 percent for persons between ages 15 and 24.

“Unemployment amongst the youth has reached alarming proportions, and if we don’t find a method of dealing with it, our country and society are going to run into all kinds of problems down the line. So my major priority is what we need to do to get our economy working again, expanding and growing rapidly,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.

Why I lost Navrongo Central seat - Mark Woyongo

Mark Woyongo

Defeated lawmaker for Navrongo Central in the Upper East Region, Mark Owen Woyongo says it not strange losing the seat though he least expected to have been defeated in that manner.

According to him, there is no strange feeling losing the seat since this is not the first time he has contested an election on the ticket of the party and lost in the same constituency.

He states that the defeat was not expected considering what he had done in the area under his tenure blaming it on the delays in the release of feeding grants to second cycle institutions leading to intermittent closure of schools.

“My area is full of educational institutions and this is one of the reasons that caused my defeat. During my campaigns, everywhere I went the people complained about it and nothing was being done to improve the situation”, he disclosed on the Ultimate Breakfast Show hosted by Lantam Papanko.

The Former interior minister also stated that the introduction of certain policies by government including the scrapping of teacher and nursing allowances worked against his candidature coupled with the astronomical increase in electricity and water tariffs.

“As I said earlier, there were a combination factors including the lack of jobs for the teeming youth, the failure and complacency of some party executives to work because they felt we had done much and there was no need to stress themselves and government policies affected my fortunes”, he added.

NO MILITARY SOLUTION TO PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

Jennifer Lartey

By Duke Tagoe

The Government of Ghana has expressed grave concerns about the deteriorating state of affairs regarding the peace process between the states of Israel and Palestine insisting that there is no military solution to the Palestinian conflict.

In her address at the Palestinian Embassy to mark the International Day in Solidarity with the Palestinian people, Mrs Jennifer Lartey, Director for Middle East, Asia and Pacific Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ghana believes the Palestinian question is at the core of the Middle East conflict and has in practical demonstration of this belief, extended consistent support for various United Nations General Assembly resolutions on the issue.

According to her, President John Dramani Mahama, emphasied Ghana’s support for a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the last United Nations General Assembly adding that Ghana will continue to express its solidarity with the people of Palestine in their quest for self-determination and their desire to live in an independent state side by side with their neighbours.

Mrs Lartey warned that “Israel’s security can only be guaranteed by a peaceful and stable Palestinian state” and urged the international community to renew or resolve to increase and sustain the contributions made towards the realization of the Palestinian cause.

Recounting historical landmarks in Ghana-Palestine relations, Mrs Lartey said Ghana was amongst the first countries which recognized the state of Palestine when it was formally proclaimed in 1988.

Ghana, she said “has consistently extended support to and demonstrated her solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination and the creation of an independent homeland for their own people of Palestine.”

A Human Rights Watch report for the year 2016 states that the Israeli occupation and its forces led by Benjamin Netanyahu, “fatally shot and killed at least 96 Palestinian civilian and wounded at lease 10, 854 in the West Bank.”

The report also states that: “In June, a UN commission of inquiry released a report regarding the 2014 Israel-Gaza war that found Israeli forces committed serious laws-of-war violations, including attacking residential buildings without an apparent military target, using artillery and other high explosive weapons indiscriminately in populated areas, and apparently targeting civilians not participating in hostilities.

“As of November 23, Israeli authorities demolished 481 Palestinian homes and other buildings in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), displacing 601 people, including 296 children. In August, Israel demolished 22 homes in four communities in an area that Israel has designated for future settlement construction, called E-1. These communities are among 46 Bedouin villages Israel has earmarked for forcible “relocation” to three sites in the West Bank.”

The International Day of Solidarity with Palestine has been set aside by the United Nations and is observed every year because on that day in 1947, the general assembly adopted resolution 181 which provided for the establishment in Palestine, a Jewish State and an Arab State.

AN UNDEFEATED FIDEL INSPIRES US WITH HIS EXAMPLE

Commandante Fidel Castro Ruz

By Eduardo Palomares Calderón |

"All the glory in the world would fit within a kernel of corn," wrote Cuba's national hero José Martí, but today it seems that all of the glory in the world fits in a small cedar chest draped with a Cuban flag, bearing a simple inscription: Fidel Castro Ruz, with no letters indicating military rank or position, that weighed heavy in the hearts of those present in this city's Antonio Maceo Grajales Plaza de la Revolución.

It was not in vain that Fidel united dozens of leaders from sister countries and more than a million Cubans in Havana, moved an entire people along the funeral procession that followed the route traveled by the Caravan of Liberty in 1959 - this time in reverse - and concentrated in this heroic city more dignitaries and friends from abroad and hundreds of thousands of Cubans from the country's eastern provinces.

"I am Fidel!" was the cry that emerged from the hearts of those moved by the national anthem, because only an undefeated Comandante en Jefe, who inspires us with his example, is able to reproduce himself in men, women, and children committed to continuing his work and making his ideas their own.

As witnesses Fidel had, along with his family and brother - a comrade in all battles - a Black brother who faithfully accompanied him in ideas and action, Juan Almeida Bosque, immortalized in a sculpture on the Heredia Theater flanking the Plaza, as well as the Bronze Titan Antonio Maceo whose likeness calls us to battle.

Thus the pain, the sadness, the silence accumulated over the days since the night of November 25, were during the final tribute transformed into the determination to honor Fidel with commitment.

HIS WORK WILL LIVE ON IN THE HEARTS OF WORKERS

In the name of Cuba's working class, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), expressed the deep pain and sadness felt by the trade union movement following the death of the founder of the Cuban Revolution, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz.

He said that Fidel was a "political giant of the 20th century; a member of a generation which was able to cultivate loyalty and determination, with its words and actions, and which defended revolutionary ideas and the principles of social justice unconditionally. From him, we learned that only those who struggle have the right to triumph, and the deep conviction that achieving victory depends on leadership, motivation, and the conception of unity we are able to generate within the people and among workers.

"With the triumph of January, 1959, the Cuban working class not only found a solution to its work-related demands and took power, but also became the leading force in the transformations required for the construction of a new social project, on the basis of which unity in the defense of the nation's interests was created."

At another point in his remarks, Guilarte said, "Thanks to you (Fidel) Cuba is today an honorable, independent, anti-imperialist, and solidary country.

"Your work will live forever in the hearts of workers. With your untiring struggle, you have shown that a better world is possible."

FIDEL, FOR CUBAN CAMPESINOS, YOUR WORK AND THOUGHT WILL ALWAYS BE A BEACON AND GUIDE US IN THE DEFENSE OF OUR SOCIALIST REVOLUTION

Rafael Ramón Santiesteban Pozo, president of the National Small Farmers Association, said that since the first moments of the struggle in the Sierra Maestra, campesinos have had confidence in Fidel and in the nascent Rebel Army, noting the multiple ways in which they supported the insurgent forces. "Many of them joined as soldiers and gave their lives for a Revolution that defended their rights and was going to truly liberate them."

He emphasized that the Revolution's Agrarian Reform was not only implemented, but went further, giving ownership of the land to the men and women who worked it; as well as bringing science and technology to the fields; ensuring credit to finance production; providing insurance; taking education, public healthcare, sports, and culture to the most remote corners of the country; and most importantly gave us the independence and dignity that only a free, sovereign nation can.

He added, "Fidel, for Cuban campesinos, your work and thought will always be a beacon and guide the defense of our socialist revolution and its achievements. You will always be present, and we will follow you as we contemplate with affection every luminous dawn in our fields, among palms, plains, and mountains, in the effort and sacrifice of every workday as we fertilize the soil to continue cultivating your legacy."

VETERAN COMBATANTS WILL CONTINUE YOUR WORK WITH SACRIFICE; COURAGE & REVOLUTIONARY CONVICTION

Division General José Carrillo Gómez, who heads the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, said that members of the organization were deeply moved by the loss of their Comandante en Jefe, undefeated in all of the Cuban people's battles in diverse arenas, since the last stage of our definitive national liberation struggle began.

He likewise indicated, "The Revolution which you dreamed of, initiated, and carried out, to which you tirelessly devoted your entire life, we will carry forward with absolute loyalty, united in an unstoppable march, like Martí, Maceo and Gómez, onward to conquer all justice and make the golden dream of our Apostle, of yours, and of all honorable Cubans, a beautiful reality."

General Carillo said, "Veteran combatants will continue the work with sacrifice, courage, and revolutionary conviction. We face the challenge of being worthy of all those who died for the homeland, from the heroic martyrs of Moncada to those who fell in our glorious internationalist missions.

"Everyone, in a monolithic bloc, veterans and youth, reassert that the best way to pay tribute to Fidel is to maintain our unity under all circumstances, and reaffirm our commitment to making a reality of the conception of Revolution he formulated."

WE ARE ALL FIDEL

Carlos Rafael Miranda Martínez, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) stated that Fidel is Cuba, because Fidel is the people, who continue to love him and are willing to follow him, just like they have done in great battles. “What Cuban doesn’t have in their home, on their desk, in their bedroom, on their dresser, a picture of their leader? He entered into our lives forever and became part of our family.”
At another moment, Miranda noted that the Committees, and of course Fidel, are present in every young person over 14 years of age that joins the organization, in every drop of voluntarily donated blood, in every mobilization to participate in vaccination campaigns, electoral processes, community debates, in every act of voluntary work.

Expanding on this idea he stated, “We are all Fidel. Eight and a half million Cuban men and women accompany me tonight, all CDR members. I speak on behalf of all of them. On behalf of the retirees and homemakers, the doctor, the police officer, the youth and students, recent graduates, carpenters and builders, artists, that is to say, every member of the community, the ordinary people of our neighborhoods.”

WE CUBANS ARE THE REVOLUTION 

Representing the Federation of Cuban Women, the organization’s secretary general Teresa M. Amarelle Boué, emphasized that Cuban women have every reason to be proud of the country’s achievements. She noted that “given the values and principles of socialism which characterize the Revolution we defend, FMC members throughout the country have signed your concept of Revolution, as a way of reaffirming the fact that you have entered into immortality, because although your physical body is gone, your ideas and unquestionable truth will take root in every new generation of women born on this island. We feel a sense of commitment for having lived in your time, Fidel, and to continue building the extraordinary work you created.

“We Cuban women are the Revolution! Because it was she that opened the path of liberty and justice to us, because it was she that gave us the opportunity to become full human beings with rights and protagonists of the new Cuba built by you and the vanguard army that you so nobly led, which ripped out decades of discrimination, exclusion and humiliation by the root.

“Fidel is reproduced – as you (previous speakers) have said – in every patriot that stands up against imperialism and cultivates dignity and compassion. You have not died Fidel! You live in every Cuban woman, in our children, in our grandchildren; you live in every revolutionary of your grateful homeland and the world.”

FIDEL WENT TO THE VERY ROOT OF HISTORY TO EXTRACT ITS MOST NUTRITIOUS ESSENCE

Meanwhile, Miguel Barnet Lanza, president of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, reflecting on the figure of Fidel, stated: "None of his contemporaries can measure up to his stature as a giant. He defined for our country a new concept of nation, and as such contributed to the creation of a modern conception of the true meaning of revolution. He went to the very root of history to extract its most nutritious sap. As a young university student he fought against the evils of the neo-colonial Republic. His strong inclination toward the ideas of Martí saw him regarded as a leader and example among his peers."

“This was Fidel the statesman, but the intellectual was never far behind. In his historic “Words to intellectuals,” he outlined Cuba’s cultural-political program, with a democratic and inclusive vision. The literacy campaign was carried out - the Revolution’s first great cultural achievement - and created were institutions which promoted the arts and letters, such as ICAIC; the Casa de las Américas; the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba; the artistic education system; and a group of institutions which have supported the country’s development. 

“Books ceased to be a privilege and became an essential item. The entire program, all of it, was Fidel’s idea and one of his greatest legacies. And in the most difficult moment of the Special Period, as we were approaching rock bottom, the maxim he used to close a UNEAC Council was “Culture is the first thing that must be saved.”

FIDEL LEFT IN US THE INSPIRATION TO CONTINUE EXISTING; TO CONTINUE FIGHTING ON

Jennifer Bello Martínez, president of the Federation of University Students, stated that for Cuban students Fidel symbolizes strength, energy, faith in the Revolution, and commitment to the homeland. “The need to feel the pulse of his words, his ideas, his piercing gaze, the gesticulation of his hands, and firmness of his steps, has increased over these days: Fidel left in us the inspiration to continue existing, to continue fighting on.”

She also noted that the Comandante became a revolutionary at the university, “in the same expanding university where generations of young students today find meaning in life, which translates into a rebellious spirit, profound ideas of justice and human dignity, in an enduring social commitment.

“We will always defend this Revolution, we will never allow the sword or the flag to fall, we students will not fail her. We ratify our commitment to moving toward the future with your principles and ideals. Cuban universities and schools will be our Moncada, our Granma, our Sierra, our Girón. Cuba is ours to look after and defend!

“Before you, Comandante, who motivates us, before the statue of the Bronze Titan and before the people that have come to pay tribute to you, we wish to reaffirm that we will be faithful and loyal continuators of Martí; that we will be faithful and loyal continuators of Maceo. And with them, we Cuban students today state, for you, for Raúl and our Party, that Cuba is and always will be our eternal Baraguá.”

WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE FAITHFUL TO HIS LEGACY AND NEVER BETRAY THE CONFIDENCE WHICH HE ALWAYS PLACED IN THE YOUTH

Speaking during the tribute to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Casto Ruz, Susely Morfa González, first secretary of the Young Communist League (UJC), noted that millions of Cubans and revolutionaries across the entire planet have grown up with the lessons of the Comandante en Jefe. “We learned that principles must be unbreakable, that surrendering is never an option; that being an anti-imperialist is the essence of our historic struggles, that solidarity and internationalism make us grow as human beings and give us the overwhelming satisfaction of feeling useful; that all the glory in the world fits within a kernel of corn, and that we must never lie.”

She also highlighted that henceforth UJC members will assume an even greater commitment to Fidel’s ideas and revolutionary concepts, “We will be better in our studies, at work, in defending the homeland, much more altruistic, committed, and unwavering, we will feel that in every one of us continues the always perfectible work of true revolutionaries such as he, those who find the greatest satisfaction carrying out our duty.

“Our dear Fidel marches toward immortality, and today, overcoming the pain, we new generations of Cubans reaffirm that we will always be faithful to his legacy, and never betray the confidence which he always placed in the youth.”

The World Highlights Cubans’ Commitment To Fidel’s Legacy

By Granma International news staff | informacion@granma.cu

More than a month after the death of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, important figures, global communities, and media outlets continue to highlight the legacy of the leader of the Cuban Revolution and Cubans’ commitment to his ideas.

A crowd of people gathered in the French capital to reaffirm their decision to continue struggling for just cases, guided by Fidel Castro’s thought.

There in Paris’ José Martí square, French, Latin American and Cuban citizens noted that despite the death of the Comandante, his legacy will live on and accompany the struggles of the nation and those of peoples across the world, reported Prensa Latina.

Didier Philippe, president of the Cuba-France Solidarity Association, stated that “This immense man will always be remembered as a key actor of the 20th century, and defender of oppressed peoples in Latin America, Africa and Asia.”

Meanwhile, French intellectual Paul Estrade highlighted Fidel’s efforts to secure Cuba’s independence, return dignity to his people, and guarantee important rights such as access to healthcare and education.

Numerous tributes have been held across the European nation since the Comandante’s death, last November 25, to commemorate the mark left by the leader on thousands of French citizens.

On December 4, the Cuba solidarity movement in Spain also held a public tribute to bid farewell to the revolutionary leader, whose ashes were laid to rest the same day in Santiago de Cuba’s Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, but whose legacy will forever remain in our collective memory.

”He leaves a work. He leaves an honorable, noble, courageous and solidary people,” stated Cuban Ambassador to Spain Eugenio Martínez, after expressing thanks for the numerous expressions of respect and admiration which have been arriving to the Embassy over the past week.

For his part, Comandante José Luis Merino, a Salvadoran revolutionary and one of the founders of the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN), noted that dignity is one of Fidel Castro’s most important lessons.

Speaking with Prensa Latina, he emphasized the significance of Fidel in El Salvador’s revolutionary process.

“He helped us to develop our political-military thought so that the FMLN not only functioned as a military guerilla force, but also as a political force, and above all a force of great humanity,” he added.

Meanwhile, governor of the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy, Julio León Heredia, awarded the Cuban revolutionary the Ezequiel Zamora General of the Sovereign People Order, also on December 4. Heredia visited the Cuban Embassy in Caracas to present to posthumous honor to Fidel.

Speaking to the press, the official noted that the Order, the highest distinction awarded by the north-central state, represents a gesture of gratitude for the legacy Fidel left to Venezuela and the peoples of the world.

From Vietnam, representatives of the Cuba Friendship Association recognized the work of the man who will always be remembered in that nation as a true friend.

In Santiago de Chile thousands of citizens gathered together at the José Martí monument in the capital’s central Plaza Italia, December 4, where participants paid a moving tribute to the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution.

Speaking to PL, Javiera Olivares, president of the Journalists Association in Chile, noted that although the passing of the Comandante represents a sad moment, Fidel leaves an extraordinary legacy for the people of the world.

We will always remember him by continually reviewing his writings, his speeches, and his skill as a visionary, his example for all of humanity, stated Olivares.

“Hasta siempre Comandante, immortal example in the heart of Chileans,” could be read on a screen during the activity which saw the participation of the Nicaraguan Ambassador to Chile, María Luisa Robleto and various leftist political leaders, Cubans living in Chile, doctors, professionals and Chilean trade unionists.

Fidel Castro represents the Latin American revolution, he was a man that persevered and achieved his goals based on maintaining his principles and values, stated Bolivia’s Minister of Economy, Luis Arce, speaking with PL at the Cuban Embassy in La Paz.

For us Bolivians Fidel is an example to follow and we will remember him as we build this new socialist homeland in Bolivia, he stated.

The International press also highlighted the patriotic fervor of Cubans who took to the streets with flags, doves, handkerchiefs, and signs, to bid farewell to the eternal Comandante.

According to Mexican newspaper La Jornadathe mass mobilization of Cubans in honor of Fidel not only represented a people in mourning but also hope.

The paper reported that “the vast majority of those who came out to pay tribute in a long period of national mourning, were born or grew up after the arrival of the revolutionaries to Havana in 1959. They are the children of the democratic, anti-imperialist, and anti-Batista Revolution and participated in the heroic efforts to build socialism only a few kilometers from the empire.”

The article went on to note that Fidel Castro’s ashes were laid to rest in Santiago de Cuba’s Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, close to the site where the remains of poet and National Hero José Martí – of whom Fidel is considered a successor - are buried.

Meanwhile, on its website, multi-state news broadcaster teleSUR, posted the remarks made by Army General Raúl Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers at the tribute ceremony held on December 3, in Santiago’s Antonio Maceo Plaza de la Revolución, during which he noted that “the undefeated Fidel brings us together with his example that yes, it was possible, yes, it will be possible!”

The news agency also reported that in addition to José Martí, Fidel’s ashes rest beside those of the father of the homeland Carlos Manuel de Céspedes; as well as a plethora of heroes and martyrs from almost a century-and-a-half of struggles for Cuban liberty and dignity.

Chilean weekly El Siglo, official organ of the Communist Party of Chile Central Committee, dedicated an entire edition to the figure of the Comandante en Jefe.

The 20 page publication included details of the revolutionary’s work. With headlines such as “Fidel: the man-the history,” With “One of ours has passed,” and “Fidel eternal paradigm and legend,” the paper retraced various facets of the life of the founder of the Cuban Revolution.

Meanwhile, German news agency DPA, reported on the thousands of citizens from Santiago de Cuba and other eastern provinces who gathered on December 3, in Antonio Maceo Plaza de la Revolución, where continual shouts in support of the Revolution could be heard.

” Hasta la victoria siempre” was one of the main headlines on the front page of Argentine newspaper Página 12, which highlighted one of the most moving moments in the Plaza, when Raúl, quoting Antonio Maceo, stated, “Whoever attempts to conquer Cuba, will gather the dust of her blood-soaked soil, if he does not perish in fight!” (GI news staff)

FIDEL’S DEPARTURE SHOOK ASIA TO THE CORE

Commandante Fidel Castro

By Andre Vltchek

On November 30, I walked into the historic building housing the Cuban Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam. Several Vietnamese guards stood silently at the entrance. Flowers were everywhere and a big black photo of Comandante Fidel was facing a busy street.

I explained who I was, and an embassy official first let me into a courtyard decorated with more flowers and images, and later into a room with a beautiful book, into which I penned several sentences of grief, but also admiration and hope. 

“People come day and night,” Cuban officials told me. “It is beautiful and humbling. Vietnam and Cuba stood shoulder to shoulder for decades. We went through so much. Now we are being shown what true friendship means!” 

As if it was their national hero who had departed, Vietnam declared December 4 a National Day of Mourning.  

For days now, Vietnamese television has been showing documentary films about Fidel and about the Cuban Revolution. 

“Cuban people are ready to spill blood for Vietnam,” Fidel Castro Ruz declared in his memorable speech during the war. Several decades later, when Cuba was abandoned and stood alone, it was China which rushed to its rescue, and it was Vietnam that extended its hand of friendship. 

Such things can never be forgotten. It is precisely because from such moments, true internationalism is made. 

No matter what crescendo the Cold War was reaching, and even when, for some unfortunate time, the Soviet Union and China were facing each other as enemies, Fidel’s Cuba was working with both communist giants for the liberation of Africa, particularly during Che Guevara’s campaign in the Congo. 

In the end, it was both Cuba and North Korea (DPRK) that fought for and helped to liberate the most oppressed and devastated continent on our planet – Africa. The imperialist United States and Europe never forgave these two countries for their internationalist stand. To demonize them, to destroy them by all imaginable and unimaginable means, to push them into a dark corner is what they have been attempting to do for several decades, with mixed success. 

Cuba may be in Latin America, but in its heart it is daringly internationalist. Its fate is intertwined with Africa and with Asia. 

After the Soviet Union collapsed and everything seemed to be lost, after virtually all eastern European countries betrayed the cause and opportunistically joined the world’s oppressors and imperialists (not even bothering to honor their trade and other agreements with Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam), China single-handedly saved Cuba. It is not a well-known fact, and definitely something that is not discussed often in ‘polite circles’ of the ‘benign Western left,’ but it is an undeniable historical fact, often mentioned by Fidel himself. 

China did it – altruistically – following Gorbachev’s fit of madness and Yeltsin’s Western-encouraged, glorified, alcoholic orgy, with the destruction of the USSR and several dreadful years of unopposed plunder of the world by the Western Empire, in its aftermath. 

The Chinese people, Chinese government, its intellectuals, and media commemorated the departure of Fidel with powerful speeches, documentary films, and events to honor the exceptional life of one of the greatest revolutionaries of all times.  

Xinhua cited Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying: “The death of Fidel Castro has made the Chinese people lose a close comrade and sincere friend. His glorious image and great achievements will go down in history.” President Xi then concluded that “The Chinese people have lost a good and true comrade. Comrade Castro will live forever.” 

Reading such reports, I grasped how genuine they are. I know intimately both countries – Cuba and China. I realize how much Cuba admires China and how much Chinese people hold Cuba in high esteem.  

In 2013, I spent several days in Cuba with one of my best friends, celebrated Chinese concert pianist Yuan Sheng. He flew in to Havana all the way from Beijing in order to participate in a festival of some of the best pianists from all over the world; the festival was organized by his former professor from the Manhattan School of Music, the legendary Solomon Gadles Mikowsky, himself originally from Cuba. 

The Cuban people treated him with great warmth, and all doors were opened to him. Before he departed, he said:

  

“I am tremendously impressed by the cultural life and art scene in Cuba. I traveled to and performed in so many countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia... But what I see here is unprecedented. Music, ballet, arts... Even the art objects that people sell on the street... It all shows how heroic the national character of Cuban people is.

Cuba is also very open-minded and receptive of international culture; there is a constant interchange with the world. The plane, which I took here was bringing an entire delegation of Chinese artists and performers. And that is at the same time as I was coming to take part in yet another festival, which was featuring top international pianists. Coming here, I am helping to deepen the understanding between China and Cuba. And you know, in the last years, many educated Chinese people are fascinated with this island and its artists. When I was talking to my friends back in Beijing, that I am going to Cuba, their eyes widened. They were envious, they kept telling me how lucky I am. They wanted to know, to understand Cuba.” 

Fidel’s Cuba is not only synonymous with excellent medical care, education, social programs, and the determined fight against Western imperialism. It is itself also one tremendous symbol of cultural and artistic excellence and openness. Cuba gave birth to and educated some of the world’s greatest artists. Cuba is also deeply respectful of other world cultures. Its people are obsessed with knowledge and are respectful of how others see and perceive the world. 

Observed from Havana, Asia is just there, almost next door! 

Before Fidel passed away, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines sent his health secretary to Cuba to look at its health care system. 

Even such staunch anti-communist ‘warriors’ and client states of the West like Indonesia (where the Communist Party and communist ideology are banned) at least showed some polite respect, sending condolences to Havana: 

“The government and the people of Indonesia send our deepest condolences for the passing of former President Fidel Castro. May he rest in peace and the people of Cuba be given strength to endure his passing.” 

“Be given strength” by whom? But let’s not dwell on details! 

In India, even under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fidel is still alive – alive and well. 

Binu Mathew, editor of the most important left-wing site on the sub-continent, Coutercurrents.org, sent his thoughts for this essay: 

“For Indians and especially for Indian communists, Fidel Castro was a fellow Indian and a comrade. India grieved at his passing. All Indian media covered his passing in a major way. 

“When Cuba went through a major crisis after the fall of Soviet Union, Indians did a door to door collection of rice and wheat and sent to Cuba 10,000 tons of rice and 10,000 tons of wheat. 

“India was one of the first countries to recognize the revolutionary Republic of Cuba. 

“Cuba and Kerala where communists came to power through elections for the first time ever in the world had similar development visions. Both didn’t go after major industrialization but invested in education and health. Both set a new people-centric paradigm of development. 

“Fidel was a pillar of the Non-Aligned Movement which was co-founded by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The camaraderie between them was famous. They first met in 1960 NAM summit. 

“Castro narrated his experience in a media interview: ‘The first person who came to see me was Prime Minister Nehru. I can never forget his magnificent gesture. I was 34 years of age, not widely known. I was tense. Nehru boosted my morale. My tension disappeared.’” 

This alone is a powerful tribute from Asia. 

The two mightiest countries on the continent, China and India, are mourning. So are hundreds of millions of people in Vietnam, the DPRK, and the Russian Pacific Region, even in tiny nations like Timor Leste. 

In all communist countries and regions of Asia, Fidel is regarded almost as a local hero and leader. In pro-Western, staunchly business-oriented societies, he is viewed as a threat, even after his departure.  

He is respected, however, by both sides; respected for his honor and courage, and for fighting battles that almost no one else would dare to fight. Such valor is highly regarded in Asia. 

Since ancient days in this continent, important thinkers and those who fight for the good of humanity are valued incomparably higher than rich merchants and traders. Honesty is essential. Traitors are not valued much higher than scum. At some point in history, they may be ruling over their nations, but when they ascend to the throne, they start counting, as their days are always numbered. 

True heroes like Fidel live forever, in legends and songs, in hearts and dreams for a much better world. 

Asia remembers. It mourns the great Cuban hero, a great African hero and an Asian hero, an internationalist, Fidel Castro.