The Path of Resistance

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed to Addis Abeba a distinguished delegation from revolutionary Cuba, led by Esteban Lazo Hernandez, vice-president of the State Council of the Republic of Cuba. They have come to Addis Abeba, which is not only Ethiopia's largest metropolis - a mosaic of nationalities where nearly 80 different dialects and languages are spoken - but also a city of contrasts. There is the old and the new, the traditional and non-traditional and the rural and urban all intermingled together. The delegates from Cuba were exposed to all these.
 

Cuba has historically been in the forefront of the struggle against oppression, for justice and equality. It is truly a revolutionary country.
 

The first revolution in Cuba began with a struggle to liberate the country from Spanish colonialism, which ended in victory in 1895 after a protracted struggle by the heroic people of Cuba under the leadership of great historic figures like Antonio Macco. Cuba was also the forerunner in the abolition of slavery in 1886.

It will be recalled that, at about the same time in 1896 the Ethiopian people, under the leadership of Emperor Menelik scored a decisive victory over the forces of colonialism. Thus in two distant lands located in two continents, the forces of colonialism and racism faced their first military debacle, one in Latin America and the other in Africa - in the hands of Cuban and Ethiopian forces, respectively.

There are, indeed, many more parallels in our peoples' epic struggle for freedom and human dignity in the face of tremendous odds.
 

The most recent Cuba Revolution resulted in the victory of the small but dedicated Cuba revolutionaries led by President Fidel Castro over the Batista dictatorship in 1959. The Cuban people overthrew a cruel and tyrannical regime with weapons captured from the enemy itself. In so doing, they contributed an unprecedented chapter to the history of revolutions. Cuban revolutionaries had the full support of all progressive forces throughout the world in their fight against tyranny.

I was then studying in the United States. I remember vividly American and many foreign students putting aside their books and marching to Cuba in the face of all odds to help the fledgling revolution stand on its feet by assisting in cutting sugar cane, Cuba's major export crop. Internationalism was the name of the game.
 

The success of the Cuban Revolution had a great symbolic value, and was a beacon to all freedom-loving peoples around the world. For the Cuban people, it brought massive gains.
 

The revolution brought free education to the entire population. Not even functional illiteracy exists in Cuba today. Simultaneously, a profound revolution was launched on the health front for bringing free health services closer to the masses of the Cuban people.
 

Even though Ethiopia and Cuba are geographically separated by thousands of miles, their fates are inexorably intertwined by a common tradition of their love for freedom. Both countries paid enormous sacrifices far out of proportion to their sizes in their struggle for the liberation of the oppressed and downtrodden peoples of Africa in particular.

The friendship between the two peoples is unshakable, because it is also cemented with the blood of 163 Cuban martyrs who gallantly gave up their lives while fighting alongside our soldiers during the unprovoked invasion of Ethiopia by the Siaad Barre regime, in Somalia.
 

In 1977-78, Cuban blood was shed in the eastern region of our country when thousand of Cuban soldiers joined and supported Ethiopian forces who were fighting against the invaders. Following the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution and the ensuing instability in its aftermath, the then Somali President, Siaad Barre, was quick to seize the opportunity to invade Ethiopia.
 

Under order from the notorious dictator, up to 50,000 soldiers, backed by tanks, armoured personnel carriers and aircraft launched a widespread attack on Ethiopia including the Ogaden, Harer, Dire Dawa, Bale and Sidamo. They captured the town of Gode in July of 1977, and threatened to capture Dire Dawa as well as other towns.
 

In the spirit of internationalism, Cuban troops rushed to Ethiopia's assistance during those critical and difficult days to repulse the aggression. In 1978, Ethiopian and Cuban forces counterattacked the invading forces. They crossed the famous Cara Mara Pass between Harer and Jijiga, and then the highlands between Jijiga and the Somali border. They launched a blitzkrieg attack and recaptured Jijiga and all major towns in the Ogaden in a matter of days.
 

I had the privilege of being an eye-witness. As head of the Department of the Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I accompanied the Foreign Minister of Cuba who was visiting Ethiopia to inspect Cuban forces in the Ogaden.

Ethiopian and Cuban forces dealt a crippling blow to the invaders, who were evicted from Ethiopian territory in March of 1978. During the operation, the enemy lost one-third of its forces, three-quarters of its armoured units and half of its air force.
 

The Cuban delegation that came to Addis last week includes members of the Cuban defence forces who suffered severe wounds and imprisonment in the hands of the enemy while fighting side by side with our soldiers.

Colonel Orlando Cardoso, hero of the Republic of Cuba who is amongst the delegation, was a prisoner of war for spirit of internationalism. We hail this gallant soldier and pay deserving tribute to him and through him to all his comrades.
 

As well as support in Ethiopia on the war front, the Cuban Government also extended effective technical assistance to Ethiopia beginning in 1977. Several thousand Ethiopian students went to Cuba on scholarship to conduct their studies. They include medical doctors, dentists, agriculturalists, as well as information technology specialists and are contributing to Ethiopia's socio-economic development.

Today, we are proud to see many of them amongst us, having taken up important posts in government and in the private sector. Cuba also sent and continues to send to Ethiopia hundreds of technical assistance personnel including teachers, medical doctors, engineers, technicians, agricultural and other specialists to assists in the country's development efforts.