NO ENEMY CAN DEFEAT US
So affirmed Raúl in a statement made
to Granma. He said that Fidel is getting better and thanked people for the
thousands of messages of solidarity and support from within our country and
abroad. Measures have been taken to prevent any attempt at aggression. The
people are giving a compelling show of confidence in themselves.
BY LAZARO BARREDO
Army General Raúl Castro Ruz gave this interview
to Granma newspaper. The
conversation took place in his office at the Ministry of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces (MINFAR) and focused on the principal events of recent days.
Comrade Raúl, our people joyfully received
the message and photographs of the Commander-in-Chief,
published in the press, and the subsequent television report of the meeting
with President Chávez. Nevertheless, it would be greatly appreciated by
millions of Cubans who have attentively followed updates on the health condition
of comrade Fidel, to hear your
personal assessment, as someone who is always so close to him.
Undoubtedly, our Chief’s health is what
most interests all of us at this time.
On behalf of all the people, I’d like to
congratulate and thank the doctors and other comrades who have provided him with excellent care, with the
highest professionalism and, above all, with much love and dedication. This has
been a major factor in Fidel’s progressive recovery.
Moreover, I think that his exceptional
physique and mental disposition have also been essential to his satisfactory
and gradual recovery.
We Cubans, even if we don’t see you for a
while on television or in the press, we know that you are always there, at your
combat post. But I think that this statement will also thwart the speculation
and lies contained in some of the foreign media.
If you mean those in other countries who spend
their time speculating about whether or not I’m going to appear on television
or in the papers, well, I appeared with Fidel on Sunday (August 13) and when I welcomed
President Chávez, although to tell you the truth, I couldn’t care less about
such comments.
What I do care about greatly is what our
people are thinking, although, fortunately, we live in this geographically
small island, where everybody knows what we do. I confirm this when I talk with
the people and with other local leaders in my
tours of the country.
In fact, I am not used to making frequent
appearances in public, except when it is required. Many tasks related to the
country’s defense should not be made public and need to be handled with maximum
care, and that has been one of my fundamental responsibilities as Minister of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Moreover, I have always been discreet, that is
my nature, and while we’re talking let me say that I plan to stay that way. But
that has not been the fundamental reason why I haven’t appeared very often in
the media; it simply has not been necessary.
But the essential orientation has not been
lacking…
That’s true. The Commander-in-Chief's Proclamation gave the information
that could be given at that time including specific tasks for everyone. The
most important thing is to put our hearts and souls into fulfilling them. That
is what all the leaders at different levels have been doing, together with our
people who have maintained an exemplary discipline, vigilance and working spirit.
On behalf of the Commander-in-Chief and the Party leadership, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank everyone for the countless displays of support
for the Revolution and for the content of his Proclamation, as well as the
demonstrations of affection of personalities from the world of culture;
professionals and workers in all sectors; peasants, soldiers, housewives,
students, school children; among them numerous believers, public figures and
religious institutions from the overwhelming majority of denominations; in
short, the people of Cuba. It has been a resounding expression of their
unbreakable unity and their revolutionary consciousness, essential pillars of
the fortitude of our country.
The breadth of support from all over the
world has also been impressive.
Yes, it has been truly heartening. That is
why I should also like to express thanks for the numerous messages of
solidarity and respect from all over the world, from people of the most diverse
walks of life, from simple workers to intellectual and political figures, as
well as a significant and representative number of religious institutions and personalities.
They have all done so unconditionally. The messages from the few who did not
act in that way were not accepted or acknowledged.
Up until today (August 17) some 12 000 people
have signed the appeal issued 10 days ago by prominent cultural personalities
from over 100 countries, including several Nobel Laureates, condemning the
interfering and aggressive statements of the government of the United States,
and exposing the openly interventionist nature of the Bush Plan, as we call that
monster that would seem revived from the times when –as at the end of the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th– they thwarted the independence of Cuba
and imposed their administrators.
Now they have also appointed one for the
supposed "transition." A certain McCarry, who recently said that the
One gets the impression that the enemies
of the Revolution have been left speechless by the conclusive reaction of the
Cuban people, immune to their enormous and disgraceful campaign of offences and
lies. They show surprise when they say
Yes, apparently they have come to believe
their own lies. It is most likely that their "think tanks" and many
of their analysts are now drawing other conclusions.
As you were saying, absolute tranquility prevails
in the country. And still more important is the serenity, discipline and determination
that transpires in every workplace, in every city, in every neighborhood. This
is the same attitude that our people always assume in difficult times. If it
were solely by the internal situation, I am not exaggerating when I say that it
would not have been necessary to mobilize even one child from among those who stand
watch by the ballot boxes during the elections.
But we have never ignored a threat from
the enemy. It would be irresponsible to do so when faced with a government like
that of the
He’ll need a lot of paper and ink...
A fair amount. For
that reason I would advise them to do the opposite. They should "take
note," as they say, of the annexationists on the payroll of the U.S.
Interests Section here in Havana, those who are going to receive the crumbs of
the announced $80 million earmarked for subversion, because the bulk of it will
be distributed in Miami, as is usually the case.
On the contrary, it would be an endless
list if they were to take note of the millions and millions of Cuban men and
women who are ready to receive their designated administrator with rifles in their
hands.
At this point in time, they should know that
it is not with threats and impositions that they can get something from
Recently, when rereading Party Congress
documents, I found ideas that could have been written today. For example, this
excerpt from the Central Report presented by Fidel to the Third Party Congress
in February 1986:
"
And he continued:
“But it would have to be based on the strictest
respect for our status as a country that will not tolerate any infringement on
its independence, a country for whose dignity and sovereignty entire
generations of Cubans have fought and died. This will only be possible when the
Similar expressions are contained in the
documents from the other Party Congresses and have also been reaffirmed by the
Party’s First Secretary in various occasions.
Nevertheless they continue with the same
aggressive and arrogant policy.
That is true. More than 20 years have
passed since Fidel spoke the words that I have just cited and they have that
485-page interventionist plan that I mentioned, approved in
To cap it all, just a few days ago, on
July 10, President Bush officially approved a document complementing the
former, which they had quietly posted on the Internet in June. They have openly
stated that it includes a secret appendix that is not to be published "for
reasons of national security" and "to ensure its effective
implementation;" those are the exact terms they have used, in flagrant
violation of International Law.
For some time now we have been adopting
measures to confront such plans. These were specially reinforced when the
current
A remarkable escalation of their aggressiveness…
You are right, and in 2003 the plans
became more explicit. On December 5 of that year, Mr. Roger Noriega, then Assistant
Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, declared –I don’t know if it
was intentional or a slip of the tongue– that "the transition in Cuba –in
other words, Fidel’s death– could happen at any moment and we have to be
prepared to act quickly and decisively." He added that "the United
States wanted to be sure that the regime’s cronies have no hope of holding onto
power" and, so as to leave no doubt, he added that they were working
"to ensure that there was no succession to the Castro regime." He and
other senior
How can these goals be obtained other than
through military aggression? The country has thus adopted the measures necessary
to counteract that real danger.
Faced with similar situations, Martí
taught us what to do: "Plan against plan. Without a plan of resistance, a
plan of attack cannot be defeated," he wrote in the newspaper Patria
on
The
Our defense plans, on the other hand, are
transparent and legal, simply because they do not threaten anybody; their sole
objective is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the homeland;
they do not infringe any national or international law whatsoever.
The country’s media has reported on the
seriousness and scope of the recently adopted measures aimed at steadily
strengthening our defense. Just over a month ago, on July 1, the issue was
analyzed extensively by the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee of
the Party.
Some of the imperialist hawks thought that
on July 31 the moment had come to destroy the Revolution.
We could not rule out the risk of somebody
going crazy, or even crazier, within the
Therefore, at
All of the mobilized personnel has
completed or is currently completing an important cycle of combat training and
cohesion, part of that actual military drilling.
These troops will rotate, in approximately
equal numbers, as the proposed objectives are attained. All of the reserve
troops and militia members who are to participate in these activities will be
informed, with the necessary anticipation, of the date of incorporation into
their units and the time that they will remain there to fulfill their guard
duty to the homeland.
To date, the mobilization that we began on
August 1 has developed satisfactorily, thanks to the excellent response of our
reserve troops and militia members, as well as the commendable labor displayed by
the military commands and especially by the Defense Councils, under the
leadership of the Party, at every level.
It is not my intention to exaggerate the
danger. I never have done so. The current attacks have so far remained
rhetorical, with the exception of the substantial increase in subversive
anti-Cuba radio and television broadcasts.
They have announced the use of a new aircraft...
They had been using, at varying intervals,
a military aircraft known as Commando Solo. Since August 5, they began to use another
type of aircraft for daily transmissions. On August 11, it did this in
conjunction with the aforementioned Commando Solo.
In fact, on the 5th and 6th, our radars
detected that transmissions were beamed from international waters, in blatant violation
of the agreements of the International Telecommunications Union, to which the
United States is a signatory, which once again we are denouncing through the relevant
channels and agencies, given that these transmissions are also affecting
broadcasting in our country.
In fact, we are not at all worried about the
hypothetical influence of this crude and poor quality propaganda, which falls very
much below the cultural and political expectations of the Cuban people and
which our people reject, just as they reject those notices shown on a screen at
the U.S. Interests Section. That is not what this is about; it is above all a
matter of sovereignty and dignity. We would never passively allow the consummation
of that aggressive act, and that is why we interfere with it.
At the end of the day, they are spending
millions of American taxpayers’ dollars to achieve the same result as ever: a
TV channel that can not be viewed.
To these reflections on the country’s defense
I would like to add an idea expressed by Fidel in
"So long as imperialism exists, the
Party, the State and the people will give the utmost attention to defense. Revolutionary
defense will never be neglected. History all too eloquently teaches us that
those who forget this principle do not outlive the error."
That has been our guide for many years,
and continues to be today for plenty of reasons.
I feel that in recent days we Cubans have
shown that we all share that conviction.
I agree with you, and that is why I
conclude by repeating my congratulations to the Cuban people for their
overwhelming expressions of confidence in themselves; a show of maturity,
serenity, monolithic unity, discipline, revolutionary consciousness and —put
this in capital letters— RESOLUTENESS, which reminded me of the conduct of the
Cuban people during the heroic days of the so-called Missile Crisis in October
1962.
These are the fruits of a Revolution whose
concept Fidel summed up in his speech of
REVOLUTION
means
to have a sense of history; it is changing everything that must be changed; it
is full equality and freedom; it is being treated and treating others like
human beings; it is achieving emancipation by ourselves and through our own
efforts; it is challenging powerful dominant forces from within and without the
social and national milieu; it is defending the values in which we believe at
the cost of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness, altruism, solidarity
and heroism; it is fighting with courage, intelligence and realism; it is never
lying or violating ethical principles; it is a profound conviction that there
is no power in the world that can crush the power of truth and ideas.
Revolution means unity; it is independence, it is fighting for our dreams of
justice for
Commander-in-Chief
Fidel Castro Ruz