Nelson Mandela considered the FAPLA-Cuban success at Cuito and in Lubango a
turning point in the Angolan civil war as well as in the struggle for Namibian
independence. The battle at Cuito, raging for 6 months, was the biggest battle
on African soil since World War II. The casualties were high, especially on the
Angolan side; in its course around 20,000 soldiers were killed.
As
Southern Africans, we are deeply indebted to the Cuban people for the selfless
contribution they made to the anticolonial and antiapartheid struggle in our
region. South Africa president Nelson Mandela addresses Cuba solidarity
conference, the Militant, Vol. 59, no. 39, 23 October 1995
"Long live the Cuban Revolution.
Long live comrade Fidel Castro... Cuban internationalists have done so much
for African independence, freedom, and justice. We admire the sacrifices of
the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the
face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the advances of
the Cuban revolution. We too want to control our destiny... There can be no
surrender. It is a case of freedom or death. The Cuban revolution has been a
source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people." - Nelson Mandela
1991-Speaking in Havana at the
traditional July 26 celebration, the ANC
leader told thousands of cheering Cubans that their efforts, culminating in
the unprecedented defeat of South African regular troops in Cuito Cuanavale,
Angola, had marked a historic turning point for southern Africa,
constituting a victory for Africa as a whole.
"That impressive defeat of the racist army ... gave Angola the possibility
of enjoying peace and consolidating its sovereignty", he stated. It gave the
people of Namibia their independence, demoralised the white racist regime of
Pretoria and inspired the anti-apartheid forces inside South Africa, he
added.
"Without the defeat inflicted at Cuito Cuanavale our organisations never
would have been legalised", he asserted.
When he concluded, Fidel Castro observed that Mandela's remarks constituted
"the greatest and most profound tribute ever paid to our internationalist
combatants".
133006 Close friends - Black and White
Oil and acrylic on cotton 40 x 92 cm
At the 1st of April 1990 Namibia gained its
independence after being occupied by South Africa. Nelson Mandela, just
liberated, attended the festivities in Namibia and said the following. [this
is a transcription of a video of the Cuban television done by Jan van Eden,
December 2013 at the occasion of the death of Mandela]
From the point of view of size and numbers of
population Cuba is a small country, but it is exercising an impact on the
world affairs which similar to that of a superpower and Cuba has shown that
it is not just a question of size of a country, but that its policy and the
caliber of its leaders is important. We have benefited tremendously from the
lessons of the Cuban revolution and from what your country is doing
especially in Africa and that we in this part of the continent were
tremendously impressed with the role of which Cuba played in the liberation
of Angola. The Angolans themselves have done a great deal to win their
freedom but it is difficult to accept that they would obtain their freedom
at this time that they obtained it if Cuba had not employed its forces to
liberate that country. South Africa which occupied part of Angola would
still have been in Angola if Cuba had not made the decision of challenging
South Africa, the entire world and particularly South Africa will never
forget the lessons of Cuito Cuanavale, because that was the turning point in
the military situation in this region. We also feel that Namibian
independence would have been very difficult to achieve if Cuba had not acted
so courageously and decisively in Angola. The South African army would still
have been there and it would have been difficult to gain independence for
this country. We are therefore indebted to the Cubans. We would like to
thank Fidel Castro and the people of Cuba for the support they have given
us.
back to 1974 Angola
Visit
of Nelson Mandela to Libya.
“We consider ourselves comrades in arms,” Nelson Mandela said in thanks to
Gaddafi. After hugging Gaddafi outside his tent, he added, “your readiness
to provide us with the facilities of forming an army of liberation indicated
your commitment to the fight for peace and human rights in the world.” Taken
to see the ruins of Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli, bombed by the U.S. in
previous years, Mandela condemned the bombing and insisted on seeing every
room in the building (UPI, 1990/5/19). On criticisms of his visit to Libya,
Mandela incisively replied: “No country can claim to be the policeman of the
world and no state can dictate to another what it should do. Those that
yesterday were friends of our enemies have the gall today to tell me not to
visit my brother Gaddafi. They are advising us to be ungrateful and forget
our friends of the past.”
