Pretoria - It was a sombre occasion at Freedom Park in Pretoria yesterday when the battle of Cuito Cuanavale was commemorated. The ceremony was marked by the laying of wreaths at the Wall of Names, where more than 185 000 names of the fallen heroes and heroines of the liberation Struggle are inscribed, including the names of those who fought at Cuito Cuanavale in 1987.
Participants in the battle were the People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola, Cuba, the USSR, Vietnam, the ANC and the South West African People’s Organisation, who fought against the South African Defence Force (SANDF) and soldiers of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
Speaker after speaker hailed the role played by Cuba in the war that defended the liberation of Angola 35 years ago. SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila expressed gratitude to Cuba, saying: “There is no revolution consciously anywhere in the world that has given itself to humanity other than the Cuban revolution.” He said Cuba had already sent 35 000 soldiers to defend the liberation of Angola.
Mandisa Tshikwatamba, deputy director-general of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, said the battle of Cuito Cuanavale was the climax of the war that took place in Angola instigated by apartheid and its regime from 1987 to 1988. The war, she said, didn’t only mark the defeat of the then SADF, but it also declared war on a crime against humanity.
“In acknowledging the role the Cubans played, President Mandela remarked (that) Cubans came to our region as doctors, teachers, soldiers, agricultural experts, but never as colonisers,” she said.
The objective of the event was to highlight the significance of the battle and its place in history within the Struggle for liberation and freedom.
The Cuban ambassador to South Africa, Enrique Orta González said the efforts by fighters during the war against apartheid became a symbol of resistance and courage. He said the best tribute to Africans post the war was to transmit facts about what transpired to future generations.
Pretoria News