I have been lucky
in my life to have met many brave people. Ordinary men and women who in
exceptional times in Ireland or Palestine, in South Africa or Cuba, in the
Basque country or Colombia, and in so many other places, have taken a stand
against injustice. In the face of great brutality they have stood for freedom
and independence and an end to inequality and cruelty. Some have been
exceptional leaders in the Irish struggle or in other parts of the world.
Today we mourn the
death of one of the great revolutionary leaders – a hero and friend of Ireland
- Fidel Castro.
On my own behalf
and of Sinn Féin I extend my solidarity and condolences to President Raul
Castro, to Fidel Castro’s family and to the Cuban people.
In December 2001, along with Gerry Kelly, and other
comrades, I travelled to Cuba to unveil a memorial to mark the twentieth
anniversary of the hunger strikes in the H-Blocks and in Armagh Women’s prison.
The hunger strike
memorial is in Parque Victor Hugo - a beautiful park in central Havana - named
after the author of Les Miserables. The ceremony was held on a beautiful warm winter’s day and was afforded
full state honours by the Cuban government. That memorial was one of many erected that
year to mark the hunger strike. Two months earlier I had unveiled a monument on
Robben Island in the yard where Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisilu were
incarcerated for 27 years.
On our first night in Havana we were taken to an
outdoor event to mark the formal opening of 200 new schools that the Cuban
government had built in the recent past as part of a programme to expand and
modernise its school programme. There were hundreds of people present,
including many of the children attending those schools. Fidel Castro was the main
speaker and his words were carried live on Cuban television. When it was over
he and I met in the midst of the crowd and together we walked about meeting
many of the young people.
The next day we again met with Fidel in his office.
We spent several hours discussing Ireland, the issues of human rights, civil and religious
liberties, democratic values, social justice, equality and other matters of
concern to people wherever they live. We also spoke about the state of the world, especially in the
aftermath of the attack on the twin towers in New York which had taken place
four months earlier.
It was also an opportunity for me to thank him for
his solidarity with the Irish republican struggle and particularly toward the
1981 hunger strikers. Fidel recalled those events and praised the courage of
Bobby Sands and his comrades. He reminded us that in September, 1981, he opened the 68th
conference of the Interparliamentary Union in Havana and in his speech praised
the courage of the hunger strikers.
On that occasion he said: “Irish patriots are writing one of the most
heroic chapters in human history…They have earned the respect and admiration of
the world, and likewise they deserve its support. Ten of them have already died
in the most moving gesture of sacrifice, selflessness and courage one could
ever imagine…The stubbornness, intransigence, cruelty and insensitivity of the
British Government before the international community concerning the problem of
the Irish patriots and their hunger strike until death remind us of Torquemada
and the atrocities committed by the Inquisition during the apogee of the Middle
Ages…Let tyrants tremble before men who are capable of dying for their ideals,
after 60 days on hunger strike!”
There
is no doubt in my mind that the hunger strikers left a lasting and emotional
impression on Fidel.
The revolution in Cuba and the
remarkable leadership of Fidel and of Ché Guevara inspired many other peoples
around the world in the 1950s and 60s and gave hope that change was possible –
that freedom and an end to dictatorship could be achieved.
Fidel was a freedom fighter whose
strategic insights helped overthrow one of the most brutal regimes in Central
and South America. He was a political prisoner and a skilful negotiator. Fidel
was also a peacemaker – a commitment that his brother and successor Raul Castro
and the Cuban government has maintained as evidenced in their central role in
brokering a peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC.
Fidel was a friend to those engaged in
the struggle for justice across the world. Today they and millions more are
remembering and celebrating the life of a great world statesman who by his
example and leadership made the world a better place.
In our conversations he was funny,
relaxed, and knowledgeable of world affairs and of events in the Irish peace
process. He was as committed to the principles of the Cuban revolution 60 years
later as he had been in the 1950s. He was self-effacing in his humour, totally
relaxed and very focused.
He asked us many questions about
Ireland. From the state of our fishing industry, our farming, as well as about
unionism. He wanted to hear the sound of the Irish language so he asked that I
recite the Hail Mary in Irish while he recited it in Spanish. He also said that
following September 11 attacks in the United States that no progressive
struggle would be won by armed actions. They could only be won by the power of
ideas.
Go well, Rest in Peace, Fidel.
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