|
Zuma salutes Angolans
22/03/2008 16:39 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Angolan's sacrifices would forever remain etched in the history of the South African liberation struggle, ANC President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.
Speaking at the 20th commemoration of the Cuito Cuanavale battle in Angola, Zuma paid tribute to the heroes and heroines of Angola, Cuba and Namibia who fought there.
"... We salute all combatants who laid down their lives in Cuito Cuanavale and other parts of Angola.
"They paid the ultimate price so that the oppressed people of southern Africa could be free from racism, neo-colonialism, proxy wars and underdevelopment," he said.
The Cuito Cuanavale battle, in 1988, changed the political landscape of the region by speeding up Namibia's independence and South Africa's liberation from apartheid. More than 4 800 people died there. Cuba
Also paying tribute to Cubans, Zuma said they were the only non-Africans to shed their blood for the liberation of Africa.
Cuba was still involved in Africa through the sharing of its expertise in the form of doctors, engineers and other professionals.
"We appreciate that they did not disengage from Africa totally when they withdrew the last soldier from Angola on 25 May 1991," he said.
A memorial to be erected in Angola would forever be a reminder of the solidarity, comradeship and friendship which existed then.
It was these characteristics which should also drive relations between Angolans, Namibians Cubans and South Africans today to free people from poverty and underdevelopment, Zuma said.
"As internationalism continues to be a critical feature of the unique character of the ANC, we will continue to work with all like-minded progressive forces in the continent to achieve a better Africa and a just world," he said
- SAPA
|
News
