• Submitted by: admin
• Politics and Government
• 01 / 30 / 2007

By: Luis Luque Alvarez

"It can be said that with few leaders have I developed such a deep friendship as the one there was between Amilcar and I," said Cuban President Fidel Castro once, referring to African national hero Amilcar Cabral, "a thinker of great intellectual capacity, a creator and an especially humane person."

These statements were made yesterday by the Cuban Communist Party Political Bureau member Esteban Lazo after receiving the Amilcar Cabral Medal on behalf of the Cuban leader. The award was delivered by Guinea Bissaus Prime Minister, Mr. Aristides Gomes.

The medal granted to Fidel is the highest distinction given to outstanding personalities who have contributed to the establishment and strengthening of Guinea Bissau.

Lazo noted that this medal also pays homage to all Cubans who died in Guinea Bissau while fulfilling their internationalist duty. He noted that there are others who continue to render their services to that nation and region inspired by the lessons of the Commander in Chief, an advocate of "sharing what we have, not merely giving away what we dont need."

Gomes pointed out that Fidel Castro "will leave his mark not only on the history of Cuba and Latin America, but the entire World. He has left a deep mark in the patriotic consciousness of Guinea Bissau, in its fight for independence and later in its social-economic and cultural development and progress."

"We wish him," he added, "a speedy recovery. We are sure that this is another battle he will win, with the certainty that he still has a lot to give to the noble cause of humanity."

At the ceremony, also present were Yadira Garcia, member of the Political Bureau and minister of basic industry; Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party; and Marta Lomas, minister of foreign investment and economic cooperation, and other personalities from the two countries.