Special friendship – a valuable treasure of Vietnam and Cuba

Havana (VNA) – The Vietnam - Cuba special friendship is a valuable treasure of the two nations, Dr. Ruvislei González Saez, Vice President of the Cuba - Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA) has said.

In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Cuba on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first visit by Cuban Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro to Vietnam (September 1973), Saez highlighted crucial milestones in the bilateral relations since the two nations established diplomatic ties in 1960.

September is a special month in the Cuba - Vietnam relations – a model in international relations, he stressed.

Saez, who is also Director of the International Relations Programme in Cuba, recalled the visit by Cuban leader Fidel Castro to the liberated zone in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri 50 years ago, and the establishment of the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam in 1963.

The year 1963 was a significant milestone that marked Havana's high-level commitment to Hanoi, he said.

Fidel Castro tasked the heroine of Moncada - Melba Hernández - to organise a movement to promote solidarity with and support for Vietnam’s struggle to liberate the South. She chaired the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam under the support of the Cuban Movement for Peace, the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), and other organisations.

Many famous newspapers at that time such as Revolución (Revolution) and Hoy (Today), along with a large number of Cuban artists and intellectuals, also enthusiastically joined the movement, which resonated with the international community, helping other countries and peace-loving people around the world understand the truth about the unjust war in Vietnam. The war brought with it numerous atrocities committed against a courageous nation that had every right to complete independence.

The movement stirred up a massive wave of support for the Vietnamese people, even right within the US as thousands of Americans, especially young people, refused to join the war.

After the victory of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1976, the committee became the CVFA, the expert said.

Meanwhile, the first visit by Cuban President Fidel Castro to Vietnam on September 12, 1973 thrilled the world. He walked among the forest of flags and flowers and the resounding cheers of the people of Quang Tri.

The Cuban leader raised the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam as if he was a soldier carrying the flag of one of the fierce battles in Quang Tri, Saez said./.