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It's about time we showed respect for che - Simuchoba

It's about time we showed respect for che - Simuchoba
By Chibaula Silwamba
Wednesday October 10, 2007 [04:00]

IT'S about time we showed our respect for Che Guevara by addressing and redressing the political circus and comedy in Zambia, Lusaka lawyer Sibanze Simuchoba has said. And Cuban Ambassador to Zambia Francisco Correa revealed that a fortnight ago, Cuban doctors working in Bolivia operated on and restored the sight of Che's assassin, Mario Teran.

Addressing a fully packed hall at Chrismar Hotel on Monday evening during a Press Freedom Committee of The Post and Friends of Cuba organised event to mark the 40th anniversary of the death of Cuba’s liberation revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, Simuchoba said it would be an exercise in futility if people did not learn from the significance of Che’s life.

“Comrades in this room, I entreat you to start thinking; time is running out. Fidel took over Cuba when he was 32 years old and Che about 30 years old. But here we still find a political circus in our country where our resources are enjoyed by outsiders when you have a government presiding over these resources and you want us to accept that Zambia is a poverty stricken country?” Simuchoba asked.

“It’s about time that we showed our respect for comrade Che by beginning to address and redress the situation. But as long as we don’t take our rightful positions, the political comedians will continue. So that is what I leave for revolutionaries. So let’s get on with the job, it must start at some point.”

And Ambassador Correa revealed that, Teran, the man who assassinated Che was once blind but had been cured by Cuban doctors two weeks ago.

“I can tell you today, 40 years after the assassination of Che Guevara, the man who killed him is still alive. He is an old man now, he was a military man that time, he was a sergeant, he was the one who killed Che Guevara.

He is an old man now, who became blind and he needed to be operated from the eyes and he was operated by the Cuban doctors in Bolivia and he recovered. It was two weeks ago, he is fine,” Ambassador Correa revealed. “And he sent his son to go and thank the Cuban doctors for the work they did because he couldn’t imagine that it could happen, but it happened. His mentality does not allow him to think Che Guevara’s followers could help him.”

He said the Cuban doctors restored the sight of the assassin because of Cuba’s humanitarian policy.

“Even Che Guevara would have done it. We are upholding Che Guevara by doing that. Why shouldn’t you operate on a fellow human being? No revenge, we are not fighting for revenge.

Che Guevara went there to fight for the people not to kill the people,” Ambassador Correa said. “Our philosophy is different from the philosophy of our enemies. You see, after assassinating Che Guevara, he (Teran) was cured by Cuban doctors who are followers of Che Guevara.”

He said those who killed Che thought they had killed his ideas, principles and his values but they were wrong.

“I think they were mistaken and history has proven that they were mistaken. They killed him physically but a symbol was born.

They didn’t imagine such to happen and today Che Guevara does not belong to Cuba, Che Guevara belongs to the world,” Ambassador Correa said.

“Everywhere you go in the world you find Che Guevara. Even here far away from Cuba, Bolivia and Argentina, you can see a man wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt. He lives with us! He is here this evening!

So it means that he is still beside us and he is still fighting with us. Continue the fight! Continue the struggle! Our duty is to pay homage to him.”
He said Che’s last assignment was in Bolivia where he wanted to liberate the poor people there but unfortunately he was assassinated.

Ambassador Correa said Che was still stimulating people worldwide to fight injustices and poverty.

“There are commemorations all over the world of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Che Guevara. It is so because Che Guevara is such an outstanding, charismatic, and relevant personality to the Third world countries and peoples of whom he fought and died for,” Ambassador Correa said.

“He is part of our history; we can’t write the history of Cuba without mentioning Che Guevara. So what we can do is to pay homage to him, pay our respects to him for what he did and fought and even what he couldn’t achieve in a short life.

He is an inspiration and example for us; a true example of honest dedication, concentration, dedication and contribution to the struggles of our people during the late 1950s and 60s

. He wanted to be a player in the history of our peoples for eliminating poverty, exploitation, inequalities, imbalances, diseases and hunger.

These are the main reasons why he joined the revolution in 1956 and he came to fight with Fidel Castro now President for Cuba, a country he didn’t know without asking for money or anything.”

And recalling President Fidel Castro’s address on October 18, 1967 in Havana after the death of Che Guevara, Ambassador Correa said it was unbelievable that Che Guevara had died.

“There were over one million people there and I happened to be there. Fidel was speaking and nobody was talking, all were listening to him and it was very dramatic experience...it was difficult to accept that Che was dead,” emotionally touched Ambassador Correa said.

“But today, I could say we are inspired and stimulated by the fact that Che Guevara is alive, more alive than ever and it’s due to us, due to you to follow his example to contribute to what he did, to contribute to the causes he defended. It’s our responsibility to keep him alive, his ideas alive and not to allow him to die.”

Ambassador Correa said some people in Bolivia liken Che Guevara to Jesus Christ and do not believe that he died but that he just disguised.

A representative of the friends of Cuba, Tenthani Mwanza said Che’s life was characterised by the innermost feeling for people anywhere in the world.
“Che was defiant throughout his life,” Mwanza observed.

“In a larger sense Che Guevara, who shed his blood in Cuba the numerous times he was wounded and in Bolivia where he was assassinated for all humankind, left landmarks which have immortalised him far above our poor powers to add or detract anything from his memory by meeting here.

He left the footprints in Ghana, Tanzania, and Egypt and not to mention the Congo where he fought and was ready to shed his blood for Africa. The world will never forget his life.

It is for us who cherish his memory, rather, to remember what values he cherished and rededicate ourselves to the attainment of those values.”
The hall was so full that some people were forced to sit on the floor while others were listening from outside.

Among the personalities present were veteran politician Grey Zulu, lawyer Mumba Kapumpa, University of Zambia and Copperbelt University academicians and politicians.
There were also several students from colleges and universities, ordinary youths, the elderly and artistes.

The event consisted of a documentary on Che, a play - starring Lusaka writer Moffat Moyo as Che Guevara - and a photographic exhibition.

The Che Guevara play will be showing at Lusaka Play House.
Born in Rosario in Argentina on June 14, 1928, Che studied medicine and became a medical doctor but later joined the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro and his brother Raul, and other revolutionaries.

Che and his team fought and overthrew Cuba’s dictator General Fulgencio Batista in late December 1958.

By January 1, 1959, Batista fled the country.
Fidel became president while Che assumed several government portfolios. Che quit in 1965 to join a revolution movement in the Congo, now the DRC.

Che returned to Latin America the same year to lead another guerilla war in Bolivia where he was assassinated in October, 1967.

Labels: CHE GUEVARA

posted by MrK @ 4:21 AM