[ad_1]
Ishtiaq Ahmed
When Fidel Castro died, the last great leader of the revolutionary movements of the 20th century left.
It is with sadness that I learned of the death of the founder of modern Cuba, Major Fidel Castro. His name may not be familiar to younger generations, but for us who were looking for alternatives to international capitalism, Castro and the Cuban revolution were a source of inspiration. The revolutionaries were radical nationalists opposed to the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista, a brutal dictatorship led by a corrupt family that ruthlessly exploited the people and intensely used terrorism and torture against the opposition, while enjoying the support of the United States. United.
The United States began treating Cuban revolutionaries as dangerous communists after the overthrow of the Batista regime. Castro and his comrades then turned to communism and it was the Soviet Union that came to their aid. Fidel Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and other revolutionaries have made extensive reforms and created a social state that has managed to provide a fairly decent standard of living, as well as an education and medical assistance free to citizens.
During the 1970s, Cuban volunteers took part in liberation wars in Africa, particularly against Portuguese colonialism in Angola. Unlike the founders of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, Cuban communists have always distinguished between the legitimate use of force and its illegitimate use. As a result, the force was treated as a last resort when peaceful means failed.
Crazy paradise
At the death of Castro, the last great leader of the revolutionary movements that developed after the Russian Revolution of 1917 is now gone. His legacy will inspire us to continue fighting for a more just and just world. People like me, witnesses of the history of bombing Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by the United States, support the United States to the bloodthirsty military junta of Latin America and regimes Islamists in the Middle East know that during the Cold War two jokes for human rights. In fact, the United States is the largest post-war criminal in crimes against humanity. It is not a Communist who has set up the International Criminal Tribunal for war crimes against American excesses in Southeast Asia, but a liberal anti-Communist, Sir Bertrand Russell.
Of course, crimes committed by communist regimes should also be condemned without any excuse if we want to be considered credible public intellectuals. So, I do not hold short for any violation of human rights and human dignity by leftists.
However, I do not live in a crazy paradise. I witness how the Cold War was conducted by both parties. These are the new nations of the world created by decolonization, forced to choose a part, which most have done in one way or another.
Friend of the devil
I have moved away from dogmatic leftism to adhere to a fundamental right of social democracy. However, that never made me accept the United States as the leader of such a movement.
The United States will support the devil if they have to defend their interests – and that's it. Fidel Castro intervened to ensure the freedom of his people against a ruthless dictator backed by the Americans.
Castro was forced into communism as a result of myopic foreign policy of the United States. After the overthrow of the tyrannical regime and the confiscation of its property, the United States treated it as evidence that Cuban nationalists were communist agents. It was a reminder of how British MI6 and the CIA had conspired to overthrow Iran's Mohammad Mossadeq and other radical nationalists, pushing the young Cuban state to seek help from the Soviet Union.
Socialism has a tendency to totalitarianism. Therefore, I prefer Swedish-style social democracy instead, because it combines equality with freedom and rewards hard work, while ensuring that no one falls into the safety net necessary for all. This version of social democracy is its best manifestation. But when we talk about a brutalized people trying to escape poverty and degradation, socialism has managed to provide the basic services necessary to maintain a level of dignity and substance.
Fidel Castro and his comrades fought for the freedom of their people, crushed by a brutal dictatorship. In building Cuba, Castro had to resort to authoritarian measures, as all liberal democracies did during their training phases. It has, however, been able to maintain an egalitarian social protection system, which has benefited the oppressed.
In 2014, about 50,000 health workers trained by Cuba assisted 66 countries. Cuban doctors played a leading role in the fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa.
According to the United Nations, life expectancy in Cuba was 79 in 2013. This places Cuba 44th in the world and 4th in the Americas, behind Canada and Chile. Infant mortality in Cuba increased from 32 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1957 to 5 per 1,000 live births in 2015. In 2015, Cuba became the first country to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, a milestone event hailed by WHO is "one of the greatest achievements in public health".
One must choose one's side and can not reasonably reject the anhistoric liberal accusations against a regime in trouble when the great tyrant is responsible for creating the conditions under which any gradual change was considered a concession to communism. This capitalist system ruined the lives of millions of US retirees because of Wall Street's greed when the financial insolvency it caused led to the bankruptcy of the banks in which their savings had been invested. In what way is it less a flagrant violation of human rights?
Fidel Castro stands out among the leaders of the twentieth century because he defied the pressure of the United States and maintained the sovereignty of his small nation. This in itself is a great achievement of our time. – Fair observer
* Ishtiaq Ahmed holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stockholm University, where he taught from 1987 to 2007 and retired as a professor. He is an honorary member of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore. This article, published for the first time in November 2016, was reproduced on the occasion of the second anniversary of the death of Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.
New Era Reporter
2018-11-27 10:14:16 2 hours ago
[ad_2]
Source link
