Birmingham: CPGB-ML, IWA, and SLP remember Comrade Fidel Castro

On Sunday, December 4th, comrades from the Communist Party of Great Britain – Marxist Leninist (CPGB-ML), the Indian Workers’ Association (IWA), and the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) held a meeting to remember the Cuban Revolutionary, Fidel Castro, and his contribution to the betterment of working people in Cuba and around the world.

Pictured: A comrade from CPGB-ML - Commemoration of comrade Fidel Castro's life, Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre; Birmingham
Pictured: A comrade from CPGB-ML – Commemoration of comrade Fidel Castro’s life, Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre; Birmingham

Two speakers, Paul (CPGB-ML) and John Tyrrell (SLP), kicked off the meeting by giving insightful talks on the history of Cuba, including the conditions that led to the rise of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and its achievements. The meeting was then opened up to the floor for contributions from comrades attending the meeting.

Pictured: Cde. John Tyrrell Commemoration of comrade Fidel Castro's life, Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre; Birmingham
Pictured: Cde. John Tyrrell – Commemoration of comrade Fidel Castro’s life, Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre; Birmingham

Comrades from the CPGB-ML recorded the meeting for those who could not attend in person, you can hear the full meeting below:

If you’d like to attend a future Fidel Castro memorial event, Comrades from the CPGB-ML and the Sri Lankan JVP will be meeting to commemorate the life of a great revolutionary and the achievements of Cuba’s socialist revolution. That event will run from 17:00 – 19:00 at Saklatvala Hall, Dominion Road, Southall, UB2 5AA on December 10th (Facebook event).

After learning of the death of Fidel Castro, a beloved friend of oppressed and exploited people across the world, and all those struggling to create a better future, comrades in London gathered at the Cuban embassy on Saturday, 26th November, to pay their respects to the revolutionary leader.

The CPGB-ML’s obituary for Fidel Castro is now available to read online and in print. Below you can see an excerpt from that informative piece of writing:

“After many battles by the guerrilla forces in the mountains, combined with the ongoing struggles of the peasantry in the countryside and of the working class in the cities, the revolutionary movement began to achieve victory after victory. On new year’s eve 1958, seeing the writing on the wall, the dictator Batista fled the country. The following day, 1 January 1959, Fidel and his comrades triumphantly rode into the capital, Havana. They went on immediately to arrest, try and execute the leading criminals of the Batista regime.

The revolutionaries were determined to bring relief to the masses, who had suffered horrendously for centuries – first at the hands of Spanish colonialists and then, from 1898 onwards, at the hands of US imperialism and its stooges. To this end, their government expropriated large landed estates and nationalised all foreign enterprises. They also set up schools and clinics as quickly as they could across the country.”