Fidel Castro’s Congratulatory Letter to Alexis Tsipras

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro on Monday congratulated Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for his “brilliant political victory” in the country’s referendum, which saw voters deliver a resounding ‘No’ to more austerity.

Castro wrote to Tsipras saying he had “closely followed this victory” on Venezuelan TV station Tele Sur, according to a statement from the Tsipras office.

The letter from the 88-year-old, released to the media, described Greece as a country well-known to Cubans for its history and famed contributions to “the most complex of all human activities, art and political science”.

Castro wrote that Greece has “the admiration of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples” for the way in which it “defends its identity and its culture against external aggression”.
The letter follows as translated:

Hon. Mr. Alexis Tsipras
Prime Minister of Greece:

I congratulate you warmly on your brilliant political victory, the details of which I followed closely on the Telesur channel.

Cubans are very familiar with Greece. It taught philosophy, art and science of antiquity when we studied in school, and with these subjects, the most complex of all human activities: the art and science of politics.

Your country, especially its courage at this juncture, arouses admiration among Latin American and Caribbean peoples of this hemisphere to see how Greeks, against external aggression, defend their identity and culture.

Nor will we forget that a year after Hitler’s attack on Poland, Mussolini ordered his troops to invade Greece, and that brave country repelled the attack and drove back the invaders, forcing the deployment of German armored units to Greece, deviating from the initial target.

Cuba knows the value and the fighting capacity of Russian troops, which, together with the strength of their powerful ally the People’s Republic of China, and other nations of the Middle East and Asia, always try to avoid war, but never allow any military aggression without overwhelming and devastating response.

In the current political situation in the world, where peace and the survival of our species hang in the balance, every decision, more than ever, must be carefully developed and implemented, so that no one can doubt the honesty and seriousness of many of the most responsible and serious leaders who struggle today to face the calamities that threaten the world.

We wish you, esteemed colleague Alexis Tsipras, the greatest success.

Sincerely,

Fidel Castro Ruz
July 5, 2015