Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Dec. 4 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine commemorated the life and struggle of Cuban leader and international socialist and anti-imperialist figure Fidel Castro on November 28, as part of the demonstration in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarters in Gaza.

With a wide participation of leaders, cadres and members of the Front, the Prisoners’ Commission, representatives of Palestinian political organizations and freed prisoners, participants raised posters of the late revolutionary leader and the slogans that embodied his position and principles. They expressed that his departure was a loss for the Palestinian people and all progressive movements.

Comrade Ali Al-Sarafiti, a former prisoner and a leader in the Front in Gaza, spoke at the event saluting “a leading international supporter of the Palestinian people and all oppressed peoples and a primary enemy of imperialism, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, who departed on Friday evening after having spent his life as a leader of the socialist revolution in Latin America and a symbol of the revolutionaries of the world, especially the Palestinian cause.” Al-Sarafiti noted that the rich experience of Castro and the Cuban people in defeating imperialism and liberating Cuba had been an inspiration for many nations and revolutionary leaders who continue to form the spearhead of the struggle against imperialism. He also recalled Cuba’s involvement in the Non-Aligned Movement and its support for Palestine in all international forums and global organizations. “He always considered the struggle of the Palestinian people against Zionism to be an integral part of the struggle of the oppressed nations and peoples against imperialism and its lackeys.”

In conclusion, he emphasized that Fidel Castro would continue to be an inspiration in the struggle to “save humanity from the clutches of imperialism and Zionism and continue the revolution against injustice, tyranny and oppression and the resistance to colonization and occupation…..We will win the battle not only for our lives, but for the lives of all the children of the world.”

Yasser Saleh of the Mohja Al-Quds Foundation spoke at the event as well, highlighting the urgent situation of Palestinian hunger-striking prisoners, Anas Shadid and Ahmad Abu Fara, who have refused food since September 25 to demand their freedom from administrative detention. He emphasized that they were committed to continue their struggle until victory, declaring the full responsibility of the Israeli occupation for their lives and health.

The PFLP also established a mourning house for Fidel Castro at the Haidar Abdel Shafi Red Crescent Hall in Gaza City. Comrade Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the Political Bureau of the Front, delivered a speech in memory of Castro. He noted that Cuba refused to surrender to imperialism, despite a vast gap in the balance of power, but that the Cuban revolution continued to achieve the goals of the people and confront imperialism, no matter how big the power imbalance that existed. He also noted that the Cuban revolution was empowered by its “great faith in the ability of the people to meet the challenges and overcome obstacles,” rather than placing faith in external powers. He noted that the departure of a historical leader like Castro was a loss to popular movements around the world, but that “the Cuban revolution will protect its gains, as Cuba remains a beacon for liberation movements and struggles to bring an end to capitalist exploitation.”

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