AFRICA’S UNKNOWN WAR
*
APARTHEID TERROR, CUBA & SOUTHERN AFRICAN LIBERATION
*
September 27th & 28th, 2013
University of Toronto, Toronto,
Canada
Today the African continent has 55-independent countries. While no
outside power directly holds sway over African territory (with the exception of
French-ruled Djibouti), the issue of African independence is posed as
sharply as ever. 2013 will mark the 25th anniversary of a landmark in the
struggle for African independence & self-determination: the decisive defeat
in Angola of the racist armed forces of the apartheid South African state by
combined Cuban and Angolan troops. This led to the immediate independence of
Namibia, accelerating the end of racist rule in South Africa. These events
and Cuba's extensive & crucial role
in the struggle against apartheid South Africa, however, remain virtually
unknown in the West. Also forgotten is the apartheid
regime’s regional war of terror, which set the context of Cuba’s
intervention. Africa's Unknown War: Apartheid Terror, Cuba &
Southern African Liberation will commemorate the 25th anniversary,
while elaborating apartheid’s reign of terrorism. The symposium will be held on
September 27th& 28th, 2013 at the University of
Toronto, in Toronto, Canada.
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"The Cuban people hold a special place in the hearts of the people
of Africa. The Cuban internationalists have made a contribution to African
independence, freedom and justice unparalleled for its principled and selfless
character.” - Nelson Mandela –
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PROGRAM
Location: William
Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Canada
Friday, September 27, 2013
Patria Es Humanidad: Homeland Is Humanity
- Film screening, followed by panel discussion and Q&A -
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Session One: Apartheid’s War of Terror
- Apartheid South Africa’s regional terrorism and destabilization
campaign -
Session Two: Cuba & Southern Africa Liberation
- Focus on Cuba’s internationalist contribution to the fight against
apartheid -
Session Three: Struggle & Liberation
- Panel discussions with representatives from Angola, Cuba, Namibia and
South Africa -
Cultural Gala
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Among those
scheduled to participate are:
*Piero Gleijeses: Author of the universally
acclaimed groundbreaking Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and
Africa, 1959-76. He is currently writing Visions of Freedom:
Havana, Washington and Pretoria in Southern Africa, 1976-91.
Gleijeses is Professor of American Foreign Policy, School of Advanced
International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
*Jorge Risquet: Cuba's chief
diplomat in Africa from the 1970s to the 1990s, who played a crucial role in
the negotiations that ended South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia.
*John
Saul: Internationally acclaimed & honoured scholar on southern Africa &
anti-apartheid activist. Professor Emeritus at York University (Canada), Saul
is currently working on the book The Thirty Year War for
the Liberation of Southern Africa, 1960-1990.
*Isaac Saney: Cuba
specialist who teaches at Dalhousie University (Canada). Author of the
acclaimed, Cuba: A Revolution In Motion, he is
currently finishing the book From Soweto to Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, The War
in Angola and the End of Apartheid.
*Various diplomats and representatives
of liberation organizations from Angola, Cuba, Namibia and South Africa.
On Apartheid South Africa’s War of Terror
From 1975 to 1988,
the South Africa armed forces embarked on a campaign of massive destabilization
of the region. The loss of life was immense. The South Africa's Truth and
Reconciliation Commission stated that "the majority of the
victims of the South African's government attempts to maintain itself in power
were outside South Africa. Tens of thousands of people died as a direct or
indirect result of the South African's government aggressive intent towards its
neighbours." South Africa’s war of terror was so devastating that in 1986
the late Julius Nyerere, then president of Tanzania declared:
“When is war not war?
When is terrorism not terrorism? Apparently when it is committed by a more
powerful government against those at home and abroad who are weaker than
itself…Those are the only conclusions one can draw in the light of the current
widespread condemnation of aggression and terrorism, side by side with the
ability of certain nations to attack others with impunity, and to organize
murder, kidnapping and massive destruction with the support of some permanent
members of the United Nations Security Council. South Africa is such a
country."
**************************
On Cuba &
Southern African Liberation
Cuba is often
described as the only foreign country to have gone to Africa and gone away with
nothing but the coffins of its sons and daughters who died in the struggles to
liberate Africa. More than 330,000 Cubans served in Angola. More than 2,000
Cubans died in defense of Angolan independence and right of self-determination.
The 1987-88 military defeat of South Africa in Angola constituted a mortal blow
to the apartheid regime, ending its dream (nightmare for the region’s peoples)
of establishing hegemony in southern Africa as a means by which to extend the
life of the racist regime. Cuba played the central role in those fateful
events. Nelson Mandela has underscored Cuba's vital role. In 1991 he
declared:
"The Cuban people hold a special place in the hearts of the people of
Africa. The Cuban internationalists have made a contribution to African
independence, freedom and justice unparalleled for its principled and selfless
character. We in Africa are used to being victims of countries wanting to carve
up our territory or subvert our sovereignty. It is unparalleled in African
history to have another people rise to the defense of one of us. The defeat of
the apartheid army was an inspiration to the struggling people in South
Africa!”
In 1994, he further
stated: "If today all South Africans enjoy the rights of democracy;
if they are able at last to address the grinding poverty of a system that denied
them even the most basic amenities of life, it is also because of Cuba's
selfless support for the struggle to free all of South Africa's people and the
countries of our region from the inhumane and destructive system of apartheid.
For that, we thank the Cuban people from the bottom of our hearts.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Email: isaney@hotmail.com or call Isaac Saney: 902-494-1531
Email: melanie.newton@utoronto.ca or call Melanie Newton: 416-978-4054
Email: adifferentbooklist@rogers.com or call Miguel San Vicente: 416-538-0889
Website: www.cubaafrica.org
SPONSORS
*Canadian Network On Cuba* Caribbean Studies Program, University of Toronto* James Robinson Johnston Chair of Black Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University*A Different Booklist *Taylor Report/CIUT-FM* Group for Research and Initiative in the Liberation of Africa* Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto*
