Cuito Cuanavale - The deputy minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba General Joaquim Quintas Solas Friday highlighted the bravery of the Angolan and Cuban heroes in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which culminated with the overthrow of the Apartheid regime.
The Cuban general said so at the end of a visit to Cuito Cuanavale municipality, southern Cuando Cubango province.
The visit aimed to pay tribute to the Cuban and Angolan heroes, who contributed to the fall of the Apartheid regime in South Africa on March 23, 1988.
The Cuban leader also the support of the local population which allowed the two forces to win that historic decisive battle against the regime of racial segregation, called apartheid, which was at the time ruling the Republic of South Africa.
The victory of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale also paved the way for the independence of Namibia and, therefore, the liberation of Southern Africa. It also sealed, forever, the friendship and brotherhood between the peoples of Angola and Cuba.
"They achieved true freedom and independence that generations of Africans dreamt of so much. Eternal glory to the heroes and martyrs - men and women - who sacrificed their lives for the well-being of their peoples," he concluded.
The sculptural set placed in the memorial square on the Cuito Cuanavale Battle, include the soldiers' monument which is a 21.5 meters high bronze sculpture weighing 110 tons. It is made from an existing prototype with 7 meters high and illustrated with two soldiers, one Angolan and a Cuban, representing solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.
Another piece is the flag monument, 55 metres high and 100 square metres in area, covered in granite stones and bronze elements.
The monument represents a gun surrounded by the National Flag, having a belvedere at its "Ponto de Mira" with main access made by a lift.
From the top hill it is possible to glimpse the fullness of the heroic village, as well as the confluence of the Cuito and Cuanavale rivers that give name to the municipality, as well as the "tumpo triangle" which is the main epicentre of military operations.
Inaugurated in September 2017, by the then President of the Republic of Angola José Eduardo dos Santos, the Memorial to the Victory of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, built in an area of 3.5 hectares, was erected in order to eternalise the sacrifice of Angolans in defence of the homeland.
It was the defeat of the South African racist army in Cuito Cuanavale and the subsequent capitulation of the apartheid regime that made possible the implementation of Resolution 435/78 of the United Nations Security Council, on the basis of which the process of Independence of Namibia and the release of Nelson Mandela took place.
The visit was attended by Admiral José Maria de Lima, Secretary of State for Former Combatants and Homeland Veterans, the Cuban Ambassador to Angola, among other individuals.
