Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote a gushing letter of praise to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras after Greece roundly rejected international creditors' reform proposals in a Sunday referendum.
"I warmly congratulate you for your brilliant political victory," the 88-year-old former president wrote to Tsipras, a fellow leftist less than half his age. A translated copy of the letter was published by official Cuban press on Tuesday.
"Your country, especially your courage in the current situation, arouses admiration among the Latin American and Caribbean peoples of this hemisphere on witnessing how Greece, against external aggression, defends its identity and culture," Castro wrote.
Tspiras called the referendum late last month after reaching an impasse in talks with the so-called troika of creditors -- the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank -- on the terms of a new bailout deal. He urged the country to vote against the proposal, saying it would cause more economic hardship after years of stringent austerity policies required by international creditors. On Sunday, 61 percent of Greeks agreed and voted "no" in the referendum.
Now Tspiras embarks on an uncertain road: As his country languishes in economic limbo, he must try to convince reluctant creditors to establish a deal with better terms. He carries with him the blessing of the iconic Cuban revolutionary: "We wish you, esteemed compañero Alexis Tsipras, the greatest of success," Castro writes.
The full letter in English published by the newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee, Granma:
Hon. Mr. Alexis TsiprasPrime Minister of Greece:
I warmly congratulate you for your brilliant political victory, details of which I followed closely through the channel TeleSur.
Greece is very familiar among Cubans. She taught us Philosophy, Art and Sciences of antiquity when we studied at school and, with them, the most complex of all human activities: the art and science of politics.
Your country, especially your courage in the current situation, arouses admiration among the Latin American and Caribbean peoples of this hemisphere on witnessing how Greece, against external aggression, defends its identity and culture. Nor do they 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 towards Greece, diverting them from the initial target.
Cuba knows of the bravery and the fighting capacity of the Russian troops, which, together with the forces 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 would never allow for any military aggression without an overwhelming and devastating response.
In the current political situation of the world, where peace and the survival of our species hangs by a thread, every decision, more than ever, must be carefully thought-out and applied, so that no one may doubt the honesty and seriousness with which many of the most responsible and serious leaders struggle today to confront the calamities that threaten the world.
We wish you, esteemed compañero Alexis Tsipras, the greatest of success.
Fraternally,
Fidel Castro Ruz
5 July, 2015
8:12 p.m.
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