Aleida Guevara, the daughter of iconic revolutionary figure Ernesto Che Guevara, spoke to Al-Maydeen news network in Lebanon about her father, his views on the Middle East and Palestine.
The far-reaching interview was conducted on Friday, October 9, in commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the death of the South American revolutionary and intellectual.
“This is a sad occasion for us,” Aleida said, referring to the anniversary of her father’s murder at the hands of US-military-backed Bolivian forces, “but at the same time remembering him is very important to recall his legacy (and the values) for which he lived and died.”
Aleida spoke about a statement that ‘Che’ drafted a few years before his death where he called for “the creation of more than one Vietnam to fight imperialism”.
Reading word for word a reference he made to the Middle East in the letter, she said, quoting her father,
“The Middle East is considered, with all of its contradictions, a region that is boiling, and it is not possible to predict how far the war between Israel – which is supported by imperialists – and progressive countries in the region will go. It’s another volcano and one of the most dangerous in the world.”
Commenting on her father’s statement, Aleida said: “This volcano has indeed erupted and now it’s bubbling.”
Criticizing how world agendas are determined based on inconsequential priorities, Aleida urged that “we must be talking about Palestine. They have made us shift our attention from such fundamental issues to ones that are very superficial.”
In this picture, which dates back to June 1959, appears Ernesto “Che” Guevara in a Palestinian refugee camp in #Gaza Strip with local officials. Guevara made this visit to the currently-besieged enclave only eight years before his killing by U.S.-backed forces in Bolivia. pic.twitter.com/OSLGQ5E5of
— Quds News Network (@Qudsn_en) October 10, 2020
“The President of the United States is busy urging the relocation of embassies to the (occupied) Palestinian city of Jerusalem as if it belongs to Israel. And we don’t see anyone doing anything to challenge this. The voices that have been raised and took a (moral) stance against this are very few. In fact, the complete opposite is true, there are world leaders that have implemented the wishes of the American administration with complete subservience and in complete disregard and disrespect for the will of the Palestinian people.”
Aleida also spoke about Arab normalization with Israel, referring to it as “a strange matter and a great crisis”. “A person cannot fully comprehend the reasoning behind this, not in any way.”
Aleida also recalled her father’s view on solidarity, when he said “solidarity is a condition that must always be practiced”.
“Indeed, solidarity must be practiced,” she said, adding, “we have to raise our voices and our fists whenever necessary and use our arms (as in direct actions) to help any nation that needs our help like in Palestine, for example, and the Syrian people as well.”
Aleida said Cuba is a small isolated island that cut ties with Israel out of respect for the Palestinian people. The reasoning behind this, Aleida said, referencing her father’s words, is that “we can never predict the future but we should never ever give up, and we should always carry the banner of any people aspiring for freedom.”
“Everything we do is a cry against imperialism, and a cry for the unity of all nations against humanity’s greatest enemy: the United States of America.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
