-DATE-
19711111
-YEAR-
1971
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
SPEECH
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
SAN MIGUEL SPEECH
-PLACE-
CHILE
-SOURCE-
CHILE PRENSA LATINA
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19711112
-TEXT-
San Miguel Speech

Santiago Chile PRENSA LATINA in Spanish to PRENSA LATINA Havana 2100 GMT 11
Nov 71 C--FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

[Text] Santiago, Chile, 11 Nov--Maj Fidel Castro announced today that he
will speak at the Ernesto Che Guevara monument in the workers district of
the community of San Miguel at a ceremony scheduled to be held at the
conclusion of his visit to Chile.

The Cuban Prime Minister, who has been here on an official visit since
yesterday, made that promise when delivering his first speech since his
arrival in this capital. He was placing a floral wreath at the monument to
Cuban patriot Jose Marti in the workers district.

A large crowd of district residents listened to the words of the leader of
the Cuban revolution, who, at the request of the demonstrators, spoke from
a parked station wagon equipped with loudspeakers.

The text of the speech follows:

Residents of San Miguel:

Today, in moving ceremonies of unity and friendship between our two
peoples, our delegation has rendered honors to the patriots of our
respective fatherlands: Those who fought for the independence of Chile and
those who organized and carried on the struggle for the independence of
Cuba.

These men, who in their time overcame enormous obstacles; these men, who
devoted their lives to their revolutionary ideals, have won the recognition
and gratitude of their peoples throughout the years.

That is why their lives have become symbols and have remained in the memory
and eternal love of the peoples. Each of these ceremonies is an act of
gratitude for the men who fought for the future of their peoples.

The history of our America is a long one. The struggle has continued and we
will have to go on fighting until our peoples can fully accomplish the task
of their predecessors.

You, the residents of San Miguel, have the respect, love and gratitude of
our people, because you recently began an act of historic justice and
recognition, you, the residents of San Miguel, have erected the first
monument to Che.

We carry Che's memory deep in our hearts and Che, as a contemporary
fighter, as a revolutionary, deserves the gratitude and respect of Cubans
and Latin Americans. We also, in gratitude, will pay a deserved tribute to
his memory.

That is why the homage to Che is specially scheduled for this community. So
we will see you on that day, we will meet here again. That is what we
wanted to tell you. We greet you, we greet the workers of the hospital, we
greet the patients and we thank everyone, the civilian authorities, the
military authorities, the residents of the San Miguel and very especially
express our recognition and gratitude to your esteemed mayor. Thank you
very much.
-END-