-DATE- 19711202 -YEAR- 1971 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- MESSAGE -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- REPORTAGE ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF FAR -PLACE- CUBA -SOURCE- HAVANA DOMESTIC SVC -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19711203 -TEXT- Fidel Castro Message Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1130 GMT 2 Dec 71 F [Text] Maj Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and prime minister of the Revolutionary Government, has sent a message to the combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces whose text reads as follows: "Fifteen years ago today, 82 men disembarked from the yacht Granma near Las Coloradas beach. Thus began a decisive phase of the revolution that was to alter the course of our history. This event, and those following, marked an important milestone in Cuba's destiny. In 25 months, from 2 December 1956 to 1 January 1959, our glorious rebel army was created, developed, and obtained victory. Because of this, and quite justly, 2 December was later proclaimed the day of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. "The rebel army developed its fighting concepts and techniques and fighting arduously and intensively alongside the people, making a decisive contribution to the victory. Our rebel forces had identical principles of patriotic discipline as those that inspired our mambises. Similarly, our army was manned and organized with the working and exploited populace as its foundation, just as had been the case 60 years earlier with the liberating army under the command of Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo. It is because of all these reasons that our Revolutionary Armed Forces became the historic heirs to the liberating army and its fighting traditions. "After the victory against the tyranny, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, nourished by the most selfless and capable persons of the people, successfully confronted the aggression by Yankee imperialism on Playa Giron in April 1961. There, for the first time in the history of Latin America, they were able to beat the mercenary forces that had been organized, armed, and led by Yankee imperialism. "In the battle against the bandits who had been organized by imperialism in the Escambray mountains and other regions in Cuba, and in the difficult moments of the October crisis, our combatants, alongside the populace, rose to the occasion of the Sierra Maestra and Giron. "Our Revolutionary Armed Forces, made up of workers, peasants, and students, whom the unforgettable Maj Camilo Cienfuegos quite aptly called "the uniformed populace," achieved revolutionary victories of continental meaningfulness over such a mighty enemy and also developed a spirit of cultural, technical, and military self-improvement. "Similarly, the combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces upgraded their political knowledge, strengthened and enriched their ideological preparation, and developed a spirit of sacrifice, a sense of organization, discipline, and command. "These great victories were possible because of the deep unity of all the working people with their armed forces under the inspiration of the revolutionary ideas of Marxism-Leninism and the Communist Party. "Thousands of revolutionary patriots gave their lives in the struggle. The memory of those who fell fighting for this cause compels all of us to redouble our efforts to surmount difficulties, improve work and raise revolutionary efficiency. Only in this way would we be worthy of the sacrifice and the blood shed by those who fought for Cuba's freedom and against imperialism. "The triumphs achieved by the Cuban revolution have won international respect for our people and have resulted in a profound breakthrough for the anti-imperialist struggle on the continent. "On this 15th anniversary of the Granma landing, we are in the beautiful land of Chile, where its people have given us such deep-felt and wonderful proof of friendship and revolutionary solidarity that it would be impossible to describe its entire impact and warmth. "Such circumstances memories, feelings and emotions on this 2 December are so touching that is is difficult for me to express them. However, it is my revolutionary duty to stress on this day, with the most intimate and deep-felt pleasure, that our population are not alone in Latin America and that the mud-slinging and intrigue-laden campaign against Cuba and its revolution, far from isolating us from the rest of the peoples of the continent, has, on the contrary, contributed to the strengthening of our historical ties with the America that Marti called 'our America.' "With deep revolutionary rejoicing, I can assure you that on seeing the affection between the Chilean and Cuban peoples at first hand, I have once again confirmed that we belong to the Latin American fatherland and that the peoples of the continent, following difficult paths, are marching, as the second Havana declaration pointed out, to their second and definite independence. This final independence will lead us to the unity of the peoples of Latin America, as Bolivar, San Martin, Sucre, O'Higgins, Juarez, Marti and our heroic Comrade Ernesto 'Che' Guevara fought for. "From this sister country, I send my revolutionary greetings to the combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and all the Cuban people." Signed, "Commander in Chief Fidel Castro." -END-