-DATE-
19740211
-YEAR-
1974
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
MESSAGE
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
BREZHNEV MESSAGE, CASTRO SPEECH
-PLACE-
CUBA
-SOURCE-
HAVANA DOMESTIC SVC
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19740212
-TEXT-
Brezhnev Message, Castro Speech

Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1130 GMT 11 Feb 74 F

[Text] Our Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, first secretary of the PCC
Central Committee and prime minister of the Revolutionary Government,
delivered a speech at the work review meeting of the Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution, which began holding sessions on 7 February. Also
speaking at the event was USSR Ambassador Nikita Tolubeyev who read
Brezhnev's answer to the message sent to him by the CDR.

In Brezhnev's answer to the CDR, he says: [recording of Ambassador
Tolubeyev reading message in Russian with consecutive Spanish translation]
"I cordially thank you for your greetings, your expressions of fraternal
friendship and combat solidarity with the Soviet Union and with the Soviet
people, who are the builders of communism. Your warm greetings have
reinvigorated with new vitality the moving impressions etched indelibly in
the minds of the participants in the recent visit to Cuba by the events
held by the government of that fraternal country, by the fraternal
communications with your admirable people--the first builder of socialism
in the Western Hemisphere--and with Comrade Fidel Castro and his
colleagues--heroic leaders of the Cuban Revolution

"In the light of the inextinguishable fire of the Soviet-Cuban friendship,
these events demonstrate once more in a convincing manner to the whole
world their purity, sincerity and deep-rootedness. The continued
development and deepening of this friendship through the path outlined in
the Soviet-Cuban declaration signed on 2 February in Havana will constitute
our common contribution to the strengthening of the socialist community and
to the cause of peace and communism. From the bottom of my heart, I wish to
express to you, vanguard and firm support of the Cuban Revolution, new and
great successes in the construction of socialism, in the strengthening of a
socialist, free and independent Cuba under the proven leadership of the
glorious Communist Party. Communist greetings, Leonid Brezhev, given in
Moscow on 9 February 1974." [applause]

It was also announced during the plenary session that all the provinces and
the Pinar del Rio region had won the 20th anniversary of the assault of the
Moncada Barracks award for the great effort made in all fields and for the
fulfillment of the tasks to which they were committed. Comrade Maria Teresa
Malmierca, national vice coordinator of the CDR, read the commitment of the
organization before our commander in chief and our party, which is to
develop and deepen the CDR work in order to become more useful to the
revolution.

During the last session, the members of the National Directorate of the CDR
were elected. Comrade Jorge Lezcano was reelected national coordinator and
Comrade Maria Teresa Malmierca vice coordinator.

In addressing the participants of the meeting, our commander in chief
greeted them and pointed out how the work of the organization had improved
during recent years, mentioning as an example the resolutions adopted in
this meeting in connection with the many tasks being tackled by the CDR
members. Fidel pointed out the ideological training of the CDR masses and
added: [recording] "I must say that those resolutions express the deepest,
the most beautiful, the purest [aims] of our ideals, of our aspirations and
of our revolutionary feelings. They are evidence of the evolution and
development of our thoughts, our awareness and our political principles,
and indicate that today what prevails above everything else is an
atmosphere of revolutionary policy of clean policy, of honest policy, a
spirit of struggle, self-denial and sacrifice, which is demonstrated by
your resolutions."

He pointed out that increasingly becoming evident is the organization,
unity, strength, discipline and political education of our people, as was
brilliantly demonstrated by the rally held on the occasion of the visit of
Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the CPSU. Similarly, it was
demonstrated in the rally held at the Plaza de la Revolucion in solidarity
with the fraternal Chilean people.

He affirmed that if that was the political culture demonstrated by our
people in the past 15 years of revolution, it will be superior at the end
of the next 15 years, when the CDR will be a powerful organized power. Our
commander in chief praised the progress made by the CDR.

He said: [recording] "Progress has been made without sacrificing quality
and this demonstrates that the revolutionary quality of our people has
increased and at the same time, with that same revolutionary quality, the
CDR have continued to grow."

In his talks with the delegates, our commander in chief discussed several
topics and referred to the far-reaching work of the CDR members throughout
the country. In closing, he congratulated the delegates in the name of our
party and government for their efforts during the year of the 20th
anniversay. [recording of Fidel Castro]: "We wish to convey to you the
unrestricted trust of our party." [applause]
-END-