THEY SAID FAREWELL TO FIDEL CASTRO
MIROSŁAW PIOTROWSKI
In the Union there are more approving or even apologetic voices to the communist Fidel Castro
Hearing about death of the communist leader of Cuba, leaders of countries and international organizations gave different opinions about the deceased. Words of the chief of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker echoed a lot: ‘Together with death of Fidel Castro, the world lost the man who had been a hero for a lot of people’. The president of Russia Vladimir Putin went further saying that Fidel Castro had been ‘an honest and reliable friend of Russia’. A different opinion was expressed by the elect president of the USA Donald Trump who wrote that ‘the heritage of Castro is shooting people, thefts, unimaginable suffering, poverty and negation of basic human rights’. And, by the way, who is dearer to Putin? Anyway, this statement of Juncker brought criticism onto the European Commission. The spokesman of the Commission was excusing it saying that Juncker had presented ‘a balanced evaluation of the historic road of Fidel Castro’. What is interesting, not all commissioners of the European Commission shared this opinion. For the commissioner Cecilia Malstrom ‘Castro was a dictator who had oppressed his nation for 50 years’. She was really astonished that others were paying tribute to him. Not only Juncker was thought to be in this group, but also the chief of the EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini, the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, the president of France Francois Hollande, the Belgium prime minister Charles Michel and the Greek prime minister Aleksis Cipras, who wrote: ‘Goodbye, commander, going to the eternal victory of nations’. Among various opinions, it is difficult to find a comment of the chief of the European Council Donald Tusk. He might have got discouraged after the last setback on Twitter connected with the election of Donald Trump. Opinions on Castro of main EU decision-makers are divided. So, it is better not to take any of the sides because in six months there is election of the chief of the European Council. And, on the other hand, as one can see, in the Union there are more approving or even apologetic voices to the communist Fidel Castro. In the historical perspective, what is astonishing, are their shallowness and lack of finesse. When the ideological comrade of Castro – Józef Stalin died, the festival of farewell poetry began. For example, there is a quotation: ‘Give back everything, in order to stop death and take away Stalin from bed. Pain sunk in the heart, like in the sea, Stalin with us forever’. So, how it can be expressed beautifully and honestly.
AA
„Niedziela” 50/2016