Partido Africano Da Independência Da Guiné e Cabo-Verde (PAIGC) Message to African Liberation Day (ALD) Ideogical Seminar, 25 May 2020, organized by the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP)

Delivered by African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) President, Comrade Eng. Domingos Simões Pereira

Revolutionary Greetings!
Comrade Organizers of the A-APRP;
Comrade Fernando Gonzales Llort, living Hero of the Cuban 5 and President of ICAP;
Comrades of the Polisario Front;
Comrades of Africa, Asia, Latin and North America, Caribbean and Europe;
Comrade Participants!

As a great strategist of Pan-Africanism, Osageyfo Kwame Nkrumah called for political-military coordination. He assisted Amilcar Cabral with CONCP, OSPAAAL and called for the formation of an A-APRP.

We want to sincerely thank our comrades who have dedicated their lives and energies to establishing and developing an All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, an All-African Committee for Political Coordination to totally liberate and unify our great Mother Africa.

We would like for the world to know that the PAIGC today is still the same Pan-Africanist revolutionary PAIGC that was praised during the time of Amilcar Cabral. There are many faithful who are sacrificing and continuing the works and thoughts of Amicar Cabral facing all types of harsh conditions. The enemy of the People is doing any and everything to destroy the PAIGC, knowing that the PAIGC is the main weapon that defends the People’s interest. As our enemy doesn’t sleep, we too stay awake and vigilant.

The enemies of Humanity continuously attack the PAIGC like they attack Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Sahwari, Africa, Latin America and all progressive forces in the world. The attacks against the PAIGC are not unique. Imperialists attack every organization in the world that defends the People’s interest against plunder of natural and human resources. While a lot of propaganda tries to make appear that the PAIGC is weak, the fact of the matter is that it continues to organize today winning victory after victory until
final victory. The PAIGC and PAICV are among the very few Parties in Africa that lost State Power and regained it. In the case of the PAIGC, we have been victimized by coup d’etats of various types, but organize to regain power more than once. We will regain it again.

It’s clear that what Cabral, Nkrumah, Fidel, and others told us years ago is more relevant now than ever. They insisted on systematic political-ideological training. We always agreed, but only through our own practice have we come to really understand how fundamental it is. They insisted on political-military coordination. Our enemy coordinates against us. It behooves us to coordinate, (tighty and systematically) against our enemy in favor of our People. Our struggle now is much more complicated than then. We must be more sophisticated. Our People must take ownership. People organized and united can never be defeated!

Our victories have all resulted from the People taking ownership of the Revolution. The attempted coup d’etat in Venezuela, earlier this month was defeated by the organized People. The Cuban Revolution is defended by the organized conscious People. The Polisario Front will liberate Sahwari with the organized conscious People. Palestine will be free with the organized conscious People. There’s no short cut.

We’ll defeat sanctions by the organized conscious People! The theme this year: “Imperialist sanctions on Zimbabwe, Cuba and Venezuela are acts of war: Africans everywhere must fight!” is relevant for us.

Our eternal leader, Comrade Amilcar Cabral teaches us that as long as imperialist domination continues to exist, there is something rotten in the heart of humanity, which means that we women and men of good will, defenders of the culture of People, have not yet accomplished our duty on this planet: “…there is something rotten in the heart of humanity: imperialist domination. It is because men of good will, defenders of the culture of peoples, have not yet accomplished their duty on this planet…”

Comrade Amilcar Cabral taught us that the PAIGC is the politically organized expression of our People’s Culture. The Program of the PAIGC, since its inception includes the objective of African Unity. It declared to the world that we are democratic socialists. We shall work for it until Africa is totally liberated, unified and socialist, belonging to African People and contributing to humanity.

We cannot wait until Africa is free, for our mothers, sisters, daughters to be emancipated. The emancipation of African women is not only a pre-condition for the liberation of Africa, it is fundamental to social justice and progress. Our Party Program insists that we concretely organize against exploitation of women. We have made progress, but still have a long way to go. We shall win this struggle, side by side with our sister comrades!

Our People, militants and leaders must know why we fight. What are vision of our new society is. During our Glorious Armed Struggle of National Liberation, Political Commissioners always accompanied our commanders. Amilcar Cabral held ideological seminars for cadre that were praised by revolutionaries around the world, for his ability to break down complex concepts in common simple language. We shall make the texts of these ideological seminars available for all participants in today’s ALD seminar.

While carrying out ideological training, we also had to carry out professional and technical training. We only had a few People who knew how to read and write and almost no doctors, technicians, very few teachers. We had to train nurses, medical technicians, teachers, administration. More than 90% of our People were illiterate. We needed teachers, doctors, nurses, medical technicians among other servants. Which is another remarkable character of our Glorious Armed Struggle; a People’s war waged by peasants who were for the most part illiterate, but had a level of culture high enough to know that they must be free at any cost.

We had Liberated Zones where we had to take care of the day-to-day responsibilities of health, education, People’s stores for medicine, food, clothing, radios. People have to have houses and Justice Committees.

During all of this, we had to defend (via People’s Militias) and take offensive with our “armed militants”.

The PAIGC had its main Headquarters in Conakry, which helped with our political- military coordination. There were representatives of MLSTP, MPLA, FRELIMO, in addition to other Parties leading Liberation Movements, such as UPC for Cameroon. Embassies of the socialist countries were there, (China, Cuba, USSR, the Eastern European socialist countries, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany), the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea and others. Kwame Nkrumah became the Co-President, along with President Ahmed Sekou Toure. Amilcar Cabral and other PAIGC leaders and Responsibles were able to participate in coordination meeting and ideological seminars.

African Liberation Day (ALD) was founded at the first Conference of Independent African States, in April 1958. Months later, in December (1958) the First All-African People’s Conference (for the Liberation Movements), Amilcar Cabral was there representing the PAI, (before we added the “GC”). There African Freedom Day, (as it was called then), was ratified as a “…day for the African Masses to re-dedicate themselves to the total liberation of Africa…” Since then, not only did the PAIGC participate in all the subsequent All-African People’s Conferences (Tunisia and Egypt), but also the PAIGC organized African Freedom Days. When the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded, in 1963, Amilcar Cabral was there. The name “African Freedom Day” was changed to African Liberation Day. Since 1963, the PAIGC has organized many manifestations of African Liberation Day and is honored to participate in the one today.

Revolutionaries show that while we scientifically struggle against diseases such as the New Coronavirus Covid-19, we must continue to organize against Covid-sanctions; Covid-coup d’etats and all forms of Covid-exploitation. Again, we congratulate and thank the organizers of today’s activities for your creativeness in utilizing technology for the People’s benefits, (People’s gains) to unite revolutionary and progressive forces
from various continents, (Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Latin America and the Caribbean Islands).

A people united will never be defeated. Kwame Nkrumah was right, “…unity pre-supposes organization…” In order to unite, we must be organized! We must have political and ideological coordination to defeat our enemies who coordinate, politically, militarily, technologically, etc.

The PAIGC emerged, developed and contributed to political-military coordination.

Simultaneously, the PAIGC co-founded Pan-African and anti-imperialist instruments of political-military coordination. CONCP (Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the then Portuguese Colonies), was the first in Africa to coordinate Armed Struggles for National Liberation in various areas, (Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique), along with an Independence Movement in Sao Tome and Principe. Kwame Nkrumah refers to this in his classic book “Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare” on page 53, just two pages before his section on “The Need for Co-ordinated Revolutionary Action” where he calls for an All-African People’s Revolutionary Party”.

The PAIGC also co-founded OSPAAAL (Organization of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America), in Havana, Cuba in 1966. It was established at the First Tricontinental Conference, to coordinate anti-imperialist struggles in three (3) continents. Nkrumah was one of the arquitects of this, along with Fidel Castro. He refers to this on page 57 of the “Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare”. It was at the historic conference, in the front of revolutionaries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, that Commander Fidel shouted; “…the most brillant and clearest of Africa is Companhero Amilcar Cabral…”

Comrade Amilcar Cabral was assassinated on the eve of Independence, (20 January 1973). Eight (8) months later, the PAIGC unilaterally proclaimed Independence on 24 September 1973. The Glorious Armed Struggle continued for almost a year afterwards, as an “Independent Country occupied by foreign occupiers”, (although the Portuguese colonialists were only the urban areas, as the PAIGC controlled about 70% of Guinea-Bissau).

After conquering our unilateral Independence, the Liberated Zones served as the nucleus for our new Party/State. When we took over all of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, our challenge was to organize the Popular Masses to integrate into Party Structures, become transformed via participation in the Mass Organizations and Party Structures, utilizing creative ways to constantly politically educate them, (radio, ideological seminars, Militant Formation political education courses at the schools, interchanges at youth camps in the socialist countries, etc.).

Imperialists continued their struggle against our newly independent Republic and used their greatest weapon; traitors and betrayals. Those faithful to the PAIGC continued to us our greatest weapon, the People led by our culture.

The approach of Amilcar Cabral, in coordination with great revolutionary Pan-Africanists such as Osageyfo Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Ahmed Ben Bella, Gamal Nasser and anti-imperialists such as Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Party/States, such as Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Algeria, Egypt, Cuba, USSR, Eastern Europe, Algeria, Guinea-Conakry, the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea was seriously challenged.

During the period where revolutionary Parties lost State power in the USSR, Eastern European Countries in the early 1990s, we faced serious challenges. Structural Adjustment Programs were imposed upon us. Our state structures became weakened. Our Party was attacked, left, right and by traitors from the inside. We continued energized by our People’s culture.

As we were adjusting to this challenge, (i.e.- revolutionary Parties without State power in the USSR, Eastern European Countries in the early 1990s), meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau was already going through “Structural Adjust Programs” followed by political liberalism where multi-partyism was establish. The Party had to be separated from the State. Most of the resources that the PAIGC accumulated, (printing presses, radios,
economic projects, etc.) became state property. We had to end Militant Formation (political-ideological training of our youth) at the schools. Private schools were opened followed by establishment scouts, which dealt a serious blow to our Pioneers. Next, youth associations in the hundreds were established, challenging JAAC as the “vanguard of the youth”. Different opposition parties and eternally financed NGOs were formed.

During this period, our Party was seriously weakened, along with many of its Brother/Sister and Allied organizations in the socialist countries. There was very little political coordination taking place.

We faced serious challenges. Fortunately, we won the first multi-Party elections of 1994, but in 1998 a political military conflict devastated the country for more than one year. Afterwards, the PAIGC lost both the Presidential and Legislative elections of 1999/2000. Finally, we were out of state power. Most observers screamed that “…the PAIGC was finished…” They said that; “…once historical Parties lose State Power, they
never regain it again…” They were wrong! The PAIGC is the political manifestation of our People’s culture! Our ideology comes from our culture. Amilcar Cabral taught us in “National Liberation and Culture” that; “…our culture is the fruit of our history, like a flower is to the plant… it is a fact of our history and a factor of our making history…”

We continued to work under very harsh conditions, with most of our former resources in the hands of those who ran the State. They used the national radio and newspaper (that the PAIGC brought into existence) to talk bad about the PAIGC, with the strategy of trying to convince our Almighty People that it was a waste of time to sacrifice in the PAIGC to transform our society. They attempted to blame all the problems of under-
development on the PAIGC. They attempted to isolate the PAIGC from the revolutionary and progressive forces of the world.

Yet, in 2004, we won the relative majority of the Legislative Elections. In 2008, we won the overwhelming majority and in 2009, we won the Presidential Elections. We had the three (3) stones needed to place our cooking pot; the Legislature, the Executive and the Presidency.

In 2012, after winning the first round of Presidential elections, they carried out another coup d’etat against the PAIGC and its Government.

We struggled heroically to regained State power again in 2014 and began making agreements with revolutionary and progressive regimes towards independent development, but had State power violently snatched from it again in a palace coup in 2015 orchestrated by traitors in cahoots with imperialists and neo-colonialists. We relatively regained State power in 2019, but recently was victimized by another coup
last February 2020. Now, once again, the Presidency and illegitimate so-called “government” is controlled by anti-People’s forces. Those who won the elections are in the opposition, while those who lost are the ones who rule.

Even during these coup d’etats (against state power) the PAIGC still has relative control of the Legislature (ANP – National People’s Assembly) and wields popular political and cultural power in the society.

The neo-colonialist president of Senegal, Macky Sall, (along with other neo-colonialist regimes in West Africa and other parts) orchestrated a group of puppets in Guinea-Bissau to abuse the electoral process and dislodge the PAIGC’s democratically elected Government. They didn’t even hide their meetings in Dakar, Senegal prior to and during the November elections and December 2019 run-offs.

The elections revealed a number of serious irregularities that led the PAIGC candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira to challenge before the Supreme Court of Justice, who in its verdict ordered the “ab initio and uninterrupted tabulation of the results, i.e. recounting of votes and the preparation of subsequent records by the National Election Commission (CNE).”

While the electoral litigation was taking place, interest groups linked to drug trafficking and transnational crime, executed a coup d’etat, seizing Governmental institutions by military force and committed acts, including the coercion and enticement of the President of the CNE; threats to other holders of Soveriegn Organs, especially the Prime Minister (PAIGC) and head of the legal and legitimate Government, as well as judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, among others.

Neo-colonialist and presidential candidate, Umaro Sissoko Embalo, “U.S.E.” a retired soldier, self-proclaimed himself as president of Guinea-Bissau.The Armed Forces Presidential Guards were deployed to the Supreme Court Building; to the National People’s Assembly (Legislature); and Governmental facilities; to prevent its verdict, without the orientations of the Army General Chief of Staff, while the residences of the democratically elected Governmental officials were invaded by soldiers

While the National People’s Assembly (Legislature) “ANP” was waiting on the Supreme Court to issue its verdict, one of the coup plotters, who served as the 1st Vice-President of the ANP, (subsequently illegally imposed as “prime-minister”) usurped Constitutional powers of the ANP President, illegally convened a so-called “Special Session of the ANP” (without a quorum) at a hotel and “symbolically” inaugurated Presidential candidate, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, “U.S.E.” without representation of any other State Organs. When the traitor ex-President of the Republic, Jose Mario Vaz “Jomav”, signed a letter of resignation and left the Presidential Palace on 27 February, the ANP reacted by convening a Parliamentary Session (with a quorum), the next day (28 February) and filled the vacancy with the ANP President Cipriano Cassamá to serve as Interim President, (as called for in the Constitution). It should be noted that this Parliamentary Session was witnessed by representatives of the UN, ECOWAS, AU, CPLP and Ambassadors of most of the Embassies that reside in Bissau. In short, most democratic regimes recognized Cipriano Cassamá as the legitimate Interim President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. On the other hand, none of them, (except Senegal and The Gambia) sent representatives to the illegal, unconstitutional “symbolic” so-called “inauguration” of presidential candidate, Umaro Sissoco Embalo at the hotel.

Interim President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Cipriano Cassamá was not given Presidential Guard protection. He only had a handful of Guinea-Bissau soldiers and a less than 10 ECOWAS Interposition forces, called “ECOMIG” soldiers.

Within 48 hours, soldiers from the Presidential Guard invaded the ANP and the Supreme Court, while changing the security assigned to the Interim President, coupled with death threats to him and family. As a result of coercion, he resigned on 1 March.

The ECOWAS Interposition forces, called ECOMIG, stood by idle.

Normally, in resolving disputes in West Africa, the UN Security Council temporarily delegates its authority to the African Union (AU), who in turn delegates it to ECOWAS. When ECOWAS is too slow or takes improper decisions, the AU and / or UN Security Council will veto it.

It should be underlined that the UN Secretary-General position reiterates the UN Security Council’s position to “wait for the Guinea-Bissau Supreme Court’s verdict on the Presidential Electoral dispute.” In February, ECOWAS issued a statement calling on all stakeholders to; “…wait on the Guinea-Bissau Supreme Court to issue its verdict.”

Neo-colonialist president of Senegal, Macky Sall, didn’t wait. He was the first to receive U.S.E. as “president” of Guinea-Bissau, while most of the world doesn’t recognize him as president…still waiting on the Supreme Court to decide and conclude the electoral process.

Failure to respect the decision of the highest judicial body in the Country and the principle of legality is absolutely unacceptable in Guinea-Bissau, as this would weaken the fundamental pillar of justice and institutions. That is why the PAIGC and its candidate Domingos Simões Pereira will continue to fight for electoral truth, through the use of the democratic instruments that the Constitution and the laws of the Country put at their disposal.

On the initiative of the UN Security Council, ECOWAS issued a press release stating that a high-level Delegation would come to Guinea-Bissau. In response, the coup makers’ illegitimate spokesperson issued a response saying that; “…the ECOWAS Delegation was not welcome in Guinea-Bissau…” They heeded and still to date, have not come. Not only that, on the orders of coup regime, ECOMIG packed up it bags ready to leave Guinea-Bissau, but not before receiving medals from the coup regime. In March ECOWAS made a 180 degree turn and recognized him as the winner of the December 2019 run-off elections and called upon him to; “…form another government by 22 May, that reflects the winner of the 2019 Legislative Elections…” U.S.E. is doing everything but that.

In short, we have a military regime in power, with show-cased “civilian figures” (including a retired soldier), using Guinea-Bissau for transnational crimes.

Reportedly, tons of drugs have already been received by the military in Southern Guinea-Bissau; persecution has begun and journalists are included; the Coronavirus Prevention Team and Contingency Plan was dismantled at a time where the confirmed cases of COVID-19 was in neighboring Senegal. As a consequence, now the confirmed cases exceeds a thousand, with the number growing exponentially; not counting the unconfirmed cases, with one small isolation center precariously built only after many confirmed cases. The overwhelming majority haven’t been tested, while those who have been confirmed to have Covid-19 still reside in their homes spreading the virus.

In collaboration with the International Community, we seek solutions that will help restore constitutional order and put an end to the situation of illegality and anarchy in which Guinea-Bissau is currently plunged. This attitude will be in line with internationally accepted norms and the position of the United Nations, which has been expressed by the Security Council, towards the restoration of democratic order and the functioning of the institutions of the Republic, starting with the Organs of Sovereignty, the establishment of international forms capable of ensuring the functioning of those Organs and ensuring that the Constitution of the Republic and the laws are respected until the consolidation of democratic power.

These elections are very important for the political stability and future of Guinea-Bissau and Africa. The next President of the Republic must be one that the People truly chose.

Although it seems gloomy, truth crushed to the earth will rise again. While all the tactics that will be employed can’t be predicted, one thing is sure – the strategy is to use the PAIGC ideological and political power to organize the People to regain State power. This must be secured in the framework of political-military coordination on a Pan-African and anti-imperialist scale.

We are in this together! We must intensify our political and ideological coordination. The PAIGC counts on you and you can count on the PAIGC.

We thank you again for your creative efforts to organize this international forum in Commemoration of the 62nd Anniversary of African Liberation Day.

VIVA PAN-AFRICANISM!
ETERNAL GLORY TO ALL PAN-AFRICANISTS!
VIVA AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY!
VIVA PAIGC!
VIVA POLITICAL-IDEOLOGICAL COORDINATION AMONG REVOLUTIONARY
PARTIES!