In the park that remembers the African heroes, in this capital, South African Ambassador to Cuba Yvonne Nkwenkwezi Phosa and ICAP President Fernando Gonzalez laid a wreath before the bust of Oliver Tambo, former president of the African National Congress (ANC), and before the image of Nelson Mandela, who became the first black president of South Africa.

“This is a day of great significance and even more so to celebrate it in Cuba, because we see this nation as part of our freedom,” Nkwenkwezi Phosa told Prensa Latina.

She pointed out that it is a day to honor and show respect for the heroes and heroines who made freedom possible, and added that it is a fortune to celebrate it in one of the countries that contributed to achieving it.

The political counselor of the South African Embassy in Cuba, Sello Jelle, noted that on April 27, 1994, President Mandela inaugurated a new stage of democracy.

“We are here to be grateful for this freedom and democracy where we all enjoy equal rights,” he said in exclusive statements to Prensa Latina. He recalled that he also voted for the first time on that date.

He thanked Cuba for its decisive contribution to the elimination of the apartheid regime, which for a long time oppressed the majority of South Africans.

“I don’t know if the Cuban people understand in depth how much the people of South Africa owe them for their freedom. jg/jav/mem/kmg