Socialist Unity Party of Germany Central Committee (SED CC) Department of International Relations, 'Position on the publications about the Meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba [CPC]'

 On 29 and 30 January 1968 the central organ of the Cuban CP, “Granma,” published the speech given by Comrade Raoul [Raúl] Castro, second secretary of the CC of the CPC, at the 3rd meeting of the CC (24-26 January 1968). Additional publications have been announced.

In this speech, comrades from the CPSU, the SED, and the CPCz were directly attacked in connection with the measures of the CC against a “micro faction” and openly accused of conspiracy against the Cuban party leadership and of collaboration with the penalized Cuban comrades.

The accused comrades of the “micro faction” who are to take responsibility before a revolutionary tribunal have, according to the report of Comrade Raul Castro, criticized the policy of the CPC, specifically Fidel Castro’s attitude and his ideological-political ideas. They argued for a close connection with the CPSU, for cooperation with the fraternal parties and the international communist movement, and demanded a sound policy of socialist construction in Cuba. In doing so they evidently attempted to create a faction within the party. For the most part we are dealing with officials and members of the former socialist people’s party [PSP].

This undisguised and up to now most intense attack against the CPSU, our party, and other fraternal parties, presented by these party-internal measures of the CPC, is a provocation against the unity of the international communist movement. It is aimed at discrediting our parties in front of world public opinion, to undermine the trust in their credibility, honesty, and righteousness in the relations to the fraternal parties, and thus to influence the preparations of the Budapest conference in a negative way.

It is being openly demonstrated that any opinion that deviates from the views of the Cuban party leadership or any attempt at a Marxist critique of its attitude is to be qualified as counter-revolutionary and persecuted criminally. Thus anti-Soviet and anti-Marxist behavior are being elevated to the official state attitude.

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