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| Militant/Laura Anderson |
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QUITO, Ecuador — Delegates from 88 countries gathered here Dec. 7-13 to take part in the 18th World Festival of Youth and Students. The event, which brought together various political forces under the banner of the struggle against imperialism, had some 8,000 registered participants, 3,500 from the host country.
Some 800 delegates were from Colombia, where after five decades of guerrilla insurgency peace negotiations are taking place between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The negotiations, brokered by the Cuban government, were a topic of discussion and debate at the festival. Shown above is the Cuban delegation marching in the opening ceremony Dec. 7. Among the 250 Cuban delegates were Irma González and Ailí Labañino, daughters of René González and Ramón Labañino, two of the Cuban Five. Ramón Labañino is among four of the framed-up revolutionaries who remain in U.S. prison. In May, René González returned to Cuba where he has been active in the political fight to free his comrades. Some 250 came from Namibia. Sizable delegations also came from Angola, Mozambique and South Africa. The opening ceremony marked the passing of Nelson Mandela, who led the democratic revolution against white-supremacist rule in South Africa and was honored here for his contribution to the struggle against imperialism. |
| — ANNALUCIA VERMUNT |