People's Democracy

HEROINE OF CUBAN LIBERATION WAR

Vilma Espin Guillois Passes Away in Havana

With profound sorrow, the leadership of our Party and State announce that Comrade Vilma Espín Guillois, a heroine of the clandestine struggle, an outstanding combatant of the Rebel Army and an untiring fighter for the emancipation of women and the defense of the rights of children, passed away in Havana on Monday, at 4:14 p.m., after a long and painful illness.

The Council of State of the Republic of Cuba has declared Official Morning on June 18-19, 2007.

At the time of demise Mrs. Vilma Espín Guillois, was member of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, Member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, President of the Federation of Cuban Women and Deputy to the National Assembly of the People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba.

Vilma was born in Santiago de Cuba on April 7, 1930 in a family that very early on cultivated the values and ethics that would distinguish her. From a young age she assumed political and revolutionary positions, actively participating in student demonstrations following the coup d'etat carried out by Batista in 1952.

From that time, she was an inseparable collaborator of Frank Pais, joining organisations founded by him in the struggle against the tyranny, until the members of what was then called the National Revolutionary Action joined the ranks of the 26th of July Movement.

The doors of her home were opened to protect the comrades who attacked the Moncada Barracks persecuted by troops of the bloody oppressor regime. After finishing a post-graduate course in the United States and as the struggle entered a new stage, Vilma, following the directions of the leadership of the Movement, stopped in Mexico to meet with Fidel, receiving instructions and messages. Under the direct orders of Frank, she took part in the armed uprising of Santiago de Cuba on November 30, 1956, in support of the expeditionary force arriving on the Granma yacht. Following that important action she converted her home into the headquarters of the revolutionary movement in Santiago de Cuba.

A member of the National Leadership of the 26th of July Movement, just before Frank Pais was assassinated, she was named the Provincial Coordinator of the clandestine organisation in what was then the eastern province of Oriente, a role that she carried out with particular skill and bravery, facing constant danger and persecution, until she joined the Rebel Army in June 1958, becoming the legendary guerrilla fighter of the Frank Pais Second Western Front and the effective coordinator of the clandestine movement of Oriente.

Upon the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, and immersed in various tasks assigned by Fidel, she headed the unification of women's organisations and the setting-up of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC). She tirelessly led the organisation until the last minute of her life.

She was a member of the Central Committee of the Party from its foundation in 1965, which was ratified in all of its Congresses. At the Second Congress of the Party in 1980 she was elected substitute member of the Politburo. At the Third Party Congress she was promoted as a full member of the leadership, a responsibility she held until 1991. She was a member of the National Assembly since its first legislature and a member of the Council of State since its constitution.

Vilma presided over the National Commission of Prevention and Social Attention from its creation and the Commission of Children and Youth, as well as the Commission on Women's Equal Rights of the National Assembly of People's Power.

Her name will be eternally linked to the most significant conquests of Cuban women in the Revolution and as one of the most important fighters for the emancipation of women in our country and throughout the world.

For her merits, she received many awards and national and international orders, among them the honorary title of Heroine of the Republic of Cuba.
According to her wishes, Comrade Vilma Espín will be cremated. Her ashes will be deposited in a ceremony that will be strictly for her family, and burial will be with military honors, at a time that will be announced later, in the Mausoleum of the Frank Pais Second Front, with the remains of other heroic combatants of the Front, in which she was one of its most outstanding members.

In her memory, our people, with profound feelings of sorrow, will render a heartfelt homage at the Jose Marti Memorial in Havana and at the Salon de los Vitrales, at the base of the monument to Antonio Maceo, in her native and heroic city, Santiago de Cuba, beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until 5 p.m., on June 19. At the same time, homage will be paid to her throughout the rest of the provinces.

In her honor, the leadership of the Communist Party and Cuban State has decided to observe a solemn ceremony at the Karl Marx Theater, headed by leaders, the National Leadership of the FMC and the provincial Secretariats of this women's organisation, as well as women of the capital and representatives of the diverse sectors of Cuban society.

(Translation taken from Radio Havana Cuba)