• The comments "this is a history of
failure" were spoken by Che Guevara, a self-proclaimed humanist, on his
attempts to lead yet another 'rebellion' in the Congo. In many ways it is about
himself too, and the blood-thirsty killer and hypocrite he morphed into.
He considered in the early days that
"the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love". Gandhi
he was not, for this was to change.
Later he said that "a revolutionary
must become a cold-killing machine motivated by pure hate". He added,
later: "Crazy with fury, I will stain my rifle red slaughtering any enemy
that falls into my hands."
Some that did fall into his hands included
his own men, murdered without even the benefit of a kangaroo trial after being
deemed defectors or deserters. A frustrated Guevara, impatient with Russia
during the Cuban Missile Crisis, said this: "If the missiles had been
under Cuban control, they would have been fired off."
This was not just hyperbole. In reference
to it shortly thereafter, he added: "And it would have been worth the
possibility of millions of atomic war victims."
His links to Galway, where I live, is
nothing that I wish to brag about. A proposal to erect a monument to him is a
joke and would be better served to honour John Hume, former leader of the SDLP,
who has been already honoured here with the freedom of the city.
His was a peaceful legacy tempered with a
wish for peace, understanding and reconciliation underlined with these words:
"When people are divided the only solution is agreement." John Hume
never owned a gun.
Barry Clifford
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