BELARUS, October 22, 2009 .- The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, received credentials from the Ambassador of Cuba in Minsk, Alfredo Nieves. MINSK, February 2 (PL) .- Cuban Belarusians and commemorated the 65th anniversary of the death in combat of Cuban internationalist Vilar Enrique Figueroa, a member of the Second Front of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War, diplomatic sources said today.
A ceremony to lay wreaths at the Eternal Fire of Unknown Soldier was held in the Plaza de la Victoria.
The tribute was led by the Cuban ambassador to Belarus, Alfredo Nieves, who along with members of the Cuban delegation paid tribute to the young internationalist, who died on January 30, 1945, just days after the triumph over fascism.
Moreover, Belarusian Military Journal, official organ of the Ministry of Defence, published an article on the Cuban internationalist entitled: Towards the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory: A Tribute to Henry.
The publication notes that the outbreak of World War II the young Cuban was in the Soviet Union and there requested voluntary enlistment in the Red Army. Vilar
attained the rank of lieutenant and heroically fell 40 kilometers from Poland, when he led a platoon that took by assault a Nazi position.
The paper describes it as a single young born in Manzanillo, in eastern Cuba.
Vilar's remains rest in the cemetery Branevo in Poland. Post-mortem was awarded by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union with the Order of the Patriotic War and the State Council of the Republic of Cuba, Ernesto Che Guevara Order First Degree.
The tribute will continue with a meeting at the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Minsk, Belarus where Cuban and know more about historical events and achievements of 27 million Soviets dead and internationalists in that contest.
Manuscript: http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2010/02/02/cubamundo/artic06.html [Last query: February 2, 2010]
