A giant - but a tyrant

Fidel Castro was one of the giants of the 20th century, but that does not diminish his crimes. He was to many people the embodiment of national liberation – of resistance to colonialism and American power. Nations, like individuals, deserve the dignity of independence and self-reliance. When Castro marched into Havana in 1959, this is what he promised his people.

But the reality of his regime was the imprisonment of critics and the impoverishment of ordinary Cubans. How one marks the death of such a man is a difficult matter for world statesmen. Barack Obama, for instance, offered a carefully phrased statement that neither mourned nor condemned, which may be appropriate given the attempt at reconciliation being worked out between America and Cuba. The responses of others, such as Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, and Michael Higgins, president of Ireland, were strangely fond – even glowing.

And then there was Jeremy Corbyn. He described Castro as “an internationalist and a champion of social justice”. It is at moments such as this that the instincts of the old Left leap out. For many comrades, the “democratic” in “democratic socialism” is not as important as the “socialism”.

A great deal is apparently forgivable in pursuit of social justice – not only human rights abuses but a willingness to destroy the world during the Cuban Missile Crisis. An all-enveloping hatred of America has blinded some on the Left to the flaws of their extremist allies. The final and most important verdict on Castro should come not from the salons of the West but from the Cuban people. They, alas, live under tyrants and cannot be heard. Yet.