on the calls for global solidarity in the fight against the covid-19 pandemic, not sanctions and war4/25/2020
International Solidarity, Not Sanctions and War
In the face of the COVID-19 global health pandemic, PhilCuba joins the international community in calling for the end to the blockades imposed by the US government on Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and other sovereign countries. This pandemic has been wreaking havoc among millions of people all over the world, and has resulted in a staggering number of deaths—counting hundreds of thousands, and also economic disruptions due to necessary lock-downs and quarantines. We call on the US government, on humanitarian grounds, to lift its unilateral blockades against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran—countries which we know are suffering the most from the direst of sanctions applied by the US government. Access to everything necessary -- food essentials, medical supplies and funding -- that the blockaded countries need to defeat COVID-19 should not be denied at this critical time. It is immoral and unconscionable, in fact criminal, on the part of the US government to continue imposing these blockades. The COVID-19 pandemic is a death sentence made more unimaginably cruel to the populations of these blockaded states and that of other sanctioned countries. In effect, these countries are denied full access to humanitarian medical support and access to resources to fight the disease and rebuild their already battered economies. However, notwithstanding the blockade, Cuba continues to send, in the spirit of internationalism, Cuban medical teams to assist distressed countries in controlling the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic calls for global cooperation and solidarity to share the most effective methods of treatment of the disease and to develop a vaccine that shall vanquish COVID-19 once and for all. Therefore, we appeal to the international community, through the United Nations, to act accordingly and put an end to the continued perpetration of the genocidal blockades by the U.S. government against the peoples of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and other sanctioned nations. End the blockades imposed by the U.S. and its allies against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran! Lift all sanctions against countries in this time of humanitarian crisis! (#) Strengthen Solidarity in Opposition to US’s Escalating Aggression Against Cuba
The increasing and worsening sanctions enforced by the US against Cuba as announced by its State Secretary Michael Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton on April 17 this year are irrational acts of aggression that should be stopped. We, members of the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) have known about the dire consequences of Cuba’s 60 years under US “embargo.” We are deeply upset with Washington’s decision to activate Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and to re-tighten restrictions. Furthermore, we find President Donald Trump’s threat of “full and complete embargo” and “highest-level sanctions” tweeted on April 30 absolutely unwarranted. We are upset because, while Washington’s pronounced objective is to overthrow a supposedly tyrannical regime and establish one that is democratic and working by the rule of law, the sanctions that the highest officials of the US are escalating would be asphyxiating the Cuban economy and will cause economic hardships among the people. Title III of the Helms-Burton Act aimed to block US and other foreign investment in Cuba. The US Congress passed it in 1996, as part of a broad sanctions package against Cuba, but the succeeding administrations suspended its implementation because of strong opposition from the US’s allies. With the activation of Title III starting May 2 this year Cuban Americans can now sue any company that benefited from their private property confiscated by Cuba’s revolutionary government. While it will benefit members of the exiled upper class that owned nearly all the land and business in Cuba before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, enforcing Title III undoubtedly aims to scare companies from doing business with Cuba to isolate the country and cause the collapse of its economy. Bolton is ridiculous in his announcement of additional restrictions: in setting a cap of $1,000 per three months on remittance of Cuban Americans to their relatives in Cuba, in limiting travel to Cuba other than family visits and in suspending authorization that allowed Cuban companies and banks to do “U-turn” transactions in third countries that passed indirectly through the US banking system. These are reversals of Obama-era reforms, which according to Bolton, “enable Cuba’s colonization of Venezuela.” Such a charge is definitely absurd but Bolton and other proponents of aggression against Cuba have to devise in defense of the US’s aggressive policy against countries they maliciously labeled as “troika of tyranny.” In the same vein, President Trump himself tweeted that grave threat against Cuba along with sinister catch, “if its troops were not withdrawn from Venezuela.” PhilCuba slams Washington for these irrational acts of aggression against Cuba. It commits to expose the truth about the US’s drive against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Oppose US schemes that make life more difficult for the Cuban people! Strengthen solidarity with the Cuban people! Reject the wanton use of sanctions as a weapon against an entire people! Dismantle the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba! End the Cruel and Unjust U.S. Blockade
Respect Cuba's Right to Self-Determination To cause hunger, disillusionment and desperation among the people of Cuba so that they stop supporting their government and work to overthrow it: these were the reasons behind the so-called trade embargo imposed by the U.S. in 1962 and these are still the reasons for the continuing and tightening financial, commercial and economic blockade after 57 years. This unjust U.S. policy on Cuba has been punishing the Cuban people. The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association, an organization of educators, artists, businesspersons, students, workers, fishers and community activists in the Philippines promoting friendship with and support for the Cuban people joins the global call to end this cruel, irrational and inhumane blockade. This coming November 7, Cuba is forwarding to the UN for the 28th time its draft resolution calling for the end of this blockade. Year after year since 1991, the UN has been passing this resolution. Over the years, a great majority of the members of the UN General Assembly have increasingly voted in support of Cuba's resolution, while the U.S. obstinately casts its veto with the lone support of Israel, or one or two others joining or abstaining. Instead of heeding the greater majority, the Trump administration has tightened the blockade, and reversed the reforms initiated during the Obama presidency. On April 17, this year, it activated the implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which extends the scope and impact of the blockade beyond Cuba in violation of rules and principles of international law, contravening the rules of trade and international economic relations and undermining h sovereignty of other states. These new restrictions intend to bring more economic hardships as they would hamper Cuba's economic, commercial and financial relations with third-world countries as well as its capacity to attract direct foreign investments to support its development. Obviously, the U.S. Goliath has failed to bring Cuba's socialist government to its knees during the past fifty-seven years of the blockade. Adversity has strengthened the people's unity and will continue to overcome difficulty and advance in the socialist path they have chosen. Cuba has proven to be a responsible member of the international community, assisting countries during disasters and sending thousands of its doctors to other countries to help improve peoples' health conditions. How much longer will the international community allow U.S. bullying to continue? Enough is enough. Imposing more hunger in Cuba, causing sickness and death, punishing not only Cuba but also other countries that relate and trade with Cuba through an unjust, illegal blockade is totally and absolutely cruel and criminal. PhilCuba calls on all freedom-loving people of conscience to express their support for the Cuban Resolution to end the U.S. blockade against Cuba! End the Blockade against Venezuela!
The series of US sanctions against Venezuela aimed at pushing the people to turn against the Maduro government is a dismal failure. More than turning the people disloyal to its government, the sanctions have practically built an economic, financial and commercial blockade that is slowly killing the Venezuelan people. The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba), strongly denounces the series of sanctions, against Venezuela and is asking the United Nations to do everything possible to stop this. The sanctions that started during the Obama administration escalated during the Trump administration and has become of US’s weapons in its arsenal against a country that has chosen to exercise its right to self-determination and guard against foreign encroachment on its national sovereignty and patrimony. This started with visa restrictions and barring of certain Venezuelan government officials from travelling to the US and freezing of their assets of in the US and after Obama declared Venezuela as an “unusual and extraordinary threat to US’s national security.” Additional sanctions, however, have been enforced by the Trump administration, targeting not only individuals but companies, including the state-run Venezuelan oil company, the PDVSA and lately, the Venezuelan General Mining Company (Minerven) and the Central Bank of Venezuela itself. Like its “embargo” against Cuba, the sanctions against Venezuela are extraterritorial in character. These are being imposed even by other countries pressured by the US not to buy oil and gold from Venezuela, not to buy Venezuelan securities including bonds, loans, credit extensions, and others and to close its bank accounts. Transacting business using the Venezuelan cryptocurrency Petro is also being blocked by the US As a result, it has become extremely difficult for Venezuela to sell its products and to buy its much-needed food and medicines. The United States should stop this irrational and unjust blockade against Venezuela! The whole world should unite in denouncing this new war instrument called sanctions that is slowly annihilating peoples. Continuing the Legacy, Perfecting the System and Leading in Internationalist-Humanist Work
Despite an economic war, financial persecution, a tightened blockade, branding Cuba by National Security Adviser John Bolton as one in a Troika of Tyranny, and other actions and pronouncements all pointing to the US’s moving towards a course of confrontation with Cuba, the Cuban people have all the right to celebrate with pride the 60th anniversary of their triumph over the US-backed regime of authoritarian and plunderer, Fulgencio Batista. We, the members of the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (Phil-Cuba) join the Cuban people in their celebration. We salute the heroes not only of the years of armed resistance against the Batista regime but also of the defense against US invasion and sabotage, of the campaigns to build the Cuban economy and develop its educational and health system, of the effort to overcome the special period and effects of the economic, financial and commercial blockade. The years that followed Batista’s escape from Cuba in the evening of December 31, 1958 were, indeed, sixty years “of combat, resistance and creativity of the final triumph” as President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez described in his recent speech. The enemies of New Cuba never allow a single moment to pass without hatching a new plot to destroy Cuba, to weaken the people’s revolutionary determination so that they renounce socialism. We are glad that a referendum to submit the new Cuban Constitution for ratification will be one of the most significant events on the 60th year of the Revolution. We trust that Cuba is holding this charter change to make the Fundamental Law of Cuba more adjusted with the changed situation while remaining faithful to the legacy of their liberation heroes and to Marxism-Leninism while perfecting the socialist process. We appreciate that the process gave much attention to holding discussions among the people before its approval by the Cuban Parliament. It belies allegations that the Cuban system is not democratic. We celebrate as well Cuba’s other achievements. Those on health, biotechnology and education are well-known. Despite the natural disasters and the blockade, Cuban economy registered growth. Cuba has noteworthy improvements in agriculture, in infrastructure, housing, paying pension and other material benefits. Cuba continues to shine in sports and in the arts. A Bolsonaro can never erase Cuba’s outstanding record in internationalist-humanist work. Cuba has provided more medical personnel to the developing world than all the G8 countries combined. They are in many countries of Latin America, Africa, even in Asia and the Pacific. Cuba has trained students from different countries to become doctors. And Cuba couldn’t have done this if not for the revolution that triumphed in 1959. Indeed, the victory of the Cuban revolution is a victory of humanity! Imperialists and their agents are ever angrier at Cuba for its people’s indefatigable spirit. The struggle continues and the Cuban people will come out victorious! Let peoples of the entire world celebrate! Let us continue supporting Cuba against imperialist attacks! |