CPI(M) Polit Bureau  has issued  the following statement on April 12, 2020

AFTER domestic apologists close to the government had been justifying the meek submission to blackmail by the US President Donald Trump for easing the export of Hydroxychloroquine on the ground that it was on humanitarian grounds, the latest evidence of US hostility underlines that such noble ideals will never be reciprocated.

Evidently, President Trump has invoked Korean-War-era Defence Production Act, with typical extra territorial jurisdiction, to demand that US firms provide more medical supplies to meet domestic demand to bluntly justify, “We need these items immediately for domestic use. We have to have them." Ironically, a similar ground had premised the April 4 GoI ban on all exports related to the pandemic management, was torpedoed by the US.

It has now come to light, that there is a delay in receiving the rapid test kits for the coronavirus ordered from China since the consignment meant for India was diverted to the US.

India is not the sole victim of such early colonial age ‘piracy on the high seas’! International media has widely reported how country after country have been hauling up US for its attempt to block PPE and testing kits designated for dealing with their domestic health emergency. Sharpest among countries who have hauled up this rogue behaviour of the US are Germany, France, Canada, Brazil and poor Barbados.

USA has been blocking many countries from accepting medicines, doctors and health assistance unconditionally offered by Cuba apart from preventing any international assistance to reach Cuba as a consequence of its criminal economic embargo. Cuba, apart from combating, relatively successfully, Covid, has an unblemished track record of international medical solidarity. USA has criminally stopped any help reaching Iran invoking its unilateral sanctions heaping a grave humanitarian crisis leading to preventable deaths.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns  USA’s unilateral strong arm methods to subvert the sovereign rights of independent countries.  This US intransigence is clearly against the repeated pleading of the WHO for international cooperation in battling the global pandemic.

The PB urges upon the Modi government to draw proper lessons from this obnoxious behaviour of US imperialism. Embracing USA as the top most priority cannot provide any help or relief to the Indian people in strengthening the struggle against the pandemic.