THE 71st anniversary of the Moncada Day was observed in Delhi by the National Committee for Solidarity with Cuba. This year also marks the 65th anniversary of the visit of Che Guevara to India. Che was the first leader of socialist Cuba to visit India in order to establish diplomatic relations. The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) also joined these commemorative events.

The significance of this commemoration this year is manifold as Cuba is facing unforeseen difficulties due to its inclusion in the US list of ‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’. Since 1961, when Fidel Castro had declared that the character of the Cuban revolution is socialist and it would pursue on the path of building socialism in the country, the US has imposed the most brutal and inhuman economic blockades on Cuba. This is the longstanding economic blockades imposed on any country in human history. The US is using its control over international finance and the usage of dollar as a major currency for trade transactions to strangulate Cuba through this blockade. Till date, the UN had passed 31 resolutions condemning the economic blockade with an overwhelming majority. As late as December 2023, the UN had passed a resolution with 181 countries demanding an immediate revocation of the economic blockade and only two countries voted against the resolution – US and Israel. And Ukraine, abstained from voting. In spite of such an overwhelming public opinion against the US, it is persisting with its obdurate policy.

After Trump had become the president of the US in 2016, he had invoked the Title III of Helms-Burton Act and imposed additional sanctions on Cuba. 243 new measures sanctioning Cuba were enacted. On the top it, the US administration had placed Cuba in the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Joe Biden, who ran his election campaign promising to revoke all these draconian measures against Cuba and restore diplomatic relations, failed to live up to his campaign promises. All through his four years of presidency, Biden never acted on these issues and in spite of repeated appeals, refused. Clearly, he does not believe in treating Cuba with the due dignity it deserves. Moreover, it is during his period, that the US budget encouraging subversive activities in Cuba increased and many acts to instigate Cuban people to rebel against the socialist State were propped. It is in this background that the 71st anniversary of the Moncada Day was observed in Delhi.

Guilluame Long, former foreign minister of Ecuador was the main speaker in the solidarity meeting and he explained how Cuba was placed in the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism during Trump’s presidency. Cuba, with a noble intention of bringing peace to the Latin American region has agreed to host peace talks between the State of Colombia and various militant groups like the FARC and ELN that are fighting in Colombia.

Long, explained that according to international conventions, it is an accepted fact that whenever such peace talks were held, all the parties, including the hosts are given indemnity irrespective of the success or failure of those talks. Initially, he stated that Ecuador was also playing a role in these peace talks, but with the change of government in Ecuador, it had backed out. So Cuba was the country that hosted these talks and incidentally Norway too acted as a mediator in these talks.

Long continued, stating that as ELN was a militant faction in Colombia, which is designated as a terrorist organisaiton by the US, the Trump administration took it as an opportunity to ‘punish Cuba’. Cuba was included in the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism for hosting ELN in these peace talks. This is utterly ridiculous and goes against all international conventions and practices, explained Long. The real intention of the US, he stated is to use the presence of Cuba in this List to further isolate Cuba from international trade as countries trading with Cuba would also be slapped with sanctions under the provisions of the list. Many countries, afraid to antagonise the US, prefer to cut their business transactions with Cuba, Long stated.

Long also mentioned that Cuba was in fact a victim of terrorist attacks and never encouraged any terrorist group or organisation. It is the responsibility of all peace loving people to demand the US to remove Cuba from this unilateral list that has no legal sanctity. The US is clearly violating the UN Charter and is using its might to coerce countries from trading with Cuba.

Abel Aballe Despaigne, Charge de Affairs of the Embassy of the Cuba in India, narrated the current situation in Cuba, which is suffering heavily from the blockade and for its inclusion in the list of State Sponsors of terrorism. He said that there is severe shortage of food, fuel and electricity in the country and people are going through lots of hardships. These times are much more difficult than those in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was called the ‘Special Period’. There are no medicines in many hospitals and even necessary ingredients to produce medicines are being denied to Cuba, he stated.

Despaigne also noted that there were incidents in the US, where the Cuban consulates were attacked, but the US government is refusing to act against the perpetrators of such terrorist acts. Instead, of acting against terrorists, the US government has placed Cuba in the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, he deplored.

Despaigne thanked the Indian people for always standing in solidarity with Cuba and recalled the contributions of the National Committee, which had mobilised thousands of tonnes of wheat for Cuba during the Special Period. He vowed that Cuba will continue in its chosen path of socialism and overcome all the obstacles placed in its path with the support and solidarity of world people.

Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the CPI(M) criticised the imperialist US for continuing with the criminal blockade and trying to destabilise socialist Cuba. He recalled the internationalist role played by Cuba on various occasions, including during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Yechury stated that the US has no compunctions in arming Israel, which is involved in one of the worst genocides in Gaza, Palestine. But this very same US is not ready to allow any food, fuel, or medicines from reaching Cuba, exposing the inhuman character of imperialism, he stated.

Sitaram Yechury recounted the efforts of the National Committee, when it had mobilised wheat by appealing to the people of India to donate for the cause of Cuba. The government of India today is neither ready to help Cuba, nor allow any such solidarity campaigns he stated. Today, Indian foreign policy has moved closer and closer to the US, with the government afraid to do anything which it considers would antagonise the US. It is for this reason that solidarity with Cuba is also part of our struggle against imperialism and its allies, he concluded.

Pallab Sengupta, member of the national secretariat of the CPI, appealed to all those participating in the event to work towards mobilsing popular support for Cuba. He said that now is the time for hitting the streets, reaching out to people and mobilise them. The National Committee, with the support of all the representatives of political parties and mass organisations attending the solidarity programme should once again appeal to Indian people to donate for Cuba, as was done earlier during the Special Period, he stated.

Devarajan, general secretary of the Forward Bloc spoke about the growing imperialist aggression around the world and the need for organising Indian people in solidarity with all those who are resisting such aggression. Solidarity with Palestine and Cuba is an essential duty of all the people in our country, he concluded.

Rajiv Dimri, member of the central committee of the CPI (ML)-Liberation expressing his solidarity with Cuba, stated that imperialism is the real cause for the growth of terrorism and a threat to world peace. Solidarity with Cuba is an essential part of our struggle against imperialism, he stated.

Dev Roye, assistant general secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) spoke on behalf of all the constituents of the WFTU in India. He explained the decision of the WFTU to join the solidarity movement for Cuba as an important aspect in their understanding of the struggle for a world where workers’ rights are respected. This is one of the three important global calls of the WFTU, where we approach workers and explain them the importance of solidarity with Cuba, in the context of increasing capitalist exploitation, he concluded.

Professor Sonya Gupta, on behalf of the National Committee for Solidarity with Cuba, moved a resolution demanding the immediate removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

Dastak and Jan Sanskriti cultural teams, consisting of students sang progressive, anti-imperialist songs and energised the well-attended solidarity meeting.

RESOLUTION

The National Committee for Solidarity with Cuba energetically demands the immediate removal of Cuba from the list of State sponsors of terrorism.

On May 15, 2024 the US had come out with a list of those nations that supposedly ‘do not fully cooperate in the fight against terrorism’ and had left out Cuba from this list. However, it has continued to maintain Cuba in the general list of those that the US designates as ‘State sponsors of terrorism’. This is an absolutely unilateral and arbitrary list, whose sole purpose is use it as a pretext to adopt coercive economic measures against sovereign States, such as the genocidal blockade imposed by the US which has a negative impact on all spheres of Cuban society and on the well-being of its people, by increasing the difficulties in entering international trade, carrying out financial operations and acquiring basic supplies.

The draconian US blockade, together with innumerable subversive activities of the US government against Cuba, has existed in various forms since 1961, and goes far beyond conventional trade embargoes, as it has extraterritorial effects. It is the mainstay of the decades-long effort to destabilize socialist Cuba and bring about a regime change. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the underlying objectives and logic of this interventionist plan remain the same, but the means have changed.  Donald Trump arbitrarily included Cuba on his list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” (SSoT). Hundreds of banks and other institutions cancelled supply and service contracts with Cuba under US pressure. The Biden administration not only did not put an end to Trump's cold war against Cuba, it, in fact, approved new sanctions and tens of millions of US dollars for subversive programs to destabilise socialist Cuba. Vehement campaigns of fake news and propaganda against the Cuban government spread daily on social media from the United States through media outlets financed by the US.

Against this turbulent and problematic backdrop, protests against the US administration's blockade are growing significantly around the world. An example of this is the annual votes in the UN General Assembly on Cuba's resolutions demanding an end to the blockade, where the US always suffers a resounding defeat. In November 2023, for example, 187 states voted against the US blockade of Cuba for the 31st time in a row. Only two countries voted against: the US and Israel, and one abstained: Ukraine. Just two weeks later, an unequivocal resolution against the blockade was passed in Brussels, at the headquarters of the European Parliament. A large section of the citizens of the US too demand the removal of Cuba from the list and establishment of normal relations between those two countries. The entire world is standing in solidarity with Cuba in its resistance to the US imperialist attempts to subjugate it.

Cuban people have bravely resisted many such earlier attempts to destabilise their country and we are confident that they would stand up to the US bullying and hold high the flag of equality and freedom guaranteed by the socialist system.

The National Committee of Solidarity with Cuba joins hands with all such anti- imperialist, democratic and justice loving people in demanding the immediate exclusion of Cuba from the list of State sponsors of terrorism. On behalf of the people of India, we once again reiterate our solidarity with Cuban people in their fight against imperialism.

Viva Cuba!!