Cuba's 28th Victory at the UN General Assembly: Animated Exchange with the Cuban Consul in Montreal
On Sunday, November 10, the Table de concertation
de solidarité Québec-Cuba (Quebec-Cuba Solidarity
Roundtable) organized a meeting with Mara Bilbao
Diaz, Consul General of Cuba in Montreal on the
overwhelming vote in favour of the resolution
opposing the U.S. blockade against Cuba. Nearly 50
people were present, including members of the
Salvadoran, Chilean, and Haitian communities and
activists. To loud applause, Mara announced that
for the 28th consecutive year, the resolution
against the U.S. criminal blockade against Cuba
was adopted by an overwhelming majority at the UN
General Assembly on November 7. This year, 187
countries and nations voted in favour of the
resolution condemning the blockade. The United
States, Israel and Brazil voted against the
resolution; Ukraine and Colombia abstained.
Despite the activation of Title III of the Helms-Burton
Act by the Trump administration in January
2019 and even though the latter exerted enormous
pressure on Latin American countries, Mara said
that the overwhelming majority of votes in
support of the struggle of the Cuban people
exposes how the United States is increasingly
isolated internationally.
She detailed the new attacks against the Cuban
economy by the U.S. government through Title III,
activated for the first time since its adoption in
1996. Every six months since its adoption, the
U.S. administration has examined its feasibility,
but the Trump administration is the first to
implement it. One of the immediate consequences
for Cuba is limited access to fuel. Consequently,
in September Cuba was forced to slow down its
activities. Moreover, the law allows any American
citizen or entity that possessed Cuban land before
the revolution to appear before the courts and
apply for control over any company now located on
the land. This manoeuvre obviously has the effect
of intimidating new investors, which Cuba, like
any other country, needs at this time.
She presented the list of measures imposed on
Cuba: fewer visas issued as well as a reduction in
consular services, the annulment of the agreement
between the Cuban and U.S. baseball
federations, U.S. citizens are no longer able to
travel to Cuba. Direct flights to Cuban airports
are prohibited, except to Havana. In addition,
with the clause prohibiting the sale of all
equipment that has more than 10 per cent U.S.
components, the island's acquisition of new
technologies, drugs and necessary materials has
been rendered virtually impossible. This is
reflected in all aspects of life, with
implications for health care and the treatment of
various diseases.
The 59 years of the blockade, she said, has cost
the Cuban economy over $922 billion. From April
2018 to March 2019, the Cuban government was
deprived of $ 4.34 billion. In spite of this, no
school has been closed and the Cuban health system
is such, noted Mara, that a Cuban who waits
for more than 30 minutes at a clinic or
hospital gets angry and asks to see the
administration!
This spirit is owing to the resistance of the
Cuban people themselves and to their
leadership, said Mara. She also highlighted the
crucial role of international solidarity,
including organizations in Montreal, which month
after month, regardless of the weather, picket the
United States Consulate.
So many movements throughout the world, she said,
including in our Americas, are rejecting
neo-liberalism and its violence against the
peoples. Cuba is testimony to the fact that a
nation can be built around meeting the needs of
the people. This is also the reason for Cuba's
28th victory at the UN General Assembly.
A very lively question period followed the
presentation, interspersed with shouts of Viva Cuba!
When asked what those 28 years of votes against
the blockade represent for Cuba, as the United
States continues to maintain the blockade while
ignoring the resolution, and how the 187 countries
can make their vote effective, the Consul first
explained that the resolutions adopted by the UN
General Assembly are not binding, as the UN
structure does not work that way. However, she
emphasized, the vote has a very important moral
value. The United States, to its detriment,
continues to ignore the decision of an
overwhelming majority of the countries voting in
favour of the resolution, while Cuba's example and
determination continue to shift the votes of
countries against the United States.
For example, the African countries have not
forgotten everything that Cuba has done selflessly
and the blockade has awakened sensitivity in these
countries, which have their own direct experience
with Cuba. These are not just empty words. Cuba
has very little, materially, but selflessly
defends a policy of assistance to countries. It
sends hundreds of doctors. With the emergence of
Ebola in Africa, only three or four countries sent
help and Cuba was one of them. The training of
these doctors in the conditions of the revolution
and the blockade enables them to act care for
people in the most difficult circumstances.
Further, the European Union opposes the blockade
and votes en
bloc in support of the resolution. Some
of the European countries, such as Spain, have
many economic and commercial links with Cuba.
Parliamentarians have moved motions to denounce
the blockade as it affects the interests of Spain.
Of equal importance, through the vote at the
United Nations, Cuba also wants to expose the
illegality and immorality of the blockade.
Other questions were raised about the work of
doctors abroad, their training, and the work of
diplomatic representatives in Canada. The
responses illustrated the tangible imprint of 60
years of revolution on the outlook of the Cuban
people, their daily battle in defence of their
sovereignty and how they tackle problems so that
they are settled in favour of both themselves and
the peoples of the world.
The meeting followed just days after the Havana
Anti-imperialist Solidarity Conference for
Democracy and against Neo-liberalism held November
1-3, which the Table de concertation de solidarité
Québec-Cuba took part in. A slide show of
the conference's proceedings was shown, and a
photo where Nicolás Maduro was seen alongside Raúl
Castro, which sparked applause and shouts of Viva Cuba! Viva
Venezuela! The Conference is testimony to
the fact that Cuba is not alone at a dangerous
time for the peoples of the Americas and the
world.
At the very end of the meeting, news of the
resignation of Evo Morales in Bolivia and the
holding of new elections was announced, and
participants listened to a live press conference
with the Bolivian leadership. Participants
immediately proposed an action to denounce the
coup against the Bolivian government and
people, to be held with an already planned picket
in support of the Chilean people on November 12.
The spirit of resistance to the machinations of
the United States and the highest levels of the
oligarchy in the Americas was front and centre at
the get-together.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 27 - November 16, 2019
Article Link:
Cuba's 28th Victory at the UN General Assembly: Animated Exchange with the Cuban Consul in Montreal
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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