2 November 2000
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is pleased to announce a 3-person delegation led by the SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande, which will visit socialist Cuba from 04 November to 14 November.
The SACP delegation will be officially hosted by the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC). At the centre of the visit will be SACP/CPC bilateral discussions on the following issues:
The SACP delegation will also attend the World Solidarity Conference, which will bring together thousands of Cuban Solidarity organisations and activists from across the globe. The Conference will discuss the following:
The SACP visit to Cuba and the Solidarity Conference come at an interesting time in the history of Cuba. The US Presidential elections next week should be used as an opportunity for all US citizens to reflect on the unjust US blockade of Cuba. Even though we have seen an increasing number of voices in the US political establishment itself calling for the lifting of the US blockade, but minority, though powerful, forces in the US Congress and the Cuban-American right wing community have ensured that the US g overnment has been blocked from taking appropriate action.
For 8 consecutive years since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted resolutions on the Need to Put an End to the Economic, Trade and Financial Blockade Imposed by the US against Cuba. Despite this, the US government continues to pursue its policy of economic and financial suffocation against Cuba. The SACP calls on the international community to use the coming UN General Assembly due on 09 November to condemn the continuing US blockade against Cuba and the US government for failing to heed t he humanitarian calls for peaceful co-existence with socialist Cuba from millions of people throughout the world. The SACP calls on the US government to respect international law and the sovereignty of States by unconditionally lifting its blockade against Cuba.
The US government has eased none of the elements of the blockade, despite claims to the contrary. In the last two years, the US Congress has considered over 10 bills containing proposals intended to make the blockade more stringent. Due to the rejection by the international community and ever-increasing opposition by large sectors of US society, the US government has attempted to mislead public policy about the so-called easing of its blockade against Cuba. The US government announced measures allegedly dir ected at making the sales of food and medicines to Cuba possible. The bureaucratic terms and conditions applicable to these sales effectively ensure that no commercial transactions are actually possible. Several Cuban companies have attempted to buy US med icines but not even a single sale could be effected because of the rejection by US companies of the burdensome process they had to go through to get authorisation for the sales.
Even more outrageous is the handing over of the control of blocked Cuban assets to Cuban Americans by the US government. Blocked Cuban assets in the US amount to more than 161 million. These assets represent money owed to the National Bank of Cuba and comm unications services provided by Cuba for 28 years, which enabled contact between people born in Cuba living in the US and their families in Cuba. The US government blocked payments for these services. This is immoral and is tantamount to tightening the blo ckade.
The SACP delegation will use the opportunity of its visit to Cuba and its participation at the World Solidarity Conference to raise the points mentioned above.
CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity - South African Communist Party
Tel - 011 339-3621/2
Fax - 011 339-4244
Cell - 083 651 0271
Email- sacp1@wn.apc.org