MSJ backs Caricom on Cuba

David Abdulah -
David Abdulah -

THE Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) on Sunday supported Caricom's condemnation of the United States designating Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Prime Minister is the current Caricom chairman.

In a statement last Wednesday, Caricom said: "Cuba’s international conduct does not in any way warrant that designation.

"This further attack on the country adversely affects its international standing and its social, human and economic development and is another misguided action in addition to the unproductive, unnecessary and illegal financial and economic embargo already imposed on this Caribbean nation by the United States."

The embargo on Cuba was imposed in February 1962 by then US president John F Kennedy.

Caricom called for "the immediate review and reversal of these unjustified actions taken in regard to Cuba and looks forward to the United States moving towards normalising relations with Cuba."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in a statement issued by the US State Department on Monday.

In the MSJ's statement, political leader David Abdulah congratulated Caricom for its clear position on this matter.

"It was a principled and correct decision to take and we urge Caricom to take the opportunity of the incoming (Joe) Biden Administration to meet with the new US Government at the highest levels in order to urge it to normalise relations between the US and Cuba, including the complete removal of the illegal, illegitimate and unilateral blockade against Cuba."

Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th US President on Wednesday. Abdulah said the decisions by outgoing US President Donald Trump and Pompeo "are nothing short of shameless attacks on Cuba and the Cuban people."

He observed, "These decisions have been taken in the dying days of the Trump regime that has become a national disgrace and which has totally lost respect internationally following the events of January 6 when an insurrectionary mob attacked the US Capitol while the Congress was in session in an attempted coup d’etat." Abdulah claimed all of those events were incited by "Trump himself."

He also argued the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism could be "a means of preventing the incoming Biden administration from moving to normalise relations between Cuba and the US. In the last four years."

Abdulah recalled that over the last four years. Trump intensified the blockade by reversing all the Obama-era reforms that facilitated greater economic, cultural, trade and diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba."

Abdulah also condemned Trump for threatening Caricom countries with sanctions "because we utilised the services of Cuban medical personnel to assist us in the fight against covid."

In his statement, Pompeo said, "Today’s designation subjects Cuba to sanctions that penalise persons and countries engaging in certain trade with Cuba, restricts US foreign assistance, bans defence exports and sales, and imposes certain controls on exports of dual use items."

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