by Prof.Tissa Vitarana

President of the Sri Lanka Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Association

A meeting was held in the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 21st October, which was organized by the Sri Lanka Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Association and scheduled to be presided by the Speaker. The 15 Members of the Parliament of Sri Lanka who were present strongly supported the Resolution that is to be brought up at the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 2nd of November, calling for the USA to lift its embargo on Cuba with immediate effect. The Resolution was summarized by the Cuban Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Andres Gonzales Garrido. This unjustified embargo, which has been tightened during the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, is causing a great deal of suffering and hardship to the people of Cuba.

The USA has justified its action by labeling Cuba as a state that supports terrorism. What Cuba had done was to arrange a meeting between the Government of Colombia and the two guerilla groups that were at war. It was the people of Colombia who were badly affected, with many hundreds of deaths, who requested Cuba to help achieve peace. The talks were successful and peace was restored. But the USA claimed that Cuba had relations and supported the terrorists and gave Cuba this bad label. As a result Cubans living abroad could not send money to their relatives in Cuba. Cuba lost this dollar income, which permitted a black market to flourish. This has happened in the case of Sri Lanka too, but for a different reason, the failure of our Government to devalue the Rupee in time. The false charge of terrorism against Cuba has led to the loss of letters of credit facilities through banks, seriously disrupting trade.

The hegemonic powers ruling the USA resent the success achieved by the Cuban Government in serving the people of Cuba during these difficult times, that prevail throughout the world. Through this embargo the USA is trying to alienate the people of Cuba from their Government. The ultimate aim is to achieve a regime change in Cuba which will be subservient to the rulers of the USA and their interests, like the earlier Batista regime. The people of Sri Lanka condemn these manoeuvres of the rulers of the USA, and demands that the USA respects the independence and sovereignty of Cuba and puts an end to this cruel embargo. We wish the Cuban Government complete success at the UN Sessions, and insist that the USA move towards establishing friendly relations with Cuba. The donation made by the USA to Cuba after the recent hurricane damage is a good sign. That is the path that the USA should take.