Swiss organizations denounce the blockade of transfers intended to alleviate the emergency situation in Cuba due to the coronavirus, and the refusal to sell ventilators to the island by companies based in Switzerland.
“The blockade of the United States is imposing an enormous weight on the country’s health system and endangers the lives of many Cubans,” say the organizations MediCuba Switzerland and Switzerland-Cuba, in a statement.
They stress that Cuba, like almost all countries in the world, must mobilize significant efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and that today, more than ever, the island needs medicine, food, fuel, medical equipment and access to foreign currency.
However, despite the fact that the Government of Switzerland rejects the blockade imposed by the United States on the island almost 60 years ago, and maintains historical relations of friendship and cooperation with Cuba, Swiss banks have almost completely suspended the traffic of international payments to Cuba, indicate the organizations.
In recent days, supporters of mediCuba-Switzerland and the Association Switzerland-Cuba denounced that their banks had blocked the transfers of the donations they had made to support the emergency aid project #CubavsCovid19 #CubavsCovid19.
“This action is simply unacceptable and violates the rights and freedoms of Swiss citizens!”
Stress the organizations. They announce that they will make an appeal to those banks and, if necessary, to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Finma.
Essential ventilators
They also denounce the refusal of firms based in Switzerland to sell ventilators to Cuba. “Invoking the commercial, financial and economic sanctions of the United States, the companies IMT Medical AG and Acutronic Medical Systems AG, denied the request for ventilators that the import and export Cuban company Medicuba SA had made.”
They emphasize that these high-tech ventilators are essential for the treatment of patients affected by COVID-19.
Both companies, described as world leaders in the development and manufacture of that equipment, and who had had dealings with Cuba previously, were acquired by the American company, Vyaire Medical Inc. two years ago. The latter ordered them to suspend all commercial relations with Cuba.
The embargo against Cuba, unilaterally imposed by the United States and which has been condemned by the international community, has not only punished the Cuban population for decades, but in these moments of pandemic acquires criminal overtones, emphasize MediCuba and Switzerland-Cuba.
“We demand that Switzerland, in accordance with its humanitarian and diplomatic tradition, take measures so that Cuba can acquire, from the usual Swiss suppliers, the equipment necessary to combat COVID-19, on the one hand; and on the other, that Swiss banks do not prevent generous donations from Swiss citizens to our associations. In more general terms, we demand that Switzerland is not complicit in this illegal and criminal US policy ”
note the Swiss entities in their statement.
They also refer that last week, an emergency aid shipment from China was blocked because the main shareholder of the transport company is the United States, subject to the trade embargo on Cuba.
Ignoring the UN
The United States has ignored the United Nations call to suspend embargoes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of thousands of people around the world and is still far from being controlled.
“At this critical moment, sanctions should be relaxed or suspended, both for public health reasons and to strengthen rights and defend the lives of millions of people. In a context of a global pandemic, measures that hinder medical care in any country increase the risk that we all face, “
stressed the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet in a statement on March 24.
Pope Francis has also called for the embargoes to be lifted and has even spoken for the cancellation of the external debts of disadvantaged countries.
Cuban solidarity
Upon the triumph of the Revolution, Cuba made education and health the fundamental pillars of its policy, for which reason it has a health system that has been recognized internationally.
Despite the embargo imposed by the United States, Cubans have managed to maintain and develop their health system with the support of organizations such as MediCuba, which has branches in various countries in Europe, including Switzerland.
Cuba shares its experience in health in general and epidemiology in particular, with various countries of the world, it was the case with the Ebola outbreak in Africa, for example, and it is now with COVID-19, in Europe, including Italy, and in Latin America.
source: swissinfo
