Dublin, February 5, 2021
Irish parliamentarians today expressed their solidarity with Cuba and its people in the face of the continued illegality of the United States blockade. Calling for an end to the blockade and removal of Cuba from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The outgoing US regime arbitrarily included Cuba in its unilateral list of states sponsoring terrorism in the final days of the Trump administration. This is at the top of the intensification of economic, commercial and financial lockdown with the application of 240 sanctions targeting all sectors of your economy, at a cost of $ 5.5 billion in the last year. Two hundred of the most important Cuban companies and entities were included in a black list with which any kind of transaction is prohibited.
This position has been set out in a letter sent to the Foreign Minister calling for the Irish Government to act to bring the matter to the attention of the American administration through its offices and through Ireland’s position on the Security Council the UN.
The coordinator of the Irish-Cuba Friendship Group in parliament, Deputy Thomas Pringle, described the economic, commercial and financial siege imposed by Washington on the Caribbean country as ′′ morally and politically unacceptable for 60 years and rejected its application as an instrument of foreign policy especially in times of pandemic “.
′′ In the current context of Covid-19, what we need is a spirit of cooperation, multilateralism and solidarity, which Cuba has demonstrated for decades, also on the stage of the pandemic with the sending of Henry Reeve medical brigades to others nations “, stressed the independent deputy for Donegal.
Adding to the call, Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan said: ′′ The sanctions policies and the old attempt to isolate Cuba were never justified, and their escalation under the Trump regime represents the worst kind of imperialist harassment. President Biden should mark the beginning of a new era of constructive dialogue and start the process of normalizing relationships. I will continue to raise this issue at the Council of Europe “.
Concluding, the Irish-Cuba Friendship Group, calls on the Minister to make public Ireland’s rejection of Cuba’s inclusion in the list, rejection of the continuity of the illegal Cuban blockade and call for a change in US foreign policy in this area.
Signed:
Deputy Thomas Pringle (Coordinator)
Senator Paul Gavan
Deputy Chris Andrews
Deputy Pa Daly
Deputy Catherin Connolly
Deputy Sean Crowe
Deputy Gino Kenny