NZ Cuba Friendship Society – Foundation Document

New Zealand Cuba Friendship Society – Foundation Document

The New Zealand Cuba Friendship Society was formed at a recent meeting of regional groupings.

The Society will promote friendship, understanding and co-operation between the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Cuba.

The Society's relationship with Cuba is based on its appreciation of:

Cuba’s belief that a better world is possible;
Cuba's ongoing resistance to imperialism;
Cuba's continuing commitment to equitable social programmes in a situation of imposed economic hardship;
Cuba's international generosity, in particular the education and literacy programmes, including in New Zealand, and the extraordinary medical aid and training programmes that have recently been extended to the South Pacific;
Cuba's development of sustainable organic agriculture and renewable energy sources;
Cuba's development of a culture internationally recognised for its vitality;
The lessons that the above can teach us as a society;
The belief that there will be benefits to both Cuba and New Zealand if there are greater links through visits and exchanges, in all areas of social life - economic, educational, medical, agricultural, environmental, cultural, and through social and political organisations.

At the recent meeting, the following motion was passed unanimously:

Declaration

We, the delegates of the Cuba Friendship Societies in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and the West Coast:

- inspired by the ideas of independence and justice proclaimed by the Cuban revolution, and

- being aware that defending Cuba today is the only way to keep alive the hopes and dreams of social justice that the Cuban model provides.

hereby express our complete support and solidarity with the heroic Cuban people who have weathered many acts of aggression from successive US administrations for over half a century now.

We salute the Cuban people and their Government for their many achievements throughout 51 years of the Revolution. Revolutionary Cuba has displayed selfless solidarity with many peoples in need, and continue to render assistance today --- affording health and education to many peoples in developing countries --- something which is well known all over the world. We salute particularly Cuba’s commitment to the Pacific region.

At the same time :

- We condemn the unjust, illegal and criminal blockade imposed by the USA on Cuba, with the USA disregarding the demand of the international community to stop this criminal policy which today (in the context of the current global crisis that mankind suffers) imposes more burdens on the Cuban people.

- We call upon the USA to immediately repeal the Torricelli Act and the Helms-Burton Law which infringe upon the sovereignty of all states.

- We reject the double standards of successive US administrations in their so-called “war against terrorism” and their inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism. They don’t have any moral right to draw up such a list, and much less to include Cuba in it, while well-known terrorists like Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch (authors of brutal crimes against the Cuban people) walk freely in the USA.

- We demand that President Barack Obama, the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, should immediately release the 5 Cuban Heroes unjustly imprisoned for more than 10 year already in US jails. Their only “crime” was to fight terrorism and defend the Cuban people’s right to live in peace. They are an example of dignity and revolutionary steadfastness, and models of the new man that Ernesto “Che” Guevara dreamed about. We won’t get tired of denouncing this injustice. We will increase our struggle until they are allowed to return home free.

- We demand the return to Cuban sovereignty of the territory of the Guantanamo Naval Base, located in the eastern part of Cuba and illegally occupied by the USA, and which is used nowadays as a jail and torture centre.

- We reject, at the same time, the establishment of new US military bases in some Latin American countries, which undoubtedly will be used to generate violence against the civilian population as well as against progressive governments in the region. In fact, these military bases constitute a real threat against peoples’ sovereignty.

- We condemn the way in which Cuba’s reality is presented in a distorted manner by imperialism and the mass media in its service. Trying to portray the Cuban revolutionary process with a negative image allows them to continue carrying out aggressive policies against Cuba, despite the so-called “policy of change” claimed by the new US administration. For this reason, we reaffirm our unequivocal commitment to promote awareness of the Cuban reality and the work of the Cuban people by all possible means.

- We deplore the new campaign launched by the European Union, on the basis of a resolution of the European Parliament condemning Cuba for alleged human rights violations. This is yet another example of the false allegations being presented by the propaganda agencies of the USA and its allies (including the European Union) for the past 50 years.

- We defend independence, sovereignty and the right to self-determination of the Cuban people, as well as of other peoples of the world.

- We will continue working for the widening and strengthening of the solidarity movement with Cuba in each of our countries, fighting for truth and keeping unity as the most important weapon of our actions.

This 1st New Zealand National conference of Solidarity with Cuba salutes the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples this coming December 30th. We look forward to deeper collaboration with this institution which mobilizes movements based on friendship and solidarity.

ends

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