The International Conference for the Normalisation of US-Cuban Relations began today in New York, a challenge for solidarity in the face of the intensification of the White House’s hostile policy towards the neighbouring island.The forum, which will end on Sunday, will reiterate its call for an end to the long-standing economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on the Cuban people and for the island to be removed from Washington’s unilateral list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism.
The event, which was first held in 2017, will take place both on site and by video conference, and a wide participation is expected with the collaboration of solidarity networks in the United States, Canada (Quebec) and the Latin American and Caribbean Continental Network of Friendship with Cuba and Just Causes.
Solidarity figures show that the blockade prevents, for example, some 80,000 American diabetics who suffer amputations every year and 550,000 lung cancer patients from accessing unique Cuban treatments for their disease.
They also point out that nearly 50 million adults in that country are illiterate and unable to benefit from Cuba’s global literacy campaign, “Yo Sí Puedo” (Yes I Can), which has helped 11 million people in 30 countries around the world learn to read and write.
In an interview with Prensa Latina in 2022, Ike Nahem, who heads the Cuba Sí New York-New Jersey Coalition, said that in the face of Washington’s continued hostility, friends of Cuba in the US would work to unite the various organisations to create an independent movement as united as possible around Cuba to force a change in Washington’s policy towards the island, he said at the time.
The US-Cuba International Standards Conference Coalition is a united, broad-based effort, he explained.
