The United States should pay reparations to Cuba
At a tribunal held in the EU Parliament in Brussels, a harsh verdict was handed down: the US blockade against Cuba violates international law, must cease immediately and the United States must pay compensation to the Cuban state, Cuban residents and companies. affected by more than 60 years of unjustly inflicted suffering. Furthermore, the blockade is of such a nature that it can be compared to a genocide.
LOTTE RØRTOFT-MADSEN
PRESIDENT OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
It was a harsh sentence that fell on the United States on Friday afternoon at an international court in Brussels:
The US blockade of Cuba violates international law, must end immediately and the United States must pay reparations to the Cuban State, the people of Cuba and the companies affected by more than 60 years of unjustly inflicted suffering.
Furthermore, the blockade is of such a nature that it can be compared to a genocide.
The sensational verdict was delivered by a panel of judges headed by Norman Paech, professor of international law at the University of Hamburg. And he did not rule on the basis of political opinions or moral objections, but rather on a meticulous review of applicable international law.
The verdict was preceded by the testimony of more than 30 people and organizations who, in their respective fields, could report on the destructive influence of US imperialism on Cuba and the Cuban people – and on other states, companies and organizations that are restricted by the USA. Unilateral anti-Cuban legislation of the United States.
A team of prosecutors, led by Jan Fermon, presented an indictment, which the panel of judges largely followed. Jan Fermon is a legendary Belgian lawyer who has led a series of cases on war crimes, terrorism legislation and against attempts to criminalize industrial actions.
The most surprising thing is that the judges believed that the US blockade against Cuba can be compared to a genocide. They referred here to the Geneva Convention of 1948. Here it states in Article II that "deliberately inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part" is an act of genocide.
The judges conclude that the blockade that lasts more than 60 years is "the longest, most coherent and brutal blockade against a people." The blockade "has directly and indirectly caused the loss of many human lives" and aims, in the long term, to "cause the physical destruction of at least part of the Cuban people." "Such an attitude can amount to genocide," the judges write in their final ruling.
The ruling includes a 1960 quote from US Deputy Secretary of State Lester Mallory. He advocates that "every possible means must be used immediately to weaken the economic life of Cuba... denying money and supplies to Cuba to reduce real money and wages, create hunger, desperation and the overthrow of the government."
The court was held in the EU Parliament and, in addition to prosecutors, judges and witnesses, 263 audience members from 21 countries participated.
Embacuba Dinamarca