Harare, January 20, 2025- Solidarity with Cuba, the call for justice and an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba are the focus of today's publication of The Pan Afrikanist, a center for the restoration of African dignity.
While the removal of Cuba from the State Department's list of so-called sponsors of terrorism, the suspension of lawsuits under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and the lifting of restrictions on certain financial transactions are a step in the right direction, they are but small cracks in the walls of an unjust and inhumane blockade.
As Zimbabweans, The Pan Afrikanist stresses, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the people and government of Cuba, a nation that has long been a beacon of revolutionary resistance and international solidarity, with a friendship based on shared values such as anti-imperialism, self-determination and a belief in a more just and equitable world.
The U.S. economic blockade, with its far-reaching and extraterritorial impact, is a flagrant violation of international law and human rights, with effects on all sectors of Cuban life, from health to education, including agriculture and infrastructure.
According to the article, by Mafa Kwanisai Mafa and also published in Ghana, this policy, designed to cripple the Cuban economy and foment despair, is nothing but economic warfare, articulated in 1960 by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Lester Mallory, with the aim of bringing the Cuban people “to their knees.”
In stark contrast to the hostility it faces, Cuba has consistently extended a hand of friendship to the world.
The publication comments that thousands of Cuban doctors and health workers have served in Africa, including Zimbabwe, providing vital care in neglected areas. Their educators share knowledge and scholarships have enabled countless students to pursue higher education.
The solidarity of the Cuban people is a model of internationalism that we should emulate and protect.
According to The Pan Afrikanist, in this spirit, they urge the African Union, SADC and other regional bodies to amplify their voices to condemn the blockade. It is imperative that we challenge the narrative of disinformation and coercion propagated by those who seek to undermine Cuba's sovereignty.
The partial measures announced by the US government are an acknowledgement of the pressure exerted by the international community, including Zimbabwe, but they fall far short of the justice that Cuba deserves and the blockade, in its entirety, must be dismantled.
We call on progressive movements, governments and individuals around the world to intensify their efforts to end this economic war.
Havana may be thousands of miles away from Harare, but our hearts beat in unison in the struggle for freedom, dignity and self-determination. The Cuban Revolution will prevail, and so will the ideals that unite us, concludes The Pan Afrikanist.