By Vilma Thomas Ramírez, Cuban Ambassador to Ethiopia
The fight against terrorism has become one of the most important concerns of the United Nations, which has adopted several resolutions on the matter. The members of the community of nations have joined in the outright condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agree that in order to be successful in its eradication, double standards, manipulation, selectivity and political opportunism must be eliminated.
Hence, it is imperative to respond to the phenomenon of terrorism in a coordinated and coherent manner at the national, regional and international levels.
The terrorist attack perpetrated against the Embassy of Cuba in Washington DC, on April 30th, 2020, once again showed the world the danger that this scourge represents all over the world and the need to give an energetic response to those who perpetrate or encourage actions of this type. More than 30 shots fired against the Cuban diplomatic headquarters with the intention of killing, made by an attacker armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, leave no doubt about the seriousness of the event and its possible consequences.
There is no good terrorism and bad terrorism, terrorism is all the same; there is also no explainable terrorism and inexplicable terrorism, hence the condemnation of terrorism must be unanimous and categorical. Terrorist acts, wherever they come from, and whatever their cause, are criminal acts against humanity.
Cuba, which has been the victim of dozens of terrorist acts, over the course of more than 60 years, has once again requested that there be an strong and unequivocal condemnation of this incident from the Government of the United States, the country where the incident took place, as well as of any other action of this type against Cuba.
Unfortunately, up to date, and in contradiction to its own antiterrorist rhetoric, the US government has not made a statement regarding this serious incident, nor has publicly acknowledged or denounced the terrorist nature of that attack against the Cuban Embassy in its territory. The US government neither has shared with the Cuban authorities any of the information collected about it.
The danger that represents the absence of a solid pronouncement in face of these events has become evident when, after the terrorist attack against the Cuban Diplomatic Mission in Washington DC, threats have been made against the integrity of Cuban diplomats and embassies in the United States itself as well as in Mexico, Costa Rica, Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Cyprus, Austria and Angola, all of which have been reported to the respective governments.
Regardless of the well-known disagreements between Cuba and the United States, the Government of Cuba has reiterated its willingness to advance in bilateral collaboration with that country, in the fight against terrorism, and in joint efforts to apply and enforce the law.
This willingness of cooperation is based on the consistent position of Cuba of firm rejection and condemnation of all acts, methods and terrorist practices, in all their forms and manifestations, by whomever, against whomever and wherever they are committed whatever their motivations, including those cases in which States are directly or indirectly involved.
Cuba will continue to urge the United States and countries genuinely committed to global efforts against terrorism to raise their voices against acts, such as the one perpetrated against the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC.
Not condemning it is equivalent to complicit silence and tolerance, which, in an interconnected world like the one we live in, puts all of us in danger of incalculable consequences.