Statement on the meeting between the Secretary General of AKEL and the Ambassador of Cuba. AKEL stands in solidarity with Cuba. The attempt to strangle the Cuban people must end.
The General Secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, met yesterday with the Cuban Ambassador to Cyprus, Rubén Pino, and briefed him on AKEL’s initial assessments regarding the outcome of the parliamentary elections. He particularly emphasised AKEL’s determination, bolstered by the new strength derived from the election results, to intensify its struggles in support of Cyprus and its people.
The Cuban diplomat briefed Stefanos Stefanou on the extremely difficult daily life experienced by the entire Cuban people as a result of the new illegal unilateral sanctions and the ongoing four-month energy blockade of the country by the U.S. He also referred to the US’s escalating aggressiveness against Cuba and the fabricated accusations aimed to justify the overt threats of military intervention.
The General Secretary of AKEL condemned the U.S. war rhetoric and the false accusations against Cuba and its leaders, which are part of the U.S. effort to construct a “narrative” for intervention in the country. He also emphasised that while the Trump administration is trying to portray Cuba as a “failed state” due to shortages of electricity and basic necessities, the whole world knows that the root cause of the situation is the illegal 65-year-old blockade that the U.S. itself imposes on Cuba. He also recalled that the U.S. blockade against Cuba has been condemned 32 consecutive times by an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly. The General Secretary of AKEL, moreover, emphasised that the international community must stand up against the attempt to asphyxiate the Cuban people and against the flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, but also to prevent a U.S. intervention in Cuba that would lead to bloodshed.
