The following public statement was issued by Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace Friendship and Solidarity ((HCIF-PFS) and signed by the International Executive Director Bakkar Sankoh. The statement gives support to Cuba and opposes the crippling sanctions directed against the small Caribbean nation by the United States. The full text is reproduced below.
The Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS) has noted with concern over reports of a planned proxy protests to take place in Cuba on 15th November, 2021.
Accordingly, the US backed anti-Cuban protest plan to import the Libyan-styled terrorism into Cuba is illegal, provocative and a treacherous plot, which must be condemned by all peace-loving people of the world. According to leaked information, US operatives have been recruited as Cuban exiles in Miami to lead the protest action, which shall include blocking of roads, disrupting normal public life, attacking public infrastructures and even attacking residents to give Cuban security a bad name, and thereby pushing for Libyan-styled military intervention.
The truth is that Cuba will never allow to be dictated by foreign entities on how it manages its internal affairs. We appeal to all Law-abiding residents of Cuba to condemn and ignore any call for US funded illegal anti-Cuban protest as well as to work together with the competent security apparatus to ensure that those who are behind this so-called civilian protests (while in actual fact is regime agenda) are isolated and exposed. It is also important that the media platform will not be used this time to promote violence or terrorism against a members-state of the United Nations.
Cuba helped create the United Nations in no small way. This we believe Cuba did, to honor the universal values of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internalaffairs of state, but which are brazenly and brutally violated on a global scale by those who believe they possess the licence to censure the lives of other people. The framers of the UN Charter believed that relationship between one country and another should beguided by the five universally-accepted fundamental principles, listed below:
1. Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.
2. The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion, or coercion.
3. Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another.
4. Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner.
5. Renunciation of the threat or use of force.
Much as the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity is concerned, there is a room of opportunity for dialogue and peaceful settlement of ideological differences, but violated by the high-handed insistence of US collective punishment and regime change policy towards its neighbors. What the US has failed to understand is that the world is no longer unipolar and that everyone needs each other.
When the news of a plan protest in Cuba broker out, it was received as just a stalk reminder of the dangers posed to peace and security by US thirsts for destruction and regime change in Cuba. This latest ploy is akin to the one employed to justify the attack and destruction of Libya today. Needless to explain how it happened in Libya as it’s no longer a secret. What is clear is that the US hands in the latest anti-Cuban ploy shows the extraordinary lengths to which Washington will go in pursuit of its hatred for anythinggood for the peace-loving people of Cuba.
Sovereign equality is a basic norm of international relations and a fundamental principle of international law, with the Charter of the United Nations (UN) expressly stating this principle. The principle of non-intervention is an important concept central to sovereign equality, which was reaffirmed in the declaration on friendly relations and co-operation adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970. Further, the International Court of Justice in its judgment in 1986 reiterated non-intervention as a principle of customary international law.
The US meddling in the internal affairs of Cuba and support for anti-Cuba destabilization forces should be seen as not isolated incidents. It is well established fact that some US politicians continue to blatantly collude with right wing destabilising outfits attempting to meddle in Cuba’s internal matters. Their acts are not only illegal, irrational and unreasonable, but also are fragrant disregard of international law and have undermined the spirit of the rule of law.
The US-Cuba tense relations has degenerated in recent time for the worst, due to Washington’s anti-Cuban aggressive rhetoric and search for an excuse to indulge in destruction, theft and general lawlessness in the Caribbean nation. Any society that cherishes the rule of law should condemn this kind of irresponsible behaviour strongly and indeed has an obligation to stop these from occurring.
It is an undeniable fact that, in spite of the unilateral coercive measures, which are in violation of international law, imposed by the US on Cuba with an attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of that country, the competent authorities in Havana are never relent in defending and promoting the development interests of Cuba and Cuban people in accordance with law. We believe this latest futile attempts to execute regime change in Cuba will further expose the contemptible acts of the US.
