CUBA RALLIES TO GO ON DESPITE DENIAL OF VISAS TO CTC
On Thursday July 12, the U.S. state department denied visas to the delegation from Cuba's Trade Union for a U.S. tour that was to have begun July 15. the IAC [the International Action Center] strongly condemns this blatant act of hostility towards Cuba.
The tour would have provided Cuban and U.S. union leaders an opportunity to hold one of the most important labor exchanges ever. The response to the tour had been extremely significant, yet the U.S. once again ignored the wishes of the people in this country, who want to see an end to 40 years of aggression towards Cuba.
The following is a letter from the U.S. Labor Exchange and the President of Cuba's Central Of Cuban Workers, Pedro Ross Leal.
We urge our supporters and friends to continue participating in the Cuba rallies that are still taking place throughout the country to hear reports on current U.S./Cuba relations as well as other important Cuba issues.
In New York, a public rally will take place as planned on Tuesday, July 17 at 6:00pm at local 1199, 310 West 43rd St.. The U.S.'s. government's act of hostility can not deter our struggle against the U.S. blockade of Cuba.
U.S. GOVERNMENT DENY THE VISAS FOR CUBAN TRADE UNION DELEGATION
July 13, 2001
11:20am
Dear friends,
Today, I received news, from Pedro Ross Leal, General Secretary of the CTC in Cuba. I received a letter by fax and a phone call, informing me that the U.S. government had officially denied the visas for the 5 member delegation, planning to tour the U.S.
This news came after the delegation had been informed by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana a day before, that their visas had been granted.
We urge all of you to send faxes to and make calls to the State Department expressing your outrage.
Faxes can be sent to:
Colin Powell
State Department
Fax# (202) 736 4476
Phone: (202) 482 2000We would also like to recommend that you continue to hold one activity in your city to explain about the denial of the visas, the blockade and the escalation of the aggression against Cuba by the Bush administration. We also hope that you inform as many people as possible, through the media, etc.
Due to the abrupt cancellation of the visas, we had purchased airfare tickets for the Cuban delegation which are nonrefundable. We would appreciate, if it's possible that you could raise funds in your cities to help us pay for the expenses.
We would like to thank the hundreds of friends from the 30 cities who worked hard and put so much effort to organize the second tour of the leaders of the CTC in the U.S.
The following is a translation of the letter I received from the CTC:
City of Havana, Cuba
July 12, 2001Companero Ignacio Meneses
CO-Coordinator
U.S./Cuba Labor ExchangeDear friends,
During months of hard work and continuous effort, you and a group of untiring and valuable friends have been working for the realization of a visit of a delegation from the Cuban Union movement led by the General Secretary of the CTC, Pedro Ross, to the United States.
The principal objective of this visit was to reaffirm, this time at the maximum level, the contacts and relations established during the visit of the past year of 2000 with important sectors of trade unions in the U.S., including, of course, the AFL-CIO, and to broaden these necessary exchanges, creating a mutual knowledge and a better understanding of the union and social reality of our respective countries, that is how we continue identifying the important issues in which we can coincide, including working together for the betterment of our members.
Nevertheless, we regret to inform you that today, based on falsehoods and lying arguments, the U.S. State Department, through the office of the U.S. Interest Section in La Habana, just announced the denial of the visas to the Cuban trade union delegation.
Once again they have interfered in the path of understanding and the closeness between our peoples those ones that, in the name of a supposed democracy, have applied a policy of the worst years of the cold war, increased the hostility towards this small country whose people have resisted heroically since 42 years all types of attacks and they have shown an incapacity to accept it, in their logic of imperial power. We defend to the last consequences our independence and sovereignty at whatever price.
We urge you to send our message of gratitude and solidarity to everyone that in one way or another have contributed to the organization of our visit or those that have shown the willingness to dialogue with our trade union delegation.
For our part, our doors will always stay open to those trade unionists and U.S. workers that with good will and respect wish to visit Cuba and get to know our workers and our people.
We are confident, that sooner than later, the makers of these arbitrary policies, the kind that oppose every time more sectors of the U.S. society have to respond to their brutal behavior before the people of the United States, characterized always for their great sense of Justice.
Fraternally,
Pedro Ross Leal
General Secretary of the CTC
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