DECADES-long ties between Guyana and Cuba were cemented further with the official launch of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Association last evening at a ceremony at the Cuban Embassy on High Street.

And Head of State Donald Ramotar urged the group to work toward the strengthening of relations between the two countries and be cognizant of the “real struggles” that underscored the forging of ties between them.
Delivering the feature address, the President recalled that Guyana and Cuba have a shared history that constitutes a struggle for national liberation and freedom, with Guyana being the first nation to express its support in a tangible way following the economic sanctions imposed on thatcountry by the United States of America.
He pointed out that when Guyana was facing difficult days, it was Cuba that lent its support by brokering trade, in particular for fuel.
However, according to him, the partnership between the countries has never been an easy one, as it was a relationship that was criticised by local political factions as well as the nation’s colonial masters in the years of pre-independence.

DIFFICULT CONDITIONS
Ramotar referenced the Father of the Nation, the late former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his role in fostering relations with Cuba, under very difficult conditions.
In his book, ‘The West on Trial: My Fight for Guyana’s Freedom’, Dr. Jagan recalled how the United States did everything it could to prevent his country from getting too close to Fidel Castro, but ultimately failed.
He quoted from a March 22, 1964, article by U.S. newspaper columnist Drew Pearson: “The United States permitted Cuba to go Communist purely through default and diplomatic bungling. The problem now is to look ahead and make sure we don’t make the same mistake again.”
According to him, that this is why President John F. Kennedy visited London in the summer of 1963, “Because of Kennedy’s haunting worry that British Guiana would get its independence from England in July 1963, and set up another Communist government under the guidance of Fidel Castro.”
According to Dr. Jagan, if this happened just before the presidential election of 1964, and if at that time a Communist Guiana began seizing the Reynolds Metals aluminum operation and other American properties, Kennedy knew the “political effect” would be disastrous.
President Ramotar stressed that added to this there were many misconceptions about Cuba and the Cuban people being propagated by political factions, among other detractors.
He noted that the difficult situation is hard to conceive if one were to look at the thriving cooperation that constitutes partnership between the two countries.
“The benefits (of partnership with Cuba) are things that cannot be counted in dollars and cents,” the Head of State said.

POSITIONS OF SOLIDARITY
The decision to make clear positions of solidarity when just causes warrant such, according to Ramotar, has been a constant feature in the policy of the ruling party, which expressed solidarity with the people of Cuba when it was an unpopular thing to do.
“It was the right thing to do,” he said, adding that today the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is vindicated for having taken such a position.
This point was reiterated by the Cuban Ambassador, Julio Gonzalez, who said the solidarity expressed has been forged by the generations that preceded us.
He said, “Cubans consolidated the solidarity and internationalism present in the thoughts and actions of the Cuban people, as an intrinsic principle of our nation.
“Guyana did not agree with the expulsion of Cuba from the Organization of American States. This fact was added to the fear of our neighbors of the North that, taking into account some investigations and documents of that time, motivated the Government of Kennedy to see Dr. Cheddi Jagan from the Cuban Revolution perspective.”
“The official registration of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Association constitutes another assertionof the will of the people and government of Guyana to continue strengthening the fraternal and solidary relationships that have historically united our two countries. This is a fact that encourages and commits us all,” he said.
The Cuban Ambassador, as well as the President and General-Secretary of the PPP, Clement Rohee, President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, Ministers Jennifer Westford and Bheri Ramsaran and several others were awarded by the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Association for support of ties between the two countries.

CALLS
Chairman of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Association, Howard Samaroo, also made remarks at last evening’s event and as one of the first acts of the Association, he called for the end of the United States embargo on Cuba and the release of the remaining three of the ‘Cuban Five Heroes’, who are still imprisoned in the United States.
The ‘Cuban Five’ are five Cuban men who were in a U.S. prison, four serving life sentences and the fifth 75 years, after being wrongly convicted in the U.S. Federal Court in Miami, on June 8, 2001.
They are Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Anotonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez and their mission was to stop terrorism levelled against Cuba by anti-Cuban terrorist organisations.
The Cuban Five were arrested on September 12, 1998, and initially held in solitary confinement for 17 months in a Miami jail. The seven-month trial began in November, 2000 and they were convicted and sentenced to four life terms and 75 years in December, 2001.After seven years of imprisonment, the Cuban Five, on August 9, 2005, won what they termed an ‘unprecedented victory’ in an appeal; but this was subsequently overturned.
René González was released on October 7, 2011, and Fernando González was released on February 27, 2014. The three others remain in prison.
As it relates to the embargo, Samaroo made it clear that moves must be made to have a cessation of this policy of the United States.
While, Guyana’s position on the United States’ decades-old economic and financial embargo on Cuban remains unchanged, calling for an end to the economic sanctions, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) this year echoed a similar call.
The Chairman of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Association noted to that the Association will focus on the social, cultural and education fronts as platforms to advance greater cooperation between the two countries.
Guyana and Cuba have enjoyed close collaboration in health, education, culture and sports since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in December 1972. In 1974, the first Friendship society between Cuba and Guyana was constituted; ten years later in 1984, appeared the Committee of Friendship and Solidarity Cuba- Guyana, and in October 2006 the Association of Friendship Guyana- Cuba was created but it was not officially registered.
Written By Vanessa Narine