Guyana, Cuba reiterate solidarity, calls for justice
THE Guyana/Cuba Friendship Society, in collaboration with the Cuban Embassy in Georgetown, on Wednesday, hosted a memorial service in remembrance of the 73 victims who perished in the 1976 Cubana Air Disaster. Thirty-four years have passed since that tragic day, October 6, 1976, when an act of terrorism resulted in the tragic loss of lives, 11 Guyanese among them, through the bombing of Cubana Flight 455 off Barbados.
The aircraft was en route from Barbados to Jamaica when it was bombed, killing 48 passengers and 25 crew, including 57 Cubans and five North Koreans.
Amongst  the dead Guyanese were six medical students, the wife of a Guyanese diplomat at Guyana Embassy in Cuba and four others, In the 57 Cubans were all 24 members of the 1975 national Cuban Fencing Team, who had just won all the gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Championship, many of them teenagers.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, in his address on the solemn occasion, pointed out that the entire hemisphere was shaken by the atrocity that struck at the hearts of the collective sovereignty of those affected.
“This was an attack that brought the face of terrorism to Guyana and the Caribbean, for which the perpetrators have still not been brought to justice,” he reminded.
Speaking about the Guyanese victims, Mr. Hinds said:”We are left to only imagine what they would have achieved, had they been given the opportunity to serve their nation.”
He said, in recognition of the pain experienced by their family members who have endured the loss over the years, their memory has not passed away.
Another attempt
According to him, the attack must be recognised as yet another attempt to destabilise the Government of Cuba and weaken the spirit of the Cuban people.
In that context, he observed that, if anything, the incident has strengthened their resolve to fight the continued threats to their statehood and pursue their chosen path of development.
“The countries of the Caribbean united with Cuba in the face of this new threat to the Region’s security and has remained vigilant in this regard,” Prime Minister Hinds asserted.
He said the Government of Guyana reaffirms its “unequivocal condemnation of terrorism” in all its forms and manifestations, as well as all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, wherever, by whoever and against whomever and will continue to advocate for the perpetrators of the “dastardly act” to be brought to justice.
By doing this, Mr. Hinds said, credence will be given to the international efforts against terrorism and accord with the commitments and provisions of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, to bring closure  and some degree of satisfaction to the families of the victims.
“You can be assured that the Government of Cuba will continue to receive our support in its efforts to achieve the sustained economic and social development of its people,” he reiterated.
Mr. Hinds lauded the organisers of the memorial and expressed regret that it was not taking place at the promised site but disclosed that construction works are underway at the proposed location on the University of Guyana (UG) Campus.
Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Raul Gortazar-Marrero began his speech by reflecting on the atmosphere in Cuba 34 years ago, recalling that, in the Square of the Revolution there, the Cuban people were bidding farewell to a number of coffins that carried fragments of human remains and personal belongings.
Injustice trembles
He said, in that historical act of the burial of the victims, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro finished his address by stating: “When an energetic and virile people cry, then injustice trembles.”
“None of these travellers were millionaires. They were not tourists; they were humble students, workers, sportsmen who were fulfilling, with modesty and dedication, the tasks that were assigned them by their nation,” the diplomat said.
Gortazar-Marrero revealed that Hernan Ricardo and Freddy Lugo, two Venezuelan mercenaries, placed the explosives on the journey from Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados and returned to Trinidad where they were arrested and, immediately confessed their participation.
“Luis Posada Carilles and Orlando Bosch, intellectual authors of the crime, were also arrested and subjected to a judicial process saturated with irregularities under great pressures from the Anti-Cuban Mafia,” he said.
The envoy said the Venezuelan Public Prosecutor initiated the judicial proceedings against them for assassination, fabrication and use of weapons of fire and making and carrying false documents.
Gortazar-Marrero said General Elio Garcia Barrios, President of the Court Martial, maintained a firm and decided conduct, thanks to which both terrorists were sentenced to a prison term of several years.
The Miami mafia, however, avenged it with the shooting to death of one of the judge’s sons in 1983. Posada was rescued by the Cuban American National Foundation, which sent $50,000 from Panama to finance the leak and he escaped on August 18, 1985, Gortazar-Marrero reported.
He continued:“Today, the confessed murderer. Luis Posada Carilles walks freely on the streets of Miami, In various interviews, he has declared, with cynicism, that, if he were born again, he would make the Cuban aircraft crash again.”
Horrible crime
Gortazar-Marrero lamented that it has been more than three decades since the horrible crime and injustice continues to tremble before energetic and vibrant people who cried, years ago, in pain and indignation for their loved ones.
He repeated the call for justice for the five Cubans who are imprisoned in the United States (U.S.) for fighting against terrorism and for Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch to be held accountable for their crimes.
Cuba will take no rest until justice is done, Gortazar-Marrero pledged.
“Our Cuban, Guyanese and Korean brothers, who died in Barbados, are symbols of this struggle. They grow as giants in the battle to eradicate terrorism from the face of the Earth,” he remarked.
On behalf of the ones who fell on October 6, 1976, Gortazar-Marrero declared: “Down with terrorism; no to war; long live peace and the friendship between people.”
President of the Guyana/Cuba Friendship Society, Mr. Samuel Abdool echoed the demand for justice for the victims and conviction of the perpetrators.
“We have to continue with our unfailing solidarity and support and with our cries for justice to bring Luis Posada Carilles to face the courts in Venezuela for the Cubana Air Disaster crime and for continuing to plot terrorist attacks on Cuba and Venezuela,” he advocated.
Abdool also made an appeal for the continued, steadfast and vigilant efforts in the quest for justice and the sustained solidarity and support for the Cuban people.
Alluding to the continued incarceration of the five Cubans, whose aim was to prevent criminal acts and protect the lives of other Cubans and more people, he said that is a “blow to justice”.
Abdool said their actions were never directed at the U.S. Government; they never harmed anyone and there is every reason for solidarity with the Cuban brothers.
They must be freed and never be found wanting, he urged.