Hurricanes Gustav and Ike which hit Cuba in September caused
devastation on a massive scale throughout the country. Homes, transport,
agriculture and power lines have been wiped out and emergency brigades have
been sent to parts of the country decimated by the storms.
To donate to the Cuban relief fund send a cheque to Cuba Solidarity Campaign - c/o UNITE Woodberry, 218 Green Lanes, London, N4 2HB or donate with your credit card or from a paypal account (note we are not a charity so gift aid not possible). Thank you! PICTURES
and video
The
Cuba
Solidarity Campaign is
the British
campaign
for the defence of Cuba and its peoples' right to self-determination
and
national sovereignty. It is part of a world-wide movement aimed at
forcing
the USA to end its illegal blockade of Cuba. This site is
produced by the Manchester group of the campaign. Links to CSC national page and
groups
There is no
similar case
of such a sustained assault by one power on another - in this case the
greatest superpower against a poor, Third World country - for 40 years
of terror and economic warfare.
Noam
Chomsky,
Rogue States, (Pluto 2000)
Cuba Solidarity
Campaign National
links
Contact
Cuba Solidarity Campaign:
email
national office:
email
Manchester Group:
- ask to join our email
list to hear
of events in Manchester
Know your enemy: McCain promises aggression and destabilisation against hope in Venezuela, Cuba and America. "We must also work together to counter the propaganda of demagogues who
threaten the security and prosperity of the Americas. Hugo Chávez has
overseen the dismantling of Venezuela's democracy by undermining the
parliament, the judiciary, the media, free labor unions, and private
enterprises. His regime is acquiring advanced military equipment. And
it is trying to build a global anti-American axis. My administration
will work to marginalize such nefarious influences. It will also
prepare immediately for Cuba's transition to democracy by developing a
plan with regional and European partners for a post-Castro Cuba so as
to be ready to spark rapid change in that long-suffering country when
the time comes. We must build on the passage of the Central America
Free Trade Agreement by ratifying pending trade agreements with
Colombia, Panama, and Peru and move the process of completing a Free
Trade Area of the Americas forward." source
Embargoes,
Blacklists and Assassination Plots: Bush's New Cuba Plan
By former US diplomat Wayne S. Smith
Counterpunch 13 July 2006 And the secret appendix:
"Everything in the document reflects the will to undertake, sooner or
later, the annexation of the island of Cuba. Everything is written by
the imperial power and its lackeys in a tone that would delight
individuals like Orlando Bosch, Luis Posada Carriles, Santiago Alvarez
and other killers, whose dreams of a Cuba subjected to the empire are
reflected in the very existence of the withheld appendix, an augury of
fresh aggression."
.......more Global
Exchange's Summary
Of 500 Page Report on the so called Commission
for A Free Cuba
-
the Bush plan to destabilise Cuba and put in place a free market
dictatorship.
What is the impact of
the blockade? The Bush Plan
...will
take away forever your morning goodbye kiss, the hug at the end of
school, as well as the glint in your eye. Thanks, but we
already live
in a Free Cuba.
The
Bush plan for Cuba by
SHARMINI PERIES 'President Bush's
recently unveiled plan to bring down the Fidel Castro government in
Cuba
bears close resemblance to the one for Iraq and is designed with the
2004
Presidential election in focus.'
13
July, 2006 200
MPs call on government to distance UK from US aggression
towards Cuba
In the same week that the
Bush
administration has adopted a much trumpeted plan to force regime change
in Cuba, 200 MPs from all parties have now signed a Commons motion
calling on the UK and Europe to improve their relations with the
island. ...more
(see also the
Cuban 5 / Miami
5)
EEUU
bombardea, tortura, secuestra y hace
desaparecer ciudadanos en todo el mundo, normaliza la guerra preventiva
y liquida la presunción de inocencia, legaliza las
ejecuciones
extrajudiciales y se niega a suscribir 21 tratados internacionales
(incluido el de Eliminación de la Discriminación
contra
las Mujeres y
el de Defensa de los Derechos de los Niños) y al
día
siquiente elabora
y obliga a aprobar en Ginebra una resolución a fin de que se
verifique
el respeto de los derechos humanos en Cuba. Santiago
Alba
The
United States bombs, tortures, kidnaps and make citizens disappear all
over the world, normalises the idea of preventative war and does away
with the presumption of innocence, legalises extrajudicial executions
and refuses t o sign 21 international treaties (including that on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and that on the Defence of
the Rights of the Child) and the next day formulates and forces the
approval in Geneva of a resolution with the aim of promoting
the
respect of human rights in Cuba. Santiago
Alba
Cuba isn't hated by the
United
States
government
because of any supposed repression of its citizens; there are dozens of
countries around the world who would deserve the focus of such anger
that the U.S. reserves for Cuba, but most of them are U.S. allies. Cuba
isn't even hated by the United States because it's a tiny area of the
world where the capitalist system can't extract additional profits,
because the potential amounts involved wouldn't put a dent in the
bottom line of the U.S. economy. No, Cuba is hated by the United
States, and has been the object of attempts to overthrow its government
by military force or economic pressure for 46 years, because of the
example it sets for the people of the world. The example that a
country, even a small country just 90 miles from the United States, can
actually chart an independent course in the world, a course involving
an independent foreign policy and an economic system designed around
the needs of its own people, and not around the needs of multinational
corporations. ELI
STEPHENS Counterpunch Report
by Cuba to the UN General Assembly on the impact of the blockade, 2006
version
pdf file NEW Summary
(CSC Web page) Article
by National CSC on the blockade (pdf)
OPINION:
TRIALS IN CUBA and Letter from Cuban intellectuals Puts the
recent actions against the
so-called
dissidents into perspective of the United States' (also known for external rendition, torture, carpet bombing, weapons of mass destruction, finance of terrorism, etc, etc) 40 year
aggression
against Cuba.
Operation
Northwoods In
his new
exposé
of the National Security Agency entitled Body of Secrets, author James
Bamford highlights a set of proposals on Cuba by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff
codenamed OPERATION NORTHWOODS. This document, titled Justification
for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba; was provided by the
JCS
to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962, as the key
component
of Northwoods. Written in response to a request from the Chief of the
Cuba
Project, Col. Edward Lansdale, the Top Secret memorandum describes U.S.
plans to covertly engineer various pretexts that would justify a U.S.
invasion
of Cuba.
Cuba has
placed a set of flags outside the US interests office in
Havana.
These commemorate some of the 3,000 Cubans killed by US sponsored
terrorism since 1959. They also obscure the propaganda board
set
up by this US destabilisation office.
more background articles: Posada
Carriles: Why He MattersPosada
Carriles and
Bush's Anti-Terror Hoax Newly released files
point to Posada's involvement:
Bombing of Cuban Jetliner 30
Years
LaterToothpaste
Disguised Plastic Explosives in 1976 Terrorist Attack, Confessions,
Kissinger Reports, and Overview of Posada Career posted on
National
Security Archive. Sign
the petition for Cuba '...At
this very
moment,
a strong campaign of destabilization against a Latin American nation
has
been unleashed.
The
harassment
against
Cuba could serve as a pretext for an invasion. Therefore, we call
upon citizens and
policy makers to uphold the universal principles of national
sovereignity,
respect of territorial integrity and self-determination, essential to
just
and peaceful
co-existence
among
nations'.====>>>>>>
Sign now onlinesignatories
include
Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali,
Eduardo Galeano.
Fax
your MP (and MEP,
councillor) -
call for an end to the blockade
New: 'It's a form of torture' In
1998, five Cuban men were arrested for infiltrating groups in the US
that were plotting attacks on Cuba. They have not received a fair trial
and two have not seen their families since. Duncan Campbell in The
Guardian 6 October 2008 New: Cuba 5 - the song
August
2005 The
five win their appeal, but remain unjustly imprisoned. CSC
link
Today August 9, 2005, the three magistrates mandated by
the 11th
Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case of the Five
released their decision, unanimously ruling to reverse their
convictions and order a new trial. The Court of
Appeals
recognized the right of the Five to be tried fairly in a non coercive
atmosphere and to have a fair trial. Full
court judgement.
And then
..... On August 9th
2006, exactly one year after a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit
Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia unanimously revoked the sentences
of the Miami Five, a majority of the full court of twelve judges has
ruled against the decision, reinstated the sentences, denied a Five a
new trial, and ordered the case back to the original panel for
consideration of the remaining nine issues. Meanwhile the
Five
remain incarcerated in maximum-security prisons characterised by
violence and lockdowns while their families.. continue to experience
delays and difficulties in obtaining visas for visits. All
too
aware of the political nature of their case they know that
there
are many hurdles yet to be cleared before they receive ultimate justice
and that the prosecution will buy as much time as possible while the US
administration continues its vendetta against the Cuban people and
tries to take advantage of Fidel's incapacity. (Geoff Bottoms August
2006.) September 2006
- three weeks of
Interntional Action for the 5.
Our
country is blockaded by the only superpower and almost blockaded by
Europe,
but these together will not be able todefeat the Cuban revolution,
among
other things because together they do not have and will never have
either
the human
capital or the moral values to do what socialist Cubahas been able to
do.
Raúl Castro's Camagüey speech A translation
of the full text of the address by Cuba's Vice President Raúl Castro
Ruz on 26th July 2007, the 54th Anniversary of the attack on the
Moncada Barracks. Alternative link
Health in Cuba First world results on a third world budget Rory Carroll Guardian Wednesday September 12, 2007 On the high standard of health and health care in Cuba. See two responses that contextualise this artticle in terms of the blockade (Rob Miller) and the privatisation of the UK National Health Service (London Metropolitan University).Michael Moore's new film Sicko
has some interesting comparisons of health service systems in the
USA Canada, UK, France and Cuba - Interview with
Democracy Now at this link. New The idea of the polyclinic.
This model is now being discussed in the context of the British
National Health Service. This briefing note from Manchester
CSC explains that it is effective in Cuba but as part of a
comprehensive primary care led public health service with an emphasis on
prevention.
Link to WHO map of the World showing number of inhabitants per medical doctor. Cuba -
170:1, i.e 170 people per doctor. In the same area -
Haití - 4.000:1, Jamaica - 1.200:1, Guatemala -
1.100:1, México - 500:1 USA has 390 or 470:1,
depending on the state. UK has 440:1 and Africa has
between 30.000 and 50.000 residents per doctor. This isn't the only index of health provision, but the comparisons speak for themselves. NEW
Infant mortality in Cuba
second lowest in the Americas Cuba's
infant mortality rate (deaths in first year per thousand live births
for 2006 was 5.3. This is a ten fold reduction since the
early
1960s and puts Cuba ahead of hte USA. Yet another reason why
Cuba's example matters. see original article (in Spanish)
See comparative data for other
countries over time (spreadhsheet) Green Cuba
World Wildlife Fund Living Planet report (2006) shows that Cuba is the only country developing without damaging the ecosystem
While the rest of the world is busy destroying the ecosystem, a report published by the World Wildlife Fund claims that the only country in the world with "sustainable development" is Cuba.
WWF includes in its report a graph which shows two features: the human development index (established by the United Nations) and the so-called "ecological footprint" which shows the per person energy and resources consumed in each country. Only Cuba has 'passed' in both arenas, which is enough to be designated a country that "meets the minimum sensitivity criteria". link for the full report: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report.pdf Cuba ranks 50th on the HDI and outperforms its predicted ranking on the basis of GDP by 43 places! see http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf The study's authors credit the high level of literacy, long life expectancy and low consumption of energy for this success. Things should improve further - 2006 was the Year of the Energy Revolution in Cuba. This independent finding contrasts with the lies about Cuba's environment in the report of the Commisison for Free Cuba (sic) produced by the non-Kyoto signing Petroleum oligarchy that runs the USA.
The Human Rights Question
Given
the
continuing assertion that Cuba is a Human Rights abuser, this new
section will collect information on the true situation there.
No
state (and certainly not the UK nor USA) has a perfect record on Human
Rights - Cuba's record is actually better than most.
Moreover,
Cuba defends the rights of all its citizens to health, education and
shelter, something that is unique in the Americas. What
compromises have been made in Cuba (and this is not to defend them)
must be understood in relation to the ongoing aggression against the
island's independence (see above).
Cuban
Submissions to
the UN Commission on Human Rights July 2005123
Havana Rights, by
Calvin Tucker (The Guardian 28/03/07) Plans to legalise gay marriage
and offer sex change operations free of
charge mean Cuba is set to become the most socially liberal country in
the Americas. What
are Cuban
prisons like?Inside
Cuba's Prisons: Health
Care and Vocational Trainingpublished in People's
Voice,
May 1-15, 2004, Vol. 12, No. 5
Fidel's Final Victory By Julia E. Sweig From Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007 wise words from an unlikely source
Hurricanes
- the
Cuban model
In September 2004, Cuba endured Ivan, the fifth-largest hurricane
ever to hit the Caribbean, with sustained winds of 124 miles
per
hour. Cuba evacuated almost 2 million people--more than 15
percent of the total population. One hundred thousand people
were
evacuated within the first three hours. An incredible 78
percent
of those evacuated were welcomed into other people's homes.
Children at boarding schools were moved. Animals and birds
were
moved. No one was killed. The UN declared this to be a model
of
disaster preparation.
Cuba, a
country
blockaded and isolated by the U.S. for 45 years has been able
to
evacuate millions of people in an orderly fashion without
loss of
life. Natural disasters do not have to be catastrophes. From
International Action Centre: http://www.iacenter.org/katrina-1.htm
see also:
Weathering
the Storm: Lessons in Risk Reduction from Cuba.
Oxfam
research paper Published:
April 2004
Peter
Hain MP -
Leader
of the House of Commons “I am absolutely
opposed to
military action being taken against Cuba
and also opposed to the continuing blockade of Cuba by the United
States.
I visited Cuba two years ago and was very impressed with the social
advances
that have been made despite all the pressure from the
US.”
Read more - CSC report Cracks
in the special relationship: Britain, the United States and Cuba
Cuba Travel Project.
"For decades, U.S. policy has been to isolate the Cuba the
rest
of the world. This embargo is detrimental not only to the Cuban people:
it is a deliberate end-run around First Amendment guarantees of freedom
to travel. CCR's Cuba Travel Project is the only institutional effort
to defend Americans [sic - they mean US citizens] who
exercise
this basic constitutional right. "
NEW
TOURISM REGULATIONS:How a code
of ethics
became an international story - and why your daily newspaper got it all
wrong. From Canadian Network on Cuba.
Cuban
Libraries Solidarity Group Works
to support
Cuba's
network of public libraries, donating books, providing information
about
Cuba and its library system.
Salud
International Trade Union
based charity
supporting
Cuban health services through material aid on an impressive scale
(whole
shiploads of ambulances and health service equipment). Also
developing
a variety of new projects, including collaboration with Cuba's
internationalist
support for other third world countries' health services.
Cuban
Posters Manchester CSC
member
Steve Barker has put together a good collection on this site about the
Cuban tradition of using posters for political and artistic
expression.
newly updated Steve sells original posters exported with the proper
permissions
from Cuba.
More
from Steve - Cuba and elsewhere
Cuba's
Daily Paper - English online edition
Radio
Havana Transcripts of
broadcasts,
daily.
Temas:Cuban
journal of critical refection, ideology and culture. In
Spanish.
Noted (for example by Manuel Vazquez Montalban) for its
openness.
Published quarterly, recent editions available on this site.
Media
Lens
correcting for the
distorted vision
of the corporate media.
International
Action Centre: From
inside the empire, against US imperialism and for people's
needs.
Good Cuba coverage.
Global
Exchange Good
source of information on Cuba, again from inside the empire
World
Social Forum The World Social Forum,
hosted by the
Brazilian
Workers' Party in Porto Alegre. Interesting
site
with lots of links on the struggle against global capitalism.
Includes
library of readings.
Peoples'
Global Action Canadian site
with information,
campaigns,
links on activism against the various schemes of global capital and its
proxies like the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organisation, as well
as the US government.
School
of the Americas Watch Campaign to
close down the
School
of the Americas. While Cuba has
an international
school
that provides free education in medicine to students from poor
countries,
the USA has an international school that teaches the military and
police
forces of Latin America techniques of repression.
Morning
Star Newspaper the only socialist
daily paper in
Britain
- news the other papers don't cover: you can order it from
your
newsagent.
Now why doesn't the Today programme cover its content? Now a
subscription
site - but you can read the editorial and the front page.
NOTICIAS
LATIN AMERICA Spanish Language newspaper and
website serving
the
Latin American community in Britain. Good coverage of
progressive
social causes - uses the Cuban Prensa Latina agency for a lot of
stories.
NLA
es un periódico mensual, fundado y establecido en Londres en
agosto
de 1992. Es un medio dedicado a desarrollar temas como cultura,
economía,
política, ecología, viajes, música,
entre otros,
de
los 20 países latinoamericanos. Posee un suplemento
bilingüe
- español inglés -, dirigido a un
público
interesado
en idiomas como universitarios o estudiantes de lenguas. Esta
publicación
es elaborada por un grupo de periodistas y agencias de prensa
especializados
en la región.
RebeliónAnother
excellent source (mostly but in Spanish, but some English) of analysis
of latin American and global politics. Fine articles on Cuba.
C
U B A F R E N T E A
L I M P E R I O
Rebelión's Cuba page - in Spanish.
inSurGente
Another excellent Spanish site - similar in scope to Rebelión
This
site is hosted by the
phone
coop - the co-operative internet service provider.
I've
defended
this government because I believe it embodies the best of our
historical
and national being. I'm not more openly critical because I'm very clear
about the manipulations that would immediately appear. I don't like the
idea of being seen as a vicious seeker of stains. And although I have
millimeters
of disagreement, I prefer to throw in my luck with the
Revolution
that has committed itself to the dispossessed and made a social
contribution
for which it is paying the price of martyrdom.
Silvio
Rodríguez
Se
dice "Cuba" como se dice "dignidad" (As you say 'Cuba', so
you
say
'dignity')
Report
by Cuba to the UN General Assembly on the impact of the blockade, 2006
version
Various
links:-
The
Case of the Cuban Five Honor
and
Injustice 
Tribute
display for the 5 in the Pinar del Rio countryside.
World Wildlife Fund Living Planet report (2006) shows that Cuba is the only country developing without damaging the ecosystem 
