Washington, March 11 (RHC) -- Activists, intellectuals and artists will gather this Saturday in New York City for an International Conference advocating for the normalization of relations between the governments of the United States and Cuba.
The purpose of the event is to demand the removal of our country from the list of nations sponsoring terrorism, to demand the lifting of the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed for more than 60 years against the Cuban people, and to call for the end of all economic and travel restrictions on the island.
According to a press release from the organizers, the meeting will include speakers from Cuba, the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, as well as workshops, panel discussions, an exhibition of Cuban art and a short film festival.
Ike Nahem, from the U.S.-Cuba International Standardization Conference Coalition summarized the relevance of the event by pointing out that for more than half a century Washington has imposed a total and brutal blockade on the Antillean nation.
He added that despite the existence of the siege, during the Covid-19 pandemic the administration of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) added 243 measures to tighten that punitive policy, and remarked how the administration of the current president, Joe Biden, has not eased the blockade or lifted any prohibition.
The unjust classification of the island as a country sponsoring terrorism will be another of the issues to be addressed at the conference, whose celebration is supported by more than a hundred organizations.
"Trump's cruel and hypocritical addition to this list has deepened the impact of the U.S. blockade. Cuba is facing more restrictions when trading on the world market, which has made it increasingly difficult to import food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods," explained Alison Bodine, one of the coordinators of the meeting.
All of the event's activities will be broadcast live, allowing people from various parts of the world to participate.
Cuba solidarity activists in Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St Paul, Portland, and also in Vancouver, Canada, will screen the conference at events held in their cities.
This is the fourth time that the U.S.-Cuba International Standardization Conference is held in New York, and it coincides with the sessions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Members of the Cuban delegation to the CSW, organized by the Cuban Federation of Women, will take the opportunity to be speakers at the meeting against the blockade.
