Havana, May 22 (RHC) -- The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity -- in Spanish: La Red de Intelectuales y Artistas en Defensa de la Humanidad (RIDH) -- urged the United States this Wednesday to lift the blockade against Cuba, and to exclude it from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

Through a statement released by the Cuban Association of the United Nations, the RIDH affirmed that the U.S. blockade and other related coercive or interference measures harm the performance of the economy and hinder the full enjoyment of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people. .

The statement highlighted that with the recent withdrawal of Cuba from the list of countries that do not fully cooperate with the anti-terrorist measures of the United States, the latter country recognized that this inclusion has no substance, but in a contradictory way it maintains the Caribbean nation as a sponsor of terrorism. .

This, the text noted, is an arbitrary action that has serious consequences for the island's international relations in diplomatic, commercial, financial, cultural, academic and other areas.

"They are illegal and unilateral measures that Washington uses to exert pressure of all kinds against Cuba, harm its internal socioeconomic dynamics and undermine its international performance." 

The RIDH denounced that the inclusion of the island on that list is a coercive operation complementary to the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the United States has maintained for 60 years, with the intention of fostering degrees of dissatisfaction that lead to changes from a humanist and redistributive society towards a geopolitical alignment to their benefit.

The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity is a movement of thought and action against all forms of domination and exclusion that brings together, since its creation in 2003, intellectuals, artists and social movements from around the world. (Source: Prensa Latina)