Havana, December 16 (RHC)—Experts and academics from Cuba and the United States met Monday in Havana to "look for strategies, solutions, and projects that will have an impact on the ties between the two countries," coinciding with the five-year anniversary of diplomatic relations in the midst of the setback driven by the Trump Administration.
"The majority of the people of the United States want better relations with Cuba, and that is the will that must prevail, Dr. Benjamin Chavis said today in Havana.
Chavis is a civil rights leader who in his youth was an assistant to Martin Luther King Jr., was the leader of the Wilmington Ten, served as the National Director of the 1995 Million Man March and is the current president of the National Association of Newspaper Publishers, which advocates for the publishers of the U.S. more than 200 black newspapers.
Chavis is part of the 3O U.S. scholars delegation attending the18th edition of the Series of Academic Conversations on Cuba in the Foreign Policy of the United States of America.
The gathering is sponsored by the Research Center on International Policies (CIPI) and the Raul Roa Higher Institute for International Relations (ISRI).
Chavis noted that that there is a small group in the State of Florida that wants to put an end to bilateral ties between Washington and Havana.
But he said he had faith in the people, and if the will of the people lies precisely in the idea of improving relations between the two countries, then they will improve, no matter who wins the elections in the United States.
For this, he said, both peoples have to work together, because it is in the best interest to put an end to the sanctions and the blockade imposed on Cuba.
“We are not going to wait for the result of the November 2020 elections, we are going to start working today, every day, to improve relations with the Republic of Cuba and the United States," he added.
The president of the National Association of Newspaper Publishers reaffirmed his support for the island and affirmed that the Cuban Revolution has brought benefits to its people, the Caribbean, the United States, Africa and the world in general.
He also called for an end to the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by Washington on Cuba and considered the policy of rapprochement promoted by former President Barack Obama more appropriate.
In this regard, he denounced the United States' restrictions on travel to the island, and considered that this is a violation of the human rights of both peoples.
