Official Photo from the 21st ALBA-TCP Summit.
Havana, May 27 (RHC)-- A resounding rejection of the exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the upcoming Summit of the Americas, organized by the United States, was expressed on Friday by the ALBA-TCP member countries.
The 21st Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas-People's Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), held in Havana, condemned in its final declaration the discriminatory treatment of these nations.
The text, entitled "ALBA-TCP repudiates the exclusions and discriminatory treatment in the so-called Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles," was read by the executive secretary of the integrationist entity, Sacha Llorenti.
In 12 points, it ratifies the commitment to the strengthening of ALBA-TCP as an instrument for the union of peoples, based on the principles of solidarity, social justice, cooperation, and economic complementarity; with the integration led by the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States, and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
The declaration supports the demands of the countries of Our America to materialize a change in hemispheric relations based on the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, including the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the use of force, and for the peaceful settlement of disputes and self-determination of peoples.
The member states reaffirm their support for multilateralism to face the complex global challenges through collective action and denounce the pretensions of imperialist domination over the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean to keep the region divided according to their hegemonic interests.
They also reject the arbitrary, ideological, and politically motivated exclusion of several countries from the so-called Summit of the Americas, to be held in June in Los Angeles, United States.
In this regard, the text qualifies this unilateral decision as a serious historical setback in hemispheric relations that offends the Latin American and Caribbean peoples.
The declaration supports the right of all countries to participate in this event on equal terms and emphasizes that the host of the Los Angeles meeting has no right to impose exclusions or conditions that violate its sovereignty and independence.
The document also denounces the discriminatory treatment of the United States against representatives of the civil society of the continent. It emphasizes that this type of exclusionary meeting do not contribute to the solution of any of the urgent challenges of integration or regional and global threats.
It also highlights the courageous position of governments, social actors, organizations, and people who have rejected in various ways the exclusions of the Los Angeles meeting.
The declaration rejects the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela and Nicaragua, and the economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba, in violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and International Law.
It also vindicates the national dignity of the peoples based on the ideals of the heroes of Latin America and the Caribbean. It supports genuine efforts to promote respectful dialogue and peaceful coexistence among all the countries of the Americas, without exception, to find solutions to the major hemispheric problems.
