BY MICHEL PRAIRIE
MONTREAL - "This conference is a strong call for us to pursue our struggle." This is how Pedro Ross Leal, general secretary of the Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC), summarized the accomplishments of an International Solidarity Conference with Cuba held here March 15-16. Ross headed a delegation of seven CTC officials and leaders of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).
Some 400 people attended a Friday evening opening session and nearly 300 participated in workshops and plenary sessions the next day. The majority of French-speaking participants came from Quebec. A few dozen people came from the United States, mainly from the New York area, and several dozen from Toronto and other parts of English-speaking Canada. The participants were mainly trade unionists and Cuba solidarity activists, including a layer of youth.
The conference was organized by the Montreal-based International Center of Working-Class Solidarity (CISO) and Alternatives, a nongovernmental organization. It was sponsored by Quebec's three main trade union federations - the Central Organization of Quebec Teachers (CEQ), the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) and the Quebec Federation of Labor (FTQ) - as well as by the Canadian Labour Congress, Canada's main labor federation, and other groups.
The gathering became a protest against the Helms-Burton act, signed into U.S. law on March 12 by U.S. president Bill Clinton. The legislation tightens the 36-year embargo imposed by Washington against the Cuban revolution and enacts penalties against companies or individuals in other countries who invest in Cuba. It was adopted as part of Washington's campaign of hostile actions against Cuba, using as a pretext the February 24 downing of two planes by Cuba's air force. The group sponsoring the flights, originating from Florida, had repeatedly violated Cuba's airspace.
Economic progress irks Washington
Speaking at the opening session, Ross detailed the impact
of the deep economic crisis in Cuba triggered at the beginning
of the 1990s by the collapse of Cuba's trade on favorable terms
with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. "Our
people resisted - not passively, but actively - in order to
regain their economy without giving up their social project,"
he said.
Throughout this period Washington tightened its embargo and increased provocations because "they hoped that our social system would disappear," said the Cuban union leader. But they didn't succeed. In 1994, after four years of economic free fall, there was a small upturn in the Cuban economy that has been consolidated and reinforced since then, said Ross. "That's the source of the current evil actions of the U.S. government against Cuba," he stated.
Ross was joined by three international speakers at the opening session, introduced by Daniel Lachance, vice president of the CEQ. Gérald Larose, president of the CSN, and Clément Godbout, president of the FTQ, also participated. A message was read from Louise Harel, Quebec's minister of employment and solidarity.
Jean-Pierre Jallais, from the French General Confederation of Labor, pointed positively to the recent rejection of the Helms-Burton law by the European Parliament and the government of France because the law constitutes interfering in other countries' business dealings.
During the discussion period someone asked about the relevance of the Cuban revolution for the Quebecois struggle for independence. Interceding, CSN president Larose stated he didn't think that was an appropriate topic for this forum. He added, "The only thing I can say is that the model can't be imported." The Quebecois constitute an oppressed nation in Canada and their fight for self-determination has been a dominant feature of politics in Canada. But after this exchange the issue was rarely mentioned again in plenary sessions of the conference.
Ross invited everyone to attend the April 25-30 convention of the CTC. He explained that there is currently a debate in every workplace in Cuba on theses that will be submitted to the congress by the CTC leadership (see articles on page 8).
According to Cubans participating in the conference, nearly 2,000 delegates, representing 2.5 million Cuban workers, will attend the CTC congress. Some 300-500 international delegates are also expected. The convention will be followed by a May Day march in Havana. Delegations to the CTC congress are being organized from Canada and the United States (see ad on page 8).
On March 16, a panel discussion with trade unions officials from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Peru, as well as FMC leader Arelys Santana, was followed by a dozen workshops.
Genevieve Boulanger, a student at Sherbrooke University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, attended the gathering with nine other youth planning a two-month visit to Cuba later this year. "I want to see a socialist system applied and how people react to it," she said. The youth staffed the conference cloakroom and sold coffee and muffins to raise money for their trip. Boulanger campaigned for the Yes in the recent referendum on sovereignty and is an advocate of Quebec independence. She also participated in actions against unemployment and a picket line in defense of Cuba.
Is Ottawa a friend of Cuban people?
A one-hour debate erupted in the final plenary session of
the conference on Canada's policy toward Cuba.
A draft "Declaration of solidarity" submitted for discussion and adoption by conference participants stated, "We support the Canadian government in its refusal to follow Washington in its Cuban policy and we exhort the Canadian government to continue to develop its own policy."
"This doesn't help us to build solidarity with Cuba," stated John Steele, a member of the International Association of Machinists at Ford Electronics and of the Worker to Worker Cuba solidarity committee in Toronto. "We support Cuba's right to trade with the maximum number of countries. And the more it trades with Canada, the better," he said.
"At the same time," he continued, "we have to recognize that the Canadian government is complicit in Washington's campaign against the Cuban revolution." Ottawa condemned the February 24 shooting of the two U.S. airplanes that violated Cuba's airspace. And it has joined Washington in denouncing so- called human rights abuses by the Cuban government.
"Ottawa rejects the Helms-Burton law," said Steele, "because of interimperialist competition - concern for Canadian investments in Cuba, not because of concerns for Cuba's sovereignty. Working people should demand that the Canadian government denounce the U.S. embargo against Cuba and send massive aid without strings."
"As workers," replied Sara Shartel, also from Worker to Worker, "we have an interest in defending our sovereignty against the transnationals and U.S. imperialism."
"We are not blind to Ottawa's real motives," added Claude Morin, a professor at the University of Montreal and an editor of the draft declaration. "We wanted to underline the positive aspects of what Ottawa is doing because we absolutely need to isolate the U.S."
Michael Walsh of the Quebec City group Carrefour d'amitié Québec-Cuba responded that the Canadian government should be condemned for its attacks on Havana over the shooting down of "Brothers to the Rescue" planes, a legitimate act of self- defense.
Speakers from both points of view received wide applause.
The final declaration stated "support for the Canadian
government in its choice to maintain diplomatic relations with
Cuba and oppose the Helms-Burton bill."
A point was added to ask the U.S. government to stop attacks against members of Pastors for Peace, the group whose recent shipments of computers for humanitarian aid for Cuba have been confiscated. The U.S. government has subpoenaed the records of the group, asking for the names of participants in previous aid caravans.
"When I came here yesterday evening," said Michel Martin to the conference participants, "the only thing I knew about Cuba was Washington's version." Martin is a Montreal city worker and a member of Local 301 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. These workers have been engaged in a year-long dispute with Montreal City Hall.
"I realized that Cuba also is confronted with a campaign of slanders," he added. "I had a change of heart. I want to say to the Cuban people, `Stand firm!' "
Michel Prairie is a member of Carrefour culturel de l'amitié Québec-Cuba. Patricia O'Beirne and Carlos Cornejo from Montreal, John Steele from Toronto, and Mary Martin from Washington, D.C., contributed to this article.