BY THABO NTWENG
LOS ANGELES - The National Network on Cuba (NNOC) will
hold a nationwide meeting here February 10-11. The NNOC is a
national coalition of some 70 groups throughout the United
States that organize activities in opposition to the U.S.
economic war on Cuba and for the normalization of relations
between the two countries.
Affiliates will report on and discuss upcoming projects and tours to Cuba. These include the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange trip to attend the 17th congress of the Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC) April 24 to May 2, the Venceremos Brigade trip to Cuba around the same time, and a U.S. youth brigade to Cuba in July hosted in the Caribbean island by the Union of Young Communists (UJC). The meeting will also evaluate the NNOC-initiated demonstrations last October, which took place in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco to protest the U.S. government's policies toward Cuba.
The Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba is hosting the gathering. In conjunction with the NNOC meeting, the coalition has organized a week-long speaking tour of José Ponce, the first secretary of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.
Ponce will speak at campus and community meetings in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara during the tour that runs February 5 to 11.
Sergio Martínez, the third secretary for the Cuban Interests Section, will travel to San Francisco at the same time. Both representatives will attend a reception hosted by the Los Angeles coalition and will speak at a public forum at Loyola Law School the evening of February 11. For more information contact the Los Angeles coalition at (213) 383- 9283 or 383-4052 or the NNOC at (212) 227-3422.