NEW YORK — Some 60 people protested outside the main federal post office in midtown Manhattan here June 27 to demand the U.S. government end its brutal economic blockade of Cuba. This was the third picket this year organized by the New York/New Jersey Cuba Sí Coalition and supported by several other organizations.
Hundreds of people walking by the heavily trafficked location saw the picket line. Some stopped to pick up literature and find out more. There were many thumbs-up by passersby.
“This is great,” one young man said. “I’ve never seen a picket line like this. I’m Irish and we have a lot of respect for Cuba.” He pointed out that many revolutionary struggles get pushed back, “but the Cubans really did it,” he said.
Several pickets had participated in the June 22 United Nations decolonization hearing on the status of Puerto Rico, where many pro-independence speakers condemned Washington’s use of its Caribbean colony as a base for escalating U.S. aggression against Cuba.
Ben Ramos, of ProLibertad, spoke, reading greetings from Milagros Rivera on behalf of the Cuba Solidarity Committee in Puerto Rico. “Cuba has always shown solidarity with all peoples. It is now important for the world to reciprocate and defend the hope that Cuba represents,” she said.
This was followed by an open mic where organizations and individuals who helped build the action spoke briefly.
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OSLO, Norway — Some 125 people rallied outside the Norwegian parliament here June 11 demanding an end to Washington’s blockade of Cuba, for the Norwegian government to condemn the U.S. threat of an invasion and to provide immediate aid to the Cuban people. The event was sponsored by the Oslo affiliate to the Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, the largest labor federation in Norway; Norwegian People’s Aid; the Latin-Amerikagruppene; and Norway’s Cuba solidarity organization.
Following the protest, there was a meeting to hear report backs from recent trips to Cuba, including a film interview with a doctor and nurses at the William Soler Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Havana. They explained the challenges they face today with frequent blackouts and the extraordinary efforts being made to care for babies who need special care under these conditions.
The Cuba solidarity group here has launched a campaign to raise funds to provide the hospital with solar panels to provide electric power.
— Greg McCartan
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MONTREAL — Responding to a call from the Quebec-Cuba Solidarity Roundtable, some 30 supporters of Cuban sovereignty picketed in front of the busy Mont-Royal subway station during rush hour June 30. They carried signs in French saying, “No to the U.S. blockade,” “Long live the Cuban Revolution,” “No to U.S. aggression against Cuba” and “Washington and Ottawa hands off Cuba, lift the blockade.”
On the heels of Washington imposing its oil blockade against Cuba, Ottawa backed the decision of Canada’s main airlines to stop flights there — a serious blow to Cuba’s tourist industry, a key source of hard currency.
Participants handed out leaflets to passersby calling for “Full support to the Cuban people! No to war against Cuba! End the criminal blockade of the United States against Cuba!” The leaflet included a link to a petition supporters of Cuban sovereignty can sign to say “Cuba is not alone.” Over 50,500 signatures have been gathered to date.
Protesters carried clipboards asking passersby to sign the petition. Many did, expressing their outrage at Washington’s escalation of its political and economic war against Cuba, including its threat of military action to carry out “regime change” and overthrow Cuba’s socialist revolution.
— John Steele