The Committee of Solidarity with Cuba (Cibao Coalition) has rejected the recent expulsion of Cuban diplomats and their families accredited to the Dominican Republic and called the government’s measure “unjust and disproportionate.”
Feminist, social, grassroots, leftist, and solidarity organizations expressed in a press release their defense of national sovereignty, the self-determination of peoples, and the historic bonds of friendship between the two nations.
“This measure, which directly affects members of the diplomatic mission of the sister Republic of Cuba, is illegal, unjustified, and constitutes a flagrant violation of International Law and the most basic norms governing relations between sovereign states,” the Committee stated.
The Committee argued that the decision violates the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Articles 2 and 3 of which establish that diplomatic relations are based on mutual consent, reciprocal respect, and the development of friendly relations, as well as the peaceful exercise of diplomatic functions.
The Committee maintained that “…the decision to expel the officials makes the Dominican government a docile instrument of a policy of siege that deepens the suffering of the Cuban people and undermines the respect that should prevail between nations.”
It stated that this decision by the government of Luis Abinader “…weakens dialogue, cooperation, and brotherhood between peoples who share historical and cultural ties.”
“It is nothing more than another link in the chain of the strategy of domination that the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean have rejected time and again. The Cuban people do not deserve isolation; they deserve respect.”
The Cibao Solidarity Committee with Cuba demanded that the government offer the Dominican people an explanation for the reasons behind the decision, as well as its immediate revocation and the reestablishment of full and respectful diplomatic relations, in accordance with international law and the fraternal tradition that unites the two nations.
It called for the preservation of respect, dialogue, and cooperation, and urged the avoidance of any action that contributes to the deterioration of bilateral ties.
The statement also rejected any subordination of the Dominican Republic’s foreign policy to pressures, interests, or directives from foreign powers.
Likewise, it urged the Dominican people, social and grassroots organizations, feminist groups, youth, workers, intellectuals, artists, and professionals, as well as all those committed to national sovereignty and solidarity among peoples, to express their rejection of the measure and defend the historic bonds of friendship.
The document was signed by the Cibao Coalition of Social and Popular Organizations, the Santiago Committee of Solidarity with Cuba, the Hermanas Mirabal Feminist Movement, the Human Rights Commission, the Juan Pablo Duarte Teachers’ Movement, and the Class-Based Workers’ Union (UCT).
The statement was also endorsed by the Unity and Progress Struggle Front (FLUP), the Communist Party of Labor (PCT), the Homeland for All Movement (MPT), the People’s Power Party (PPP), and the Maoist Communist Party (PCM).
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
