Silvio Rodríguez says his Kalashnikov is “ready” if the US attacks Cuba: “I didn’t ask for it symbolically, I asked for it for real”
The Cuban singer-songwriter denounced in an interview with La Repubblica that US pressure on the island “is, in reality, mass murder.”
On March 18, he warned on his personal blog that he demanded his AKM (a Kalashnikov assault rifle) if the United States decided to invade Cuba; he said it “very seriously,” so much so that a few days later the Cuban government delivered a replica of the AKM and a combat rifle to the singer-songwriter with President Miguel Díaz-Canel as a witness; and now, according to Silvio himself, speaking to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the weapon is “ready.”
The Cuban author received Italian correspondent Laura Lucchini on the same day the United States indicted former president Raúl Castro and just after Silvio announced a tour of Spain.
In the conversation, Silvio reiterated that he did not request the Kalashnikov “symbolically.” “I asked for it for real. I can’t accept the idea of foreigners invading my country to overthrow the government. If the government is problematic, it is we Cubans who must demand change, not a foreign country. By what right? I defend my homeland; Cuba’s history has taught me to defend sovereignty. I feel part of that history,” he asserted.
While in the same interview the author acknowledged that the Cuban government “did not act in time” to solve the economic problems facing the island, he also expressed his conviction that “the blockade and sanctions are severely suffocating the country.” “Fuel cuts are causing the collapse of the economy, education, and public health. Cuba had a health and education system that Obama compared to those of developed countries. But now there are tens of thousands of people waiting for surgery. Among them are thousands of children. There are no medicines. This pressure is, in reality, mass murder, and we should be outraged,” he says.
The Cuban singer-songwriter demanded his AKM on March 18 in response to an article he shared on his personal blog, Segunda Cita, which he updates daily with his own and others’ opinions. That article, titled “Cuba at the Crossroads of Historic Multilateralism,” written by Josué Veloz Serrade, explained that “the current energy crisis in Cuba is not an accident of nature nor a mere infrastructure failure.” “It is the culmination of a geopolitical siege designed with surgical precision over six decades. […] Cuba not only faces the hostility of the empire, but also the silent abandonment of those who, in theory, should be challenging the unipolar order,” argued its author.
This “silent abandonment” is a theme they also addressed in the interview with the Italian media outlet. “We are no longer in the Cold War, and Cuba seems to be more alone than ever,” the journalist says. “Russia expresses its solidarity, but concrete gestures have been insufficient…” she continues, to which Silvio responds: “That’s true. We have never been as alone as we are now. With the sole exception of the Mexican government. Vietnam, China, and Russia support us due to historical ties, but not to the extent necessary,” he laments.
Silvio Rodríguez recently announced on his social media that he will begin a tour of Spain from September 1st to October 4th. The musician will perform in eight cities: Barcelona, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Valencia, A Coruña, Seville, Murcia, and Madrid. “I hope to see you there,” he said in a video.
[ SOURCE: www.cubainformacion.tv ]
