Veterans for Peace, a national organization with 150 chapters in the United States, expressed its support for Cuba during its national convention, held in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to a press release, the meeting included several panels, one of them on Latin America, in which Gerry Condon — former president of Veterans for Peace and current member of its board of directors — participated. He spoke about the numerous solidarity delegations organized to visit Nicaragua.
Daniel Kovalik, author of the book “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela,” analyzed the history of US sanctions, regime change attempts and coups d’état promoted by the US government against the late Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez, as well as the recent kidnapping of its constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, on January 3rd.
For his part, Mark Friedman, an activist with the Hands Off Cuba Committee, addressed the increased hostility of the Donald Trump administration toward Cuba and the threats of military aggression against the island.
Friedman called for active solidarity, including the Global Health Partners campaign to provide medicines for the besieged Caribbean nation, and also condemned Washington’s attempts to criminalize those who participate in the noble work of solidarity.
In a statement, Veterans For Peace condemned the recent report by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he accuses Cuba of interfering in the internal affairs of the United States.
The United States has waged an economic war against Cuba for more than six decades with a blockade that prevents normal relations with the U.S. and other countries, hinders the island’s development, and denies it economic progress, as well as access to medicines and other essential products, the statement emphasized.
The declaration also rejected “the Trump administration’s sudden return to ‘anti-communism’ as a means to undermine the credibility of its political opponents… If this is an attempt to intimidate those who are organizing for a just and peaceful world, it will not work.”
Veterans For Peace reiterated at the event its “solidarity with Cuba and with all those who fight for human rights and democracy in the United States.”
One of the highlights of the convention was the participation of a large Vietnamese delegation, headed by Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, president of the Vietnam Association for Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims, the press release added.
Dr. Son later explained in an interview that Cuba and Vietnam share a long history of solidarity. “We are very proud of that history. Cuba has always stood by Vietnam in its time of need. We are ready to support Cuba,” he added, noting that his country votes every year at the UN against the US embargo on the Caribbean nation.
The meeting, which also expressed support for the Palestinian people’s struggle and against Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, was attended by approximately 200 people, primarily combat veterans and nursing staff from the Vietnam War.
The activist group continues to fight for adequate funding for Veterans Administration hospitals and medical coverage to treat the effects of Agent Orange on thousands of US soldiers.
At the same time, they are campaigning for the United States government to fund medical treatment for the two million Vietnamese who still suffer the consequences of that highly toxic chemical herbicide and defoliant—associated with serious effects on human health and the environment—used by the Pentagon during the Vietnam War.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
