Conference of European Communist and Workers' Parties in solidarity with socialist Cuba
Brussels, October 5, 2003
1. The Communist and Workers Parties signatories to this statement are determined to defend socialist Cuba against any imperialist threat.
Ever since the Cuban people's victorious day the first of January 1959, the example of the Revolution of the Cuban people has been a source of inspiration and hope to all poor, exploited and struggling people around the world. The Cubans have realised what they have fought for: dignity and justice. The Cuban people have taken their fate in their own hands. When Cuba's leaders speak today on the international scene, for example in the United Nations, their voice proudly holds up the banner which says "Globalise Solidarity - Another world is possible and necessary!"
This poses a challenge to the imperialists of the world, with the USA at the head. The overthrow of socialism in the USSR and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991 has significantly altered the balance of power in the world. Since then, capitalist exploitation and domination have considerably intensified the misery of the masses. Never since the end of the Second World War have so many wars broken out than during the last twelve years. Imperialism—the United States at the head— pursues its policy aiming to eliminate socialism in those countries that have withstood the wave of counterrevolution. The U.S. superpower tries to impose its "New World Order" with the objective of destroying any national independence and to recolonise the Third World. The illegal aggression against Iraq has made the U.S. superpower even more arrogant.
Washington has included Cuba in its list of "rogue states," giving itself the authority to crush its independence and to overthrow socialism by all means possible. The Bush administration, which is composed of the most reactionary and belligerent forces of U.S. imperialism, has reinvigorated its attempts to undermine Cuba. The U.S. attaché in Havana, James Cason, has openly supported, organised and funded a handful of so-called dissidents. The U.S. has encouraged hijackings of airplanes and boats in order to provide them with a pretext to intervene.
We are taking the United States' threat of military aggression against Cuba seriously.
Mobilising the workers and progressives of our countries, we will exert every effort to thwart these sinister plans!
2. Cuba is rightly proud about its revolution.
When they had eliminated socialism in a large part of the planet, the monopoly capitalists were able to globalise their free market economy like never before. To the peoples of the world they promised prosperity and development, yet the 2003 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) observes: "More than 50 nations grew poorer over the past decade. (…) Some of the worst performers—often torn by conflict—are seeing school enrolments shrink and access to basic health care fall. And nearly everywhere the environment is deteriorating."1
Those who were deluded by the velvet counterrevolution's images of paradise, find themselves in the midst of hell instead. According to the UNDP report, the human development indicators went down during the 1990s in the Russian Federation and in most of the former Soviet Republics.2 In 1990, 6.8% of the population of Central and Eastern Europe, and the Community of Independent States (CIS = former USSR) lived on less than one dollar per day, a measure for extreme poverty. This proportion increased to 20.3% in 1999.3 A population that used to be proud of its socialist achievements found itself thrown on the ground and humiliated by the arrogance and insatiable greed of a handful of monopolies.
Facing this catastrophe, socialist Cuba stands upright and with dignity.
For more than forty years, U.S. imperialism has sought to strangle this small Third World country by various means, including a total blockade. Encouraged by military victories in the Gulf, the Balkans and elsewhere, Washington has even toughened its restrictive measures (Torricelli Act, Helms-Burton Act, Section 211) during the 90s. The elimination of its socialist partners in Europe has put Cuba to test. But nothing of all this has been able to break the Cuban people, its government and its Communist Party. To the contrary. While a quarter of Latin America's population has to make do with two dollars or less per day, Cuba has successfully reduced the number of its poor to less than 2% of the population. The economic crisis hits Latin America hard, with an average growth rate of only 1.5% between 1990 and 1999. In that very period, Cuba reached an average economic growth of 3.7%. "Cuba's per capita income is a small fraction of that in the United States, yet it has the same infant mortality rate," says the 2003 UNDP report.4 Cuba's life expectancy is seven years higher than the average in Latin America. The country has one doctor per 170 inhabitants, while the average for other Latin American countries is one per 613 inhabitants..
While the international imperialist institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are imposing criminal anti-social measures on the Third World, Cuba has perfected education and health care systems that are known to be among the best. Compared to the other countries of Latin America, Cuba spends about twice the amount per capita on these two sectors. In difficult circumstances, Cuba has achieved first class results in research and development.
Cuba knows a rich practice of socialist democracy. Through the 1997-1998 elections, 1.6 million Cubans were involved in the presentation of candidates and 2.5 million in the evaluation of their candidacy. 8.5 million Cubans participated in direct and secret elections. Twice a year, the municipal councillors have to give account to their electorate, which can lead to their removal from office. The television broadcasts debates that take place in all kinds of popular meetings.
The list of exemplary achievements of socialism in Cuba is long.
We are committing ourselves to spread the knowledge about these in order to counter the reprehensible lies imperialism is spreading in order to justify an intervention. Cuba's international solidarity and voice against war, poverty and environmental catastrophe, and for a just future for all the peoples of the world, show what a people can do when they have grasped state power. We are convinced that only socialism and communism will save humanity from imperialist barbarity.
3. Cuba, victim of numerous terrorist acts from the U.S., is in the most hypocritical way accused by the Bush administration of lack of respect for human rights.
The United States crushes any slightest attempt at independence and freedom under its murderous bombs, as long as it doesn't rhyme with "total submission to U.S. interests." It demands freedom of expression and organisation for pro-Western forces, while it represses revolutionaries and progressives anywhere by all means. In the former socialist countries of Europe, freedom is offered to fascists, while the governments that were brought to power with the help of imperialism are going as far as prohibiting the mere existence of communist parties.
Since the victory of the revolution, almost 3,500 Cubans have lost their lives in terrorist acts organised by the U.S. More than 2,000 are permanently disabled. Five young Cubans put their lives on the line and infiltrated terrorist counterrevolutionary organisations in Miami in order to prevent further attacks. It is the height of injustice that it is them—and not the terrorists—who are imprisoned, for five years already, after a trial that made a mockery of the U.S. Constitution.
Together with the people, the government and the Communist Party of Cuba, we demand the immediate release of these five political prisoners who have courageously fought against terrorism..
4. The example of Cuba encourages the people's struggle for independence and socialism
The concrete example of socialism in Cuba is a thorn in the flesh of U.S. imperialism, as it encourages the peoples and especially the workers of Latin America and other continents. Cuba is openly challenging the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) that wants to subject Latin America to U.S. multinationals. It is the fight of tens of millions of workers throughout the continent. The masses of Venezuela, Brazil and other countries have elected officials who are friends of Cuba and who take inspiration in its political and economic policies to bolster their independence from the U.S.
For a long time already, Cuba has been training tens of thousands of doctors and technicians to provide selfless assistance to numerous countries in Latin America and Africa. 52,000 Cuban doctors and health workers have voluntarily served in 93 countries of the Third World, where they have saved innumerable human lives. More than 41,000 young people of the Third World, including 29,000 Africans, have enjoyed free education in Cuba.
This example of internationalism has to find echo in our parties' and our peoples' support to Cuba's struggle to defend its independence, its sovereignty and its socialist system. The Cuban people have opted for the socialist system that is being built today. "Cuba's independence is intrinsically linked to socialism", says Fidel Castro. Without socialism, there can be no Cuba that is independent from the US.
5. The European Union aligns itself with U.S. policy to overthrow socialist power in Cuba.
The deepening crisis of capitalism is inevitably accompanied by growing contradictions among the imperialist powers. Nevertheless, the imperialist European Union agrees with U.S. imperialism as far as the need to eliminate socialist regimes and governments who pursue genuine independence is concerned.
We demand the repeal of the "Common Position" of the European Union that effectively requires Cuba to abandon its socialist system.
We demand the repeal of all sanctions and all cultural, economic and political restrictions that prevent normal relations between the European Union and Cuba. Mainly due to the pressure from the Bush administration, but also because of its own imperialist desire to crush Cuba's socialist system, the European Union has recently hardened its policies towards Cuba. The European Union often invokes international laws and institutions. But then it should refrain from any intervention in the internal affairs of other countries itself, and its behaviour should reflect respect for the sovereignty of other countries and peoples. But it is actually doing the opposite, supporting so-called dissidents, who are in fact mercenaries of the U.S.
We demand the total repeal of all sanctions imposed by the European Union in June 2003.
Cuba should be allowed to join the Cotonou agreement without any additional condition.
The policy of the European Union leads to confrontation, while the peoples of Europe and Cuba want peace, friendship and co-operation.
6. Socialist Cuba is a remarkable representative of our cause
For more than forty years, Cuba has resolutely chosen the path of socialist construction, based on Cuban reality. Its successes are irrefutable and prove that another world is indeed possible. What Cuban socialism has realised would have been impossible without the direction set by the Communist Party. At the same time, Cuba is the first to acknowledge that there is still a long way to go. Cuba's government and Communist Party base themselves on the people's mobilisation to overcome problems. The battle of ideas continuously raises the revolutionary consciousness of the people and renders them better equipped to decide about their own fate.
Cuba's ongoing revolution has added new elements to the collective experience of the world in the struggle for socialism. Anyone who has decided to fight for socialism, will have to fight to defend socialist Cuba, its people, its government and its Communist Party, against all imperialist threats and attacks.
Today's threats against the future of mankind make it vital to broadly propagate the impressive achievements of Cuba to all people who are concerned about the future of mankind. We will do our utmost to propagate and develop a broad solidarity movement for Cuba, especially among the working class. We will take our responsibility to push back all hypocritical smear campaigns and ideological attacks against Cuba.
Neither the European Union nor the United States will have the last say on Cuba. The last say is for the peoples of Europe, the United States and the rest of the world, by showing their solidarity with the heroic Cuban people in their confrontation with the intensified imperialist escalation.
1 "Human Development Report 2003
", United Nations Development Program (UNDP)) , 2003,
p. V
2 ibidem, p. 53
3 ibidem, p. 41
4 ibidem, p. 87