Winnipeg Picket Defends Right of Cuba to Self-Determination

The Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee (MCSC) organized a picket on May 21 to condemn the continuing attempts by the United States to overthrow the Cuban revolution and return that nation to the status of an American colony. Participants in the rally held up an 8-metre long banner proclaiming: "U.S.: Hands Off Cuba!" and distributed a statement to passers-by.

The MCSC statement pointed out that the Bush administration has repeatedly called for a "regime change" in Cuba and that it has been stepping up its hostile activities against Cuba over the past few months. The U.S. has violated its agreements with Cuba, providing only a fraction of the 20,000 visas it is supposed to issue to Cubans every year and refusing to deport hijackers back to Cuba. It has also refused to return hijacked airplanes and boats to their rightful owners in Cuba. Following the prosecution and conviction of 75 Cubans who were paid agents of the U.S. government, the Bush administration claimed that this represented a violation of human rights and attempted to have Cuba expelled from the UN Human Rights Commission. It also attempted to push a resolution through the Organization of American States condemning Cuba. While both attempts failed, the U.S. has not stopped its inflammatory and warmongering rhetoric against Cuba.