EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 18 October 2022 — A coalition of opposition groups from Cuba has expressed “solidarity” with Ukraine in an open letter to its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, rejecting their country’s support for Russia.
The D Frente collective, which brings together Cuban dissident groups “opposed to the totalitarian system prevailing in Cuba,” says in the letter that “a considerable part of Cuban civil society has seen with deep pain and concern” the “justification” and “support” of Havana for the Russian invasion.
They emphasize that Moscow’s February decision to attack Ukraine is “in frank violation of the principles of international law, the self-determination and sovereignty of its people, the peaceful and negotiated solution of disputes, and a breach of peace and good neighborliness.”
The signatories assure Zelensky that “the Cuban people are not their government.” Havana has not condemned the invasion, has not applied sanctions against Russia and has abstained in the votes on the issue at the United Nations. The official media on the Island replicate Moscow’s terminology and narrative about the war.
The letter refers to Ukraine’s Soviet past in which “citizens and aspirations were ignored. There are many of us who don’t feel represented by our leadership and who also reject the position of our government regarding this unnecessary and cruel conflict,” it states.
In the letter, D Frente applauds the “courage, deep love and attachment to their culture, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Ukrainians and conveys to Zelensky “our most sincere respect and feelings of solidarity towards your people and your government.”
“We are convinced that a plural, democratic and totalitarian-free Cuba, in which the rule of law and the will of the Cuban people prevail, would categorically reject the acts of aggression against your country and make every effort to achieve a peace in which the legitimate aspirations of the Ukrainian people are respected,” they say.
Bilateral relations between the Governments of Cuba and Russia are politically and symbolically close, but not economically or commercially so.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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