Cuban Association Resident in Ireland
Dear Irish MEPs,
On behalf of the Cuban citizens residing in Ireland, we would like to send this letter for your attention.
Most of us have mixed families settled in this beautiful country, many of them have acquired dual citizenship as well as our children and therefore we feel also Irish citizens and European citizens, but of course we can’t forget our origins and our people in Cuba.
Thus, the millions of Irish emigrants and their descendants have not forgotten their origins. In this, we are also united by belonging to two islands separated by the same sea of struggles and hopes.
We appeal to you in your dual capacity as MEPs and Irish citizens, our family also voted for you.
The intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government against the Cuban people for more than 60 years is a true massive and systematic violation of human rights against an entire people, including us emigrants, and is commits in the sight of the European Union.
We know the traditional position of the Member States of the European Union against the policy of the blockade and their systematic support for the resolution that the UNGA has approved by an overwhelming majority on 28 occasions demanding its end.
It is not enough with that moral support.
We demand greater intervention by the institutions of the European Union, including Parliament so that they use all their influence and persuade the Administration of President Joe Biden and the North American Congressmen. To undertake the course of normalization of relations with Cuba, and the elimination of the blockade, which causes so much hardship to our families regardless of the ideology they embrace.
We demand a greater commitment from the authorities of the European Union to prevent the extraterritorial application of the sanctions of the blockade against Cuba from having space in the territory of the Union. We refer to all the banking difficulties, the discrimination that Cuban emigrants suffer in Europe so that, like any emigrant, we can remit to our families. We refer to the reprisals that the businesses of European citizens established in Cuba can be subjected to, which can be the businesses of our families, among many others known to you.
We also demand a greater effort to develop in a dynamic way the trade and cooperation relations protected in the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba. It would be a fair possibility to contribute to the development and prosperity of the Cuban people; it would also be a way of expressing the true rejection of the unilateral and arbitrary economic sanctions represented by the blockade.
We ask you that strongly reject any attempt to sabotage the PDCA application.
We are people of peace, and we firmly believe in peaceful coexistence over differences. The progress shown in relations between Cuba and the United States during the final stage of the Administration of President Barack Obama demonstrated this.
We reject those who persist in encouraging hatred and torpedo with pretexts anchored in the Cold War any possibility of real progress.
We cannot hide our indignation at the biased motivations of the meeting on Cuba that has been set on the Parliament’s agenda as of June 8.
We denounce that the group of MEPs promoting a resolution, which would censure the Government of Cuba for alleged human rights violations, has close ties with the most radical sectors in the United States, which are determined to perpetuate the economic blockade and oppose any improvement of relations between Cuba and the United States.
Those MEPs have never raised their voices to call for an end to the cruel and inhumane policy of the blockade. It is they, who sabotage the Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation between the EU and Cuba.
Those MEPs do not respond to the true interests of the European citizens who vote for them.
We ask you to disassociate yourself from this resolution, which will not contribute to the constructive and respectful dialogue between the EU and Cuba.
We invite you to concentrate efforts on putting an end to the true crime that is committed against our people: the economic blockade.
We believe in the values ​​defended in Europe and we trust that its highest authorities and representatives will not disappoint us.
We express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Irish MEPs who are committed to building successful relations between the peoples of Europe and Cuba.
Dublin, June 7, 2021.
