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November 2011: Paypal Europe, has
agreedtoasettlementindisputeover
frozen accounts of German online traderswhotradewithCubangoods.The
paymentprocessorPaypalhadtriedto
prevent the publication of this legal
agreement.
May 2013: TheBritishNGO“CubaSolidarity Campaign” has been prohibited
thepaymentofaninvoicefromthepublisher Monthly Review Foundation in
theU.S.TheBritishbankthatundertook
thebanktransfer,informedthatthemoneywaswithheldandcouldpossiblybe
recoveredbypaymentofbankcharges.
June 28, 2013: TheItalianbankIntesa
Sanpaolohadtopay3millionU.S.Dollar
to the U.S. because they made from
2004to2008atotalof53moneytransUN-VoteagainsttheUS-blockade
ferstoCuba.
2009 – 2012: TheLuxembourgNGOSolidarité Luxembourg –Cuba wants to
Luxemburgo –Cubagetsinformedthat
buyamicroscopeinGermanywhichis
no active transactions would be posrequired for brain surgery in Havana.
siblethathavetodowithCuba.
TheGermanmanufacturerisdeniedthe › Fall 2013: PaypaldamagedtheGerman
sale.
heavymetalbandCOR.Themusicians
2010: AmistadLuxemburgo –Cubarewantedtocollectabout8,000eurosfor
ceivesthebillofaculturalcenterthat
atourtoCubathroughaninternetdoconductsitsbankingwithINGLuxemnationplatform– butPaypalfrozethe
bourg. After the transfer the money
account and at the same time almost
comes back.Via a phone call Amistad
halfofthealreadypledgeddonations.
NETZWERKCUBA – informationsbüro – e.V.
Weydingerstraße14 –16,D-10178Berlin
Fon: ++49-(0)30-24 009 338
Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.netzwerk-cuba.de
Consequences
of the U.S. blockade
and the “Common position” of the EU
against Cuba
The“CommonPositionofthe
EuropeanUniononCuba”
Theso-called“commonpositionoftheEuropean Union concerning Cuba” was enforcedin1996.Thiswasdoneunderpressure from the U.S. government and was
pushedthroughbythecontroversialformerPresidentAznar(Spain).TheEUhasno
suchunilateralpolicybasisagainstanyotherstatethanagainstCuba.
Thearrogantandimperiouscharacterof
thecommonpositionisclearinitsfirstsentence:“The EU has in its relations with Cuba
the goal to promote a process of transition to
pluralist democracy and respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms as well as
a sustainable recovery and improvement of
the to promote living standards of the Cuban
population.” And again, “the EU’s position
represents the stance that full cooperation
with Cuba depends on progress in the field of
human rights and political freedom." With
this intention the sovereignty of Cuba is
beingattacked,becausetheCubanpeople
haschosenfreelyitssocietalformandgovernment.
TheEUcallswiththeirpositionthatCubahastochangeitssocialsystemtocapitalism,toopenitforcapitalistexploitation
andthatittakesitsplacewithinthelinesof
the states “blessed” with neo-liberalism.
That’swhythispositionissoimportantto
EUelites,andtheytrytogetthis– incollaborationwiththeU.S.administration.Itis
an instrument for pressure against Cuba
andasignofarroganceandpresumption.
Toolsofthecoldwar
Thecommonpositionisthemainobstacle
tothepracticaldesignofnormalrelations
betweentheEUandCuba.Wheneverithas
beentriedtoimproverelationswithCuba,
tonormalizeormodifythecommonposi-
tion,thiswillmassivelybetorpedoedfrom
politicalright,withbackingbytheU.S.Administration. Most of them will fuel the
sentimentagainstCubawithprovocation,
disinformationmessagesandmediacampaignsandcontinuedtheColdWar.
AsforanyothercountrythisimperialoffensiveisunacceptableforCuba,because
itwouldmeanthatthecountrygivesupits
sovereignty,whichtheCubanshavefought
forthroughhardandbloodystruggles,and
whichtheyuntiltodaydefendcourageously,perseveringitwithgreatsacrifices.
Unlikemanyothercountrieswithwhich
theEUpartlymaintainsfriendlyrelations,
Cubarespectshumanrightsandispursuingasustainabledevelopment.Itoperates
mainlyinsocialtermsmodel,hasalready
fulfilledmanyoftheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsoftheUN,givesimmenseinternational assistance to countries in need
(proportionallymuchhigherthantheEU),
andperformsnowars.Therefore,thedoublestandardoftheEUpolicyisascandal.
TheCubaSolidaritymovementsinEuropeancountrieswillstepupitsactiontoenforcetheseclaims.
› Contact: NetzwerkCubae.V.
www.netzwerk-cuba.de
Theblockade(“embargo”)ofthe
UnitedStatesagainstCuba
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AlternativeFuture
Incontrast,itistimethattheEUabandons
itscoldwaragainstCubaandfinallybuild
fair,future-orientedrelationswithCubato
benefitallsides.TheEUmustconfidently
towardtheUnitedStatesdevelopandimplementanewandsustainablepolicytowardsCubainviewofthepositivedevelopmentsinLatinAmerica.
Theseveralhundredgroupsofthesolidarity movements with Cuba in Europe
therefore call on the EU and European
countries, to initiate and implement the
followingsteps:
› The“commonpositionoftheEuropean
Union,onCuba”from1996istoabandonimmediately.
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WedeemtheEUMemberStatesobliged
to stand up against their transatlantic
partnerU.S.andconvincetheU.S.governmenttoenditsinhumaneandillegal
under international blockade against
Cuba at last, as the EU-supported UN
resolutionsarecallingforalmostunanimouslyfor20years.
TheEUandtheEuropeancountrieshave
tostronglypresstheU.S.administration
forahaltofthesubtledestabilizationactivitiesagainstCubaandadvocatethat
theUnitedStatesstopitsinternationally
wrongfulactsagainstCuba(subversion,
occupationofGuantánamo,etc.).
The EU and the European countries
mustinsteaddevelopafairandsustainableCubapolicyandputitintopractice.
TheyhavetorecognizethatthesovereignCubahastherighttofollowaselfdeterminedandsocialistpathofdevelopment.
Theblockade(Spanishfor“elbloqueo”,in
theWestincorrectlycalledembargo)isa
trade, economic and financial blockade
consistingofseveralmeasures,whichare
directedagainstthegovernmentandpeople of Cuba. In addition, it has negative
effects for companies and institutions of
otherstates– henceitisa“blockade”.The
first measures were imposed in 1960 by
PresidentDwightD.Eisenhowerafterthe
Cubangovernment–i. e.–hadexpropriatedthepropertyofoilcorporationsinthe
U.S.becausetheyhadrefusedtorefineurgentlyneededoilfromtheUSSR.TheU.S.
blockadehassincebeenstrengthenedand
expandedinseveralsteps.
In1992,theblockadehasbeenwritten
asalawoftheUnitedStates.Accordingly,
theobjectiveisformulatedintheso-called
CubanDemocracyAct(orTorricelliAct)“to
bringtheCubanpeople’sdemocracy”.Anotherlaw,theHelms-BurtonAct,adopted
in 1996 by the U.S. Congress, further restrictsthepossibilitiesofU.S.citizenstodo
businesswithCuba.Itcontainsrestrictions
for any public or private support for the
Cubangovernment,untildemandsessentialtoU.S.arefulfilledbytheCubangovernment.Thetradeembargohastheeffect
thatforeignsubsidiariesofU.S.companies
ceasetradingwithCubaandshipsarenot
allowedtocomeintoU.S.portsiftheyhave
visitedCubainthelastthreemonths.U.S.
PresidentBillClintonin1999allowedthe
saleofvariousU.S.products(e. g.cereals,
chicken)toCuba.
Currently(winter2013/2014),theblockade for U.S. companies or those foreign
companieswithU.S.capitalisstillinforce.
Itisthelongest-running“tradeembargo”
(blockade)inmodernhistory.
This blockade has to this day caused
morethan1000billionU.S.dollarsofdamagetotheCubanstate,andthusthepopulation.
Suggested reading:
SalimLamrani: „TheEconomicWar
againstCuba.AHistoricalandLegal
PerspectiveontheU.S.Blockade“,
NewYork:MonthlyReviewPress,2013,
http://monthlyreview.org/press/books
/pb3409/
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TheBlockadeeffectstheEU,too
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February 2011: TheBankINGLuxembourgdeniedoneofitscustomers,the
remittanceofmoneytotheNGOSolidarité Luxembourg –Cuba. On demand,
theBankinformsthatitmustadhereto
the blockade of the U.S. and the “EU
CommonPosition”.
April 13, 2007: TheAustrianbankBAWAG announces all accounts of their
Cubanclientsonthegroundsthatthe
saleofthebanktotheU.S.bankCERBERUSrequiresit.TheForeignMinisterUrsulaPlassnickon26Aprilopensacriminalcomplaint.At4thMay2007theBAWAGredrewitsdecisionandCERBERUS
received a special exception from the
UnitedStates.