KATHMANDU, July 26: Chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed solidarity with Cuban people who have been struggling with the sanctions imposed by the United States for several decades.
Addressing the "9th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Solidarity to Cuba" held in Kathmandu on Friday, Dahal applauded the efforts made by the Cuban Communist Party to achieve the goal of socialism.
Making an indirect reference to the embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba, Dahal praised the courage the Cuban people showed in resisting the economic sanction.
"Despite decades of sanctions, blockades, and other restrictions, Cuba has demonstrated to the world that unjust behavior cannot kill the conscience of the peace and freedom loving people. The Embargo against Cuba has not weakened its people’s patience, nationalist vision and defense of sovereignty," he said.
Dahal expressed solidarity with the people and leaders of Cuba in their efforts to defend their national sovereignty.
NCP chair Dahal said that Cuba is a nation of courageous people who have always firmly stood against external interference.
NCP Chair Dahal calls for further buttressing party
"Cuba is not only the name of a nation of the progressive movement around the world, but it is a symbol of the struggle for sovereignty; inspiration for peoples’ organization and movements; and a nation of learning with a best social security system for its people," he said.
The chairperson highlighted the contribution made by late Cuban leaders Feidel Castro and Che Guevara to their country.
"At this very moment, I deem it important to remember the great leader of Cuba Feidel Castro and the revolutionary leader Comrade Che Guevara, who liberated Cuba from the corrupt despotic regime of Batista and established a progressive system in their country," he observed.
Asserting that the sanction imposed on Cuba is against the universal norms and values of human rights, Dahal opined that the Cuban people incurred an economic loss amounting to approximately US$ 130 billion in the past several decades.
"The UN General Assembly adopts every year a resolution calling for an end to the embargo with an overwhelming majority. It has been almost 26 years that the international community has rejected the sanctions against Cuba," he said.
Dahal said that a sanction against Cuba has remained intact despite a strong global call to lift it.
"The voice of the international community must be heard. We support the UN resolution calling for respect for Cuba’s sovereignty and peoples’ aspiration. Nepal has been consistently and unequivocally supporting the UN resolution," he said.
The Oli-led government has been pursuing a foreign policy based on the principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect and benefit, he said.
"The government is committed to enhancing friendly ties with our immediate neighbors India and China, and with all other countries in the world. Amity with all and enmity with none is our foreign policy motto.
“Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali” is our national aspiration and our development efforts are geared towards realizing this aspiration," he said.
Dahal said that the ruling party is working hard to develop a new model of socialism in the contemporary world.
"We want to achieve prosperity along with social justice by moving along the path of socialism," he said.
He was of the view that the government has been making all possible efforts to achieve socialism by realizing the motto of "Happy Nepali Prosperous Nepal".
