KATHMANDU, July 27: Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was in the spotlight earlier for issuing a controversial statement in favor of the embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, has made headlines again by expressing solidarity with Cuba and criticizing the US.
Addressing the “Ninth Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Solidarity with Cuba” held in the capital on Friday, Dahal expressed solidarity with the Cuban people, who have been struggling with the harsh sanctions imposed by the US for several decades. He also applauded the efforts made by the Cuban Communist Party to achieve the goal of socialism.
Although Dahal did not make any direct reference to the US and its punitive measures against Cuba, he lauded “the courage shown by the Cuban people” to resist the economic sanction enforced by the US. “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.
NCP chair Dahal calls for ending embargo against Cuba
Dahal said their solidarity is with the people and leaders of Cuba in their efforts to defend their national sovereignty. “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 the country.”
Chairman Dahal said that Cuba is a nation of courageous people who have always firmly stood against external interference. “Cuba is not only the name of a nation of the progressive movement around the world, but also a symbol of the struggle for sovereignty; inspiration for peoples’ organization and movements; and a nation of learning with the best social security system for its people,” he further said.
While stating that the sanctions imposed against Cuba are 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, while expressing dissatisfaction over the fact that a sanction against Cuba had remained in place despite a strong global call to lift it.
Mentioning that the Oli-led government has been pursuing a foreign policy based on the principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect and benefit, Dahal also said that the ruling NCP is working hard to develop a new model of socialism in the contemporary world. “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,” he maintained.
A seven-member Cuban delegation led by Iraklis from World Peace Council is currently on Nepal visit. The delegation held meetings with several leaders and lawmakers. “We are told that they are here to understand our parliamentary exercise. I received a phone call from the parliament secretariat that they are here to visit us. We exchanged views about the parliamentary exercises,” said Nepali Congress lawmaker Rangamati Shahi.
Another NC lawmaker Gyanendra Bahadur Karki was also present when the Cuban delegation visited parliament to understand Nepal’s parliamentary exercise. The team is scheduled to leave for home on Saturday. “They have assured us that they will arrange an exchange visit for Nepali lawmakers if they wished so,” Shahi told Republica.
