Final details were being worked out during an event in Rome for the national march in Rome in support of Cuba, scheduled for Saturday, April 11th, with the participation of numerous political, social, youth, and labor organizations, according to a statement released in the Italian capital.
At the meeting of the march organizers, held at the Nuovo Cinema Aquila, the importance of the march was reaffirmed, especially given the current situation in Cuba, where the Cuban people are facing an intensification of the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States.
The event was attended by the Cuban ambassador to Italy, Jorge Luis Cepero, who expressed his gratitude for this initiative, promoted by the National Association of Friendship between Italy and Cuba (ANAIC) and the Gianni Miná Foundation, as well as for the many other actions supporting the island that are taking place throughout Italy.
Cepero emphasized the validity of the demonstration’s slogan: “Cuba is not a threat,” while stressing that, nevertheless, “the risk of direct aggression against the island persists, and we must not lower our guard.”
For his part, academic Luciano Vasapollo, co-founder of the Italian chapter of the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity (REDH), pointed out that “Cuba continues to support a diplomatic solution to its conflicts with the United States, but without compromising its self-determination.”
On behalf of the Union of Base Trade Unions (USB), Stefano De Angelis, a member of the union’s national executive committee in charge of International Relations, noted that Italian workers are showing deep sensitivity to the situation facing Cuba.
De Angelis noted that many doctors from the island currently support public healthcare in Calabria, “making it clear that Cuba represents a different and fairer model,” while reaffirming that attacking that country “attacks the hope for a better world.”
Nicoletta Grieco, from the General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL), reported on the Energy for Life initiative, promoted by that union in conjunction with Anaic, the ANCI Social Promoter, and the National Association of Italian Partisans, which has already raised 270,000 euros for solidarity projects.
This money will be used to purchase solar panels and batteries, ensuring greater energy independence in hospitals, schools, factories, and cultural centers, she explained.
Among the speakers at the meeting, which lasted almost two hours, were leaders of political parties, including People’s Power, the Communist Network, and the Five Star Movement (M5S), as well as youth organizations such as Alternative Student Opposition (OSA) and Cambiare Rotta.
For her part, filmmaker Loredana Macchietti, widow of the prominent intellectual Gianni Miná and president of the foundation that bears his name, asserted that “Cuba represents a tremendous obsession for Washington, since it constitutes a systemic alternative to the supposed ‘Western democracy and freedom.’”
The demonstration in support of Cuba, scheduled for Saturday, April 11, will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the Roman Colosseum and will proceed along San Gregorio, Aventino, and Piramide Cestia avenues, ending at Piazza Ostiense, near Porta San Paolo.
“Let’s fill the streets of Rome with Cuban flags!” the organizers declared at the end of this statement.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
