Cuba, a beacon to other countries - Speaker

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

Other countries can learn valuable lessons from Cuba which has made vast strides in achieving millennium development goals, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa said.

He was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Sixth Asia Pacific Regional Conference for Solidarity with Cuba held on October 20 and 21 at the Sri Lanka Central Bank Auditorium.

"Cuba has made giant progress towards millennium development goals and it has a planned economy. Cuba has continued to prioritise education and health and the Cuban government always pays its utmost attention to social welfare. They strongly believe that they will be able to achieve development goals by investing in human development," the Speaker said.

He said Sri Lankans express their solidarity and friendship with Cuba.

Cuban delegation leader Carida Deogu said for Cuba, Sri Lanka has special meaning due to numerous friendship and solidarity gestures received from Sri Lankans.

"Just a month after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January 1959, Sri Lanka became the first Asian country to recognise the new Cuban revolutionary government. Cooperation bonds in the field of health, education, sports and culture have been established for years. Cuba also keeps a close relationship and solidarity links with all Asian people and nations. International solidarity movement with Cuba was born since the beginning of the triumph of the revolution, when we faced a challenge that seemed to be unsurmountable," she said.

Deogu said: "We all share a complex and convulsed world. Whenever we see things that are occurring at present, they are the same that occurred from some million years ago in which humanity hasn't known any other thing than tragedy . There were also several wars provoked by an exploiting spirit addressed to control production means and natural resources at any risk. Whenever we see all this, we cannot stop thinking of great challenges we have from now on, for all peace loving people".

"Today it is more necessary than ever before to globalise solidarity and brotherhood among peoples," she said.

The conference's objective was to strengthen solidarity with Cuba, which is facing harassment and hostilities from the United States that has imposed an unlawful blockade against Cuba for the last 50 years.

The UN General Assembly has for the last 20 years called for the lifting of this blockade. Sri Lanka consistently voted for the resolution in the UN General Assembly calling to end the blockade.

Another matter discussed at the conference was the need to free five Cubans imprisoned in the USA for over 14 years for fighting against terrorist organisations in Miami, Florida by exposing their plans to commit terrorist acts. Following the conference, a public meeting was held at Yakkalakele Estate, Horana at the site of the Mahogany tree planted by Che Guevara in August 1959 when he visited Sri Lanka.

The conference was organised by a National Preparatory Committee chaired by Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh

Gunawardane in collaboration with the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Havana.

Lanka Samasamaja Party General Secretary Prof Tissa Vitarana, Democratic Left Front Secretary Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Communist Party of Sri Lanka General Secretary, Senior Minister DEW Gunasekara, National Freedom Front chairman, Minister Wimal Weerawansa, TULF leader V Anandasangaree, JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, parliamentarians and Sri Lankan and foreign delegates attended the event.