On December 17, 2014, former U.S. President
Barack Obama and former Cuban President
Raul Castro made the historic announcement
that talks would begin to normalize U.S./
Cuba relations. Cuba solidarity activists
here in Vancouver knew that it was more
crucial than ever to put pressure on the
U.S. government to end the blockade on
Cuba, and Friends of Cuba Against the
U.S. Blockade (FCAB-Vancouver) was
formed. On the 17th of every month FCAB-Vancouver
holds a picket action in front of
the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver, and in the
last three years of these actions, more cities
have joined in coordinated action! Now
Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal, Canada
and Kiev, Ukraine are holding monthly
protests and encouraging more cities to join
this campaign. The importance of keeping up
the pressure is clear as the U.S. government
still hasn’t lifted the blockade of Cuba, and
By Janine Solanki U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to
turn back some of the progresses.
On June 17, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal
and Kiev took to the streets in solidarity
with Cuba. In Vancouver, protesters held up
picket signs and banners in front of the U.S.
Consulate demanding “Lift the
Blockade on Cuba!” and “Return
Guantanamo to Cuba now! In
between rounds of picketing,
protesters gathered together to
hear from local speakers as well as
a voice message of solidarity from
Ottawa Cuba Connections, which
was picketing in front of the U.S.
Embassy. As is now tradition, at
the end of the action a group photo
was taken under the U.S. Consulate
sign with Cuban flags, banners
and picket signs held proudly, and
shared online for people around the
world to see.
Friends of Cuba around the world
have an important role in uniting with the
Cuban people and standing up against
continued U.S. attacks on Cuba. To find
out about the next action in Vancouver visit
www.vancubavsblockade.org or follow on
Facebook and Twitter @NoBloqueoVan
Follow Janine Solanki on Twitter: @janinesolanki
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