August 8 ,2021
Guyana was one of 13 CARICOM countries that objected to and threatened boycott of a hastily called special virtual meeting by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the situation in Cuba as it believed it would serve no purpose, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd has confirmed.
“I write on behalf of the following 13 members of the Caribbean Community: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, regarding your convocation of a Special Meeting of the Permanent Council on July 28th, 2021, to address ‘The Situation in Cuba,’” the letter from CARICOM Ambassador to the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, to the OAS Secretary General stated.
“It is the considered opinion of our delegations that the proposed convocation of this meeting, which has been called without consultation, would be unproductive and would serve no useful purpose…,” it added.
Sanders added that each of the 13 signatories believed that given Cuba has not been a member of the OAS since 1962 and has not participated in any of its activities, “All 13 of our delegations urge you to reconsider holding the meeting and advise that should you decide to proceed, our delegations will be obliged not to attend. We request that this letter be distributed to all member states urgently,” the letter stated.
The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 10am and it was stated on the OAS’ website that it was for the “OAS Permanent Council to Address the Situation in Cuba”. It listed an agenda but said that changes to it could be made before the meeting. It was to be broadcast live on the OAS Website, Facebook and YouTube.
The move for the meeting was seen as an initiative by the US and its allies in the OAS.
On the day of the scheduled meeting, the OAS would notify on its website that the meeting was postponed. And while it stated that the announcement of the postponement by the Chair of the Permanent Council was available on a given link, it was not accessible to this newspaper.
Over the last month Cuba has seen intensified protests against its government as citizens rise up in criticism over the harsh conditions faced.
Sources told this newspaper that while Guyana empathises with and supports the protestors and condemned the punishment they face from their government for speaking out, this country, like many of its CARICOM and Latin American counterparts, believes that continued United States sanctions and the embargo on Cuba – intensified under the Donald Trump administration – only exacerbated the problems.
Guyana has had longstanding relations with Cuba and over the years has made public its support for the island.
In 2014, this country was one of the first in the Caribbean to welcome a decision announced by then US President Barack Obama to normalise diplomatic and economic ties between Washington and Havana.
With former President Donald Ramotar then in office, government had said that it viewed the decision by Obama as a progressive step towards constructive relations between the United States and Cuba “which will redound to the benefit of these two countries and the hemisphere as (a) whole”.
The Government congratulated Obama on this “brave and just decision and hopes that these actions will lead to an early end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade which the United States of America has pursued for the last 54 years against the Cuban people. It is our hope that the measures announced will be implemented without any hindrance”.
