BY JONATHAN SILBERMAN
LONDON--Cuban student leader, Kenia Serrano, begins a month-long tour of Britain September 21. During her tour, which is organized by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC), Serrano will speak at colleges and public meetings, and conduct media interviews throughout the country.
Serrano also plans to take part in the national Hands off Cuba march and rally in London on October 14. Serrano, who is the international secretary of the Federation of University Students in Cuba, is scheduled to be a featured speaker at the action. Other speakers include mineworkers union leader, Arthur Scargill; Labour Party members of parliament, Bernie Grant and George Galloway; and Christine Oddie, member of the European parliament. Many other democratic rights fighters and artistic performers are being sought for the event.
The London demonstration is one of many that will be taking place in October in cities around the world, following the decision of the November 1994 world solidarity conference in Havana to declare 1995 a year of solidarity with Cuba and call an international week of action starting October 7. It will be the first national demonstration in defense of Cuba's national sovereignty to be held in Britain.
The march and rally was called by the CSC at its annual general meeting in April. It follows a successful material aid effort called "Containers for Cuba," which sent an estimated 800,000 worth of aid to the people of Cuba during the summer. This effort touched thousands of people who had never before been involved in activity in defense of Cuba. The aid included educational equipment, hospital beds, work clothes, and mining equipment sent by the National Union of Mineworkers.
Support for Cuba in Ireland
Recent activity organized by the CSC reflects the
growing interest in the Cuban revolution in the UK. The
group has increased its membership by over one third in
the last couple of years.
Similar growth has been recorded in Ireland. During a UK tour by representatives of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples, Cuban spokesperson Javier Dominguez traveled to Belfast in Northern Ireland where he met with Sinn Fein leaders and spoke at a public meeting. The Cuba Irish Support Group is following up this successful stopover by organizing an all-Ireland speaking tour in October for Danielo Sanchez, an international officer of the national trade union federation in Cuba.
Stuart Halford, of the CSC, reported at an October 9 meeting to prepare the London demonstration, that the action has so far won the sponsorship of 100 organizations and individuals. Prominent among them is the national health workers union UNISON, which over the past couple of years has sent a number of delegations to Cuba.
The demonstration will march pass the U.S. embassy, demanding an end to Washington's economic blockade. When it reaches Trafalgar Square for a rally, the organizers plan to send a giant postcard, signed by march participants, to Downing Street (the prime minister's residence), demanding that the UK government oppose the US embargo. The UK government claims that it is neutral over the issue and has abstained on United Nations votes regarding the embargo.
In recent years there has been a thawing of relations between London and Havana though the UK government continues to refuse to grant export credit guarantees to firms wishing to trade with, or invest in, Cuba.
Jonathan Silberman is a member of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union and an activist in the CSC.