Dear NNOC friends,
Please see letter of invitation that follows from our partner organization in Cuba: ICAP; the Cuban Institute for Friendship Among the Peoples.
The United States division of ICAP has planned a special one day conference for Nation Network on Cuba members from the United States who will be traveling to Cuba for May Day and other activities. The meeting will take place in Havana on April 29th and we will let you know as soon as the location is announced.
We hope that many of you will be able to travel to Cuba and participate in this and other memorable events. The NNOC is NOT organizing a delegation to Cuba, but anticipates that many of you will be able to travel and to contribute to this special ICAP and NNOC meeting. If you are planning to attend please RSVP so that plans can be made to have the best possible event.
In solidarity,
NNOC co-chairs
Nalda Vigezzi
Banbose Shango
Alicia Jrapko
Franklin Curbelo
Cheryl LaBash
__________________________________________________________________
INSTITUTO CUBANO DE AMISTAD CON LOS PUEBLOS (ICAP)
DIRECCION DE NORTEAMERICA
Dear friends,
December 17, 2014 was an historic day in Cuba /United States relations with the return of Gerardo, Ramon, and Antonio as well as the simultaneous announcements by President Raul Castro and President Barack Obama of the beginning of dialogue between the two countries toward improving relations. Friends in both countries have great hope for a new relationship between the countries. It’s a long process in normalizing the diplomatic links. We are not naïve in our expectations and know that you are not either; the struggle continues and your enthusiastic support and analysis is needed as much as ever.
While we anticipate many changes and look forward to a new relationship, one thing has not changed and will never change: the work of the solidarity movement in supporting Cuban sovereignty and our recognition of your work. We have counted on you for the past 55 years and you have never wavered in your commitment to the principles of the Cuban revolution.
We want to offer long overdue thanks for your decades of struggle. You have traveled to Cuba openly defying U.S. policy, you have participated in conferences and public events, and you have been the voice of Cuba in the United States and presented the Cuban reality when the United States denied us the right to travel to the U.S. You have hosted visiting Cuban scholars, artists, intellectuals, trade unionists, workers, and others. You have worked in your communities and in your organizations, you have contacted elected officials, you have written newspaper articles and spoken with the media. You have never rested in the campaign to free the five Cuban Heroes: Rene, Fernando, Antonio, Ramon, and Gerardo. They are free now and a new stage has begun. We should design future strategies because the unfair blockade is still present and the Guantanamo Naval Base hasn’t returned to the Cuban people.
As we said, we continue to need your solidarity and support. We hope that as many of you as possible will travel to Cuba and join us for this year’s May Day activities. The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) would like to invite NNOC member organizations to attend a meeting on April 29 in Havana where we will have an opportunity to meet and plan future actions. We hope to count on your valuable proposals. Please join the entire Cuban nation to celebrate May Day in Havana and renew our commitment to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and to recognize Cuba’s sovereignty.
We know that we can count on you as we always have. Come to Havana; bring your ideas, bring your enthusiasm, bring your solidarity!
Sincerely,
Sandra Ramirez Rodriguez
Especialista Principal
Calle 17 No. 355 e/ G y H, Vedado, La Habana, CUBA
E-mail: director.na@icap.cu Telf: (537) 838 24 09 / 836 06 39
