MEDIA ADVISORY:
MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016,PASTORS FOR PEACE THE VENCEREMOS BRIGADE RALLY IN BUFFALO, NY, DEMANDINGIMMEDIATE END TO U.S. BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA
Contact: Rachael Ibrahim,269-267-1356, [email protected]
On Monday, August 8, 2016, 25 U.S. citizens will be marching across the International Peace Bridge from Fort Erie, Ontario to Buffalo, New York, havingtraveled to Cuba in defiance of the United States government’s restrictions ontravel to the island, part of the embargo that has been in place since 1962.
19 of these citizens will have traveled toCuba with the 47th contingent of the Venceremos Brigade, and theywill be met by representatives of the 27th Friendshipment Caravan ofPastors for Peace, an interfaith group that will have also traveled to Cuba indefiance of the travel restrictions and returned to the U.S. via Mexico.
Members of both groups will have participatedin what they call a Travel Challenge, protesting U.S. government policy towardCuba by traveling to the sanctioned island without a license from the TreasuryDepartment and publicly confronting U.S. Customs officials on their way backinto the U.S.
Despite the December 17, 2014 announcement ofnegotiations toward normalization of relations between the two countries, theU.S. blockade of Cuba and the related restrictions on travel to Cuba for U.S.citizens and residents remain in place. Pastors for Peace and the VenceremosBrigade continue to claim the importance of engaging in civil disobediencethrough public Travel Challenges as one of the most effective means of mountingpressure on the U.S. government to change these policies. They are calling onCongress to pass the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015 (HR 664 and S 299)and the Cuba Trade Act of 2015 (HR 3238 and S 1543).
At their 12PM joint rally on the Buffalo side of the InternationalPeace Bridge (at Front Park), members and supporters of the Venceremos Brigade and Pastors for Peace will reaffirm their commitment to defending Cuba’s national sovereignty and right to self-determination through continued civil disobedience until the blockade and travel ban are lifted, the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay is closed and the illegally occupied land is returned to Cuba, and the U.S. government ceases funding for regime change programs in Cuba.
While the policy changes and bilateral negotiations that are already underway make this a time for celebration, it is critical today more than ever that all those in favor of real normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba unite and are persistent in advocating for an end to the aggressive policies curtail our rights and seek to restrain Cuba’s ability to develop independently. As the energy around movement building in the U.S. surges for racial, economic, and social justice, we must look to Cuba as a role model. Cuba has shown us that another world is possible. In the words of the late Reverend Lucius Walker,founder of IFCO/Pastors for Peace: “We act not just in defiance of our government, but in obedience to our conscience.”
Members of both groups will be available for interviews beginning at 11AM on August 8,2016.
