Gonsalves calls for Unity against Foreign Domination

The single greatest contradiction of our era is that between imperialism and those subjected to its dictates.

So said Vincentian Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves as he addressed well over 1000 delegates gathered at the Palace of the Conventions in Havana on Saturday, November 2.

Gonsalves was speaking on the second day of an important International Conference in solidarity with Cuba attended by participants drawn from every corner of the world. Though the Conference was attended by many high-level persons, Prime Minister Gonsalves was the only CARICOM leader to attend and the only current Head of Government to make an address before the final session at which both the Presidents of Cuba and Venezuela spoke.

The Vincentian Prime Minister’s assertion continued in the vein of the keynote address given by Cuban Foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez at the opening of the Conference. Rodriguez told the gathering that the current US administration under Donald Trump is today “the main threat to world peace and security”. The Cuban Foreign Minister warned the delegates that “more difficult times are ahead” and called on all peace-loving people to “counter US aggression”.

Dr Gonsalves told the audience that his presence at the Conference was an expression of solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela on his part and on the part of his government and people. He described the present global situation as being at a “dangerous and complicated phase”. Given the threat to the sovereignty of small nations, the Prime Minister told the audience, nations like those in the Caribbean will have to utilize their sovereignty in order to come to terms with their humanisation.

In the face of these threats, the veteran leader said, one must guard against the dangers of disunity among those opposed to and oppressed by imperialism. We must recognize that the differences among us are vastly insignificant to that between us all and foreign domination, and must work together for our own survival.

The Conference was attended by representatives of friendly countries, political parties, mass movements and solidarity organisations. Renwick Rose, President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines/Cuba Friendship Society also participated in the Conference on behalf of his organisation.