Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel alongside his wife and top Cuban officials attending the demonstration in support of Palestine, held in Havana on Thursday, November 23, 2023. Photo: X/DiazCanelB.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, marched at the forefront of a mass demonstration down the central Malecón boardwalk in Havana, the capital of Cuba, to support the cause of Palestine and condemn the crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli settler regime.
Convened by the Union of Young Communists (UJC) of the island, thousands of people marched down the streets chanting slogans in favor of the occupied Palestinian people this Thursday, November 23.
Hoy acompañamos la marcha de los jóvenes palestinos y cubanos en La Habana. Nuestros corazones y también nuestros actos están y estarán siempre junto a #Palestina. Que cese de una vez el genocidio que comete Israel, con el apoyo abierto de Estados Unidos.
¡Palestina Libre¡ 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/uY5cEA7ySA
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) November 23, 2023
A number of top Cuban officials participated in the event, including the Cuban prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, the minister for foreign affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, general secretary of the Workers’ Central Union of Cuba, Ulises Guilarte, and the Palestinian ambassador to Cuba, Akram Samhan.
The first secretary of the UJC youth organization, Raúl Alejandro Palmero, delivered a speech at the march, highlighting the importance of taking action against fascism, mass-murder, and genocide.
Mira las fotos 👇🏽
Es una manifestación convocada por la Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC) de la isla, miles de cubanos participan en la marcha popular en la céntrica avenida de Malecón y corean: Que viva la causa palestina.#Palestina #Cuba #UJC #Israel #DiluvioDeAlAqsa pic.twitter.com/7wnyRJ6EQj
— Al Mayadeen Español (@almayadeen_es) November 23, 2023
Palmero also made reference to the long history of violence and oppression suffered by the West Asian territory, and recalled the over 120,000 lives lost over the last 75 years of settler colonialism.
He described the situation as not just an armed conflict, but the largest and longest continuous massacre in history. Later, he urged the population to raise their voices for truth, justice, and peace, quoting the words of the renowned Cuban leader Fidel Castro: “Let us march with our hearts in our hands.”
#Video En La Habana, Cuba, se manifiestan para apoyar al pueblo palestino y rechazando el asesinato de la fuerza de ocupación israelí de dos periodistas de Al-Mayadeen #AlMayadeen #FarahOmar #RabihMaamari #Libano #Palestina pic.twitter.com/IvvH0jZEs1
— Al Mayadeen Español (@almayadeen_es) November 23, 2023
Atef Abdelhafez Sharif al Safadi, a Palestinian doctor and student of oncology at the Cuban Hermano Ameijeiras hospital, also expressed his deep concern at the march for the safety of fellow Palestinians due to the genocide launched by colonial forces.
He noted the Israeli settler entity’s use of prohibited weapons, the bombing of hospitals, and the loss of lives of doctors and other health professionals, in addition to the interruption and withholding of essential services such as water, electricity, food, and medicine.
Sharif al Safadi added that what happened in the Gaza Strip goes beyond an armed conflict, and he emphasized the value of the Palestinian nation’s resistance to occupation and its fight for freedom.
— Al Mayadeen Español (@almayadeen_es) November 23, 2023
At the end of the march, arriving in La Piragua park, the second secretary of the UJC, Meyvis Estévez, highlighted the impossibility of remaining indifferent to the Israeli entity’s genocidal attacks on the Palestinian people.
In his speech, he called for a fair and immediate solution that respects the historic resolutions of the United Nations in search of coexistence and tolerance.
He concluded with a call to preserve the memory of the victims of Israeli settler colonial aggression, and to work tirelessly so that more people around the world continue to join this cause of love and hope.
The young people of the Caribbean nation also expressed their condolences for the death of the two Al Mayadeen journalists, Farah Omar and Rabih Maamari, martyred in a deliberate attack by the occupying entity in their continued targeting of reporters, among many others.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
