Cuba reaffirms at the United Nations its strong opposition to terrorism

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 21 (ACN) Ambassador Yuri Ariel Gala López, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations (UN), ratified the absolute and categorical opposition of the Cuban government to all forms, methods and practices of terrorism.

According to a report published on the official website of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gala López attended Tuesday the Security Council's open debate on "Maintenance of international peace and security: Countering terrorism in Africa" at the UN headquarters in New York, where he recalled that Cuba has played an exemplary role in the fight against terrorism as a State Party to the 19 international conventions related to this scourge and condemned the recent decision of the new U.S. president, Donald Trump, to reinstate the fraudulent designation of Cuba as an alleged state sponsor of terrorism.

“The goal of this extreme measure is to further tighten the economic blockade of Cuba and cause more hardship to the Cuban people, ignoring the broad, emphatic and reiterated call of numerous international actors”, he stressed in his speech.

The diplomat underscored that the fight against terrorism remains a serious and growing challenge to the international community and highlighted the indelible marks left by this scourge in Africa as a consequence of colonialism, apartheid and underdevelopment imposed by foreign powers.

“The struggle for self-determination and national liberation undertaken by peoples subjected to foreign occupation and colonial or foreign domination does not constitute an act of terrorism”, he pointed out.

Gala López also referred to the urgent need to resume the steps to establish a General Convention on International Terrorism to address every aspect of this issue, including any action directly or indirectly involving States.