By Hassen Lorgat

International relations is not a ping pong game. They must be based on truth, accuracy and justice, but rarely it is the case. On January 14, the US government led by their very lame duck president Joe Biden announced that they have removed Cuba’s designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism”. This was contained in Executive order 13224, designating which countries or individuals are terrorists or sponsors of terrorism. They define this term as: that (1) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure; and (2) appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking.

This mirrors the move when Trump was last in the White House on the January 12, 2021, when he restored Cuba to the list of states that sponsor terrorism. The then secretary of state Mike Pompeo was buoyant and said that the Cuban government had to stop sponsoring terrorism and subverting US justice. This action was to reverse the rapprochement introduced when Obama was president and Biden his vice president in 2015.

Obama’s move was considered a game changer as it broke – at least psychologically – with the idea that Cuba was bad for business. There was a brief period of hope for an end to the embargo and establishing regular transport for Cubans in the US to the island nation. The embargo has devastated the nation, following sanctions in part because it is labeled a terror supporting state.

On the eve of his departure, Biden took Cuba off the list, adding that “an assessment has been completed, and we do not have information that supports Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism.”

The Cuban government was swift. It called the step “positive” but “limited” in its efficacy and advised the incoming government that the severe impacts on Cuban people were “damaging the economy, causing scarcities and encouraging migration to the US”.

The Friends of Cuba Society - South Africa, an NGO / activists organisation noted that Cuba should not have been on the list in the first place. In addition, the blockade on Cuba is still in place. About the list, FOCUS says it is arbitrary and is aimed at regime change. It ignores the contribution of Cuba to human development in the world especially in the Global South.

The FOCUS statement adds that the “inclusion of Cuba in this list together with other dozens of coercive policies make it difficult for Cuba to make transactions using international banking systems and acquire necessary goods on the international market, such as fuel, food, construction materials, hygiene products, and materials for generating electricity”.

Whilst the change was welcomed, they noted that the overall economic blockade imposed on Cuba in 1963 was still in place. Every year for over 30 years, the United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly in favour of resolution 77/7 entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”.

The concern of these nations is to end the disastrous consequences of the economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, which - they say - under such conditions, will not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

When President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, it may be time for playing ping pong again. This decision may be reversed but hopefully with the concerns of massive immigration and other problems on his plate, Trump may be wise to wait this one out. What is called for is a principled foreign policy based on truths, accuracy and justice and not fake news and propaganda. Meanwhile, the Friends of Cuba NGO is campaigning for South Africans to join their struggle to end the blockade “without any conditions”.

Hassen Lorgat

* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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