South Africa reiterates support for all activities exposing brutality of US policy

The South African government said on Thursday that it will continue to energetically support all solidarity programs and activities that expose the tyranny and brutality of U.S. policy towards Cuba. "We commit to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Cuban people in their struggle against the U.S. economic embargo," Marius Fransman, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation said at the International Solidarity Conference on Cuba, Western Sahara and Palestine, taking place in Cape Town. As a country committed to the defense of international law, South Africa will not tire in its efforts to demand an immediate and unconditional lifting of the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba, Fransman said. For more than half a century this embargo has continued to stifle the economic and social development of Cuba, further exacerbating hardships and sufferings of the people of Cuba, sabotaging the achievement of all the internationally agreed development goals, including Millennium Development Goals, by the Cuban government and its people, said Fransman. "Cuba's continuous economic oppression by the U.S. has failed to diminish the commitment of the Cuban government to provide for its people in education, health and social development. Never has Cuba allowed its miseries to shrink its limitless solidarity to people's causes in all corners of the globe," Fransman said. In addition, he said the South African government remains committed to continue to actively campaign for the release of remaining four of the Cuban Five who still remain jailed in the U. S. today. "We call upon civil society solidarity organizations to rev up our efforts this year to support this campaign." The Cuban Five refers to five political prisoners -- Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino and Rene Gonzalez, who were wrongly convicted by the U.S. courts after being accused of espionage for fighting against terrorism directed at the people of Cuba and the U.S. Rene Gonzalez has since been released and sent back to Cuba. The year 2014 marks 20 years of fruitful relations between South Africa and Cuba. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago, the two countries have reached 30 bilateral agreements covering vast areas of cooperation in arts and culture, defense, education, science and technology, health services, housing as well home affairs. South Africa reiterates, on an annual basis, its condemnation of the disregard for international law by the U.S. on the unjust embargo, collectively seen by the majority of UN member states as a violation of the Cuban people's right to development, peace and security.