Helms-Burton Act a direct attack on Cuba's sovereignty

The Helms-Burton Act, a United States (US) federal law which came into full application on May 2, is a desperate step by the country as well as a direct attack on Cuba's sovereignty and its political and economic system.

In a statement to Bernama International News Service here today, Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Ibete Fernandez Hernandez said Title III of the 1996 Act proposes that persons claiming holdings that were nationalised or expropriated in Cuba, including persons who at that time were not American citizens, must be protected.

“Title three pursues the internationalisation of the blockade by creating uncertainty and discourage foreign companies from doing business with Cuba. In short, it is a North American law that claims to have an effect outside its borders and (which) legally it cannot,” she said.

Hernandez said Cuba – assisted by international law and the Constitution of 1940 – legitimises the nationalisation of properties in 1959 and 1960 due to popular demand and the need to restructure the property relations on the island, which fulfills part of the programme of the Revolution.

Each act of nationalisation included an act of compensation as is the international practice, but the United States refused to accept the compensation, she said.

She stressed that other countries such as France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada and Spain were compensated and their businesses flourish in Cuba to this day.

“Cuba is not a threat to the world. For 60 years it has suffered all kinds of aggression and the longest blockade in history. We thank Malaysia for its position against unilateral measures and for having accompanied us all these years. We need more solidarity from everyone.

“The world cannot remain idle while (certain countries) attack other people simply because they do not profess the same values and ideologies. Cuba is convinced that a better world is possible, based on the respect for the differences, integrity and sovereignty,” she added.