Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence, John Bray TD, announced the party’s plans to hold a day of solidarity with Cuba, this coming Monday 26 July across the island of Ireland.

Teachta Brady said:

“Monday marks the 68th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. Sinn Féin activists and elected representatives across the whole of the island of Ireland will mark the occasion with a series of events.

“Sinn Féin has had a long fraternal relationship with the Cuban people and continues to support their right to self-determination, an end to foreign intervention and demands the US lift their illegal trade blockade.

“The ongoing US blockade of Cuba has had a widespread and indiscriminate impact on the ordinary people of Cuba. Leading to shortages of food, fuel, and necessary medical supplies.

“Despite these shortages, and the associated hardships visited upon the Cuban people, the Caribbean Island was to the fore in sending badly needed medical staff to Europe and beyond, at the height of the first wave of Covid-19, when our television screens were filled with horrific imagery of the pandemic.

“Cuba has the lowest rate of Covid-19 infections in the southern Americas. It has a higher life expectancy than the US, and many European states. From a base of poverty and illiteracy, the Cuban education system has delivered full literacy, sanitation, and safe drinking water.

“The Cuban revolution has put the welfare of the Cuban people at the centre of society.

“Sinn Féin remains committed to deepening the practical and political links between Ireland and Cuba, and continuing to work closely with President Díaz-Canel and his government in progressing our shared priorities of international solidarity, peace, equality, and social justice.”