Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Hanoi, 15 Aug.- The Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, Rogelio Polanco, said he was deeply moved by the extraordinary participation of the Vietnamese people in the recently launched campaign of support for his country promoted by the Red Cross of Vietnam.
"We cannot achieve what we have experienced in these last hours without a deep feeling that unites our peoples, a legacy forged by several generations of leaders led by President Ho Chi Minh and the Commander-in-Chief, Fidel Castro", he said.
The diplomat's statements to the media came shortly after the Vietnamese Red Cross announced that the initial goal set for the campaign, 65 billion dong (more than $2.47 million), had been significantly exceeded.
Until 11:00 (local time) this Friday contributions were received from 598,368 people and entities for more than 125,320 million dong (about four million 770 thousand dollars), said on its website the social humanitarian organization.
Commenting on these results, Polanco said that "this campaign has reached deeply into the soul of the Vietnamese people, who show their generosity, altruism and human courage for a nation that is thousands of miles away".
He also noted that, as the organizers stated, this is also a call for international solidarity. "May people unite to clearly, sincerely, and forcefully express the love we feel when a nation is under attack, as the Cuban nation is today", he said.
The ambassador also expressed, on behalf of the Communist Party, the State, the Government, and the people of Cuba, his deepest gratitude to the authorities and people of Vietnam for this new demonstration of profound solidarity and love that once again fuels the close relationship between the two countries.
In response to a question from journalists, Polanco referred to the difficult and complex economic and social situation facing the Cuban people, caused by the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed more than six decades ago by different US administrations.
The human and material damage caused by the blockade today constitutes the main obstacle to Cuba's economic development, the diplomat emphasized, noting that this criminal siege, instead of being lifted, as the international community has repeatedly demanded, has intensified since the first administration of Donald Trump.
The US blockade, he emphasized, "is a true economic war. You don't see the bombs falling on our soil, but you do see the direct impact on the lives of our citizens of these unjust, illegal measures that seek genocide against an entire nation".
The campaign to support the Cuban people, launched here this Wednesday on the occasion of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro's 99th birthday and in the context of the Vietnam-Cuba Year of Friendship and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, will run until October 16. (Source: Cubavisión Internacional)
