Regional Congress of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine concludes in Havana
The recently concluded Congress was held as a prelude to the seventh National Congress, which will take place in April in Lebanon

Author: Ernesto J. Gómez Figueredo | internet@granma.cu
january 30, 2018 10:01:01

Photo: Granma
With a greeting to all progressive and left forces of the Americas, and after two days of work, the Regional Congress of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) concluded yesterday in the Cuban capital.

The gathering was held as a prelude to the seventh National Congress, which will take place in April in Lebanon, and attended by Palestinians from across the American continent.

Topics of vital importance for the Palestinian cause were discussed, the documents pending approval by the Central Congress of the DFLP were debated, and the 12 direct delegates to the national event were selected.

Fahd Suleiman, DFLP deputy secretary-general explained the selection of Cuba as the venue for this important gathering for the Palestinian cause.

“Cuba is a country friendly to the Palestinian people and cause, so it was natural that it be selected to host the meeting,” he said.

“There are a lot of Palestinians living in this continent. We are a people that fight for their national liberation, the restoration of their 1967 borders, the return of refugees to their homeland and precisely in the framework of these conditions it was decided to hold this event in Havana, to send a message from here to U.S. President Donald Trump,” he added.

The official criticized the alliance and cooperation between the United States and Israel, which openly occupies Palestinian land and divides the people by creating settlements.

“The Palestinian territory is the patrimony of its people and Jerusalem is the capital of our state,” he stressed, in reference to the Trump administration’s recognition of the holy city as the capital of Israel.

On behalf of the DFLP, Suleiman also condemned the U.S. decision to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“These decisions defy International Law, UN resolutions and human rights, despite public opinion and the rejection of the international community,” he emphasized.

The official stressed that negotiations with the Israeli government have been stalled since April 2014, and noted that the central council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decided that Washington can no longer act as a mediator between the two states.

Meanwhile, Rosario Pentón, rector of the Ñico López Advanced Studies School of the Communist Party of Cuba, where the Regional Congress met, expressed that this is a crucial moment for the Palestinian people, as they face voracious and rapacious imperialist moves.

Pentón ratified the revolutionary, pro-independence and internationalist vocation of Cuba and the unconditional support of this people for the Palestinian cause.

The closing ceremony was also attended by the Ambassador of Palestine to Cuba, Akram Samhan, the Ambassador of Venezuela to Cuba, Alí Rodríguez, the Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee International Relations Department, Juan Carlos Marsán, and Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Fernando González, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).