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On 24 January, activists from Rock Around the Blockade, Plataforma 12 de Octubre, Cubanos en UK, the Revolutionary Communist Group and other groups and individuals came together to defend the Cuban people and the revolutionary government who uphold the banner of socialism. The demonstration started at The British High Court, where an imperialist vulture fund has brought a lawsuit against the Cuban state. The protestors then moved on to the Cuban embassy, where right-wing opposition activists had planned to come out against Cuban socialism. See below for video coverage of this vibrant solidarity event!
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On 17 December activists from Rock Around the Blockade and the Revolutionary Communist Group took part in an international day of action called by the 1 Cent 4 Cuba campaign. For their action on the day, RATB and RCG supporters picketed banks that are extraterritorially implementing the US blockade of Cuba by illegally complying with US sanctions in Britain. The main target was Metro Bank, who recently closed customer's accounts after blocking transactions to Cuba. 17 December is an important day for friends of socialist Cuba, as it was the day when the Cuban 5 were released in 2014. Here are pictures and videos from across the country:
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Metro Bank closes accounts after making transactions that reference Cuba – is Metro Bank breaking UK laws?
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This month, activists from Rock Around the Blockade, Revolutionary Communist Group and the 1 Cent For Cuba (1c4Cuba) campaign joined the international caravan against the US blockade of Cuba. This time around, the caravan focussed on Lloyds bank, who earlier this month closed, without warning or explanation, a bank account owned by the 1c4Cuba campaign. The bank account was set up in July 2022 and was used to receive international transactions as part of the 1c4Cuba campaign. Such transactions, using the reference ‘CUBA’, were received from participants in Ireland, Spain and Canada. These were intended to trigger internal systems within the banks to block these transactions, thus proving that they comply with the US blockade of Cuba in an extraterritorial way.
Here are some photos and videos from across the country! Get in touch to join the Caravan next month!
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On 4 November, a bank account set up by the 1c4Cuba campaign in Britain was closed without explanation by Lloyds bank.
The bank account was set up in July 2022 and was used to receive international transactions as part of the 1c4Cuba campaign (www.1c4cuba.eu). Such transactions, using the reference ‘CUBA’, were received from participants in Ireland, Spain and Canada. On 14 October, Lloyds bank sent letters to the account holder informing them, without explanation, that the account would be closed 'with immediate effect'. The UK's Financial Ombudsman Service guidance states that it would expect a bank to provide at least 30 days' notice before closing a customer's account, unless there are 'exceptional circumstances' such as where fraud is suspected.
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Rock Around The Blockade members and supporters gather outside the Cuban Embassy in London to demonstrate in solidarity with socialist Cuba against the genocidal US blockade.
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The Revolutionary Communist Group and Rock around the Blockade are calling on all friends and supporters of Cuba to give what they can to help the island rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Ian.
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On the weekend of the 24th of September, activists from Rock Around the Blockade joined together with organisations from all across the world to stand in solidarity with socialist Cuba against the US blockade. This month the caravana coincided with Cubans voting on the Family Code referendum. Whilst Cubans exercised their democratic power to bring about progressive new legislation surrounding family matters, we stood with them against the blockade which affects their everyday lives.
If you want to get involved in the caravana next month, please get in touch. Here are some photos and videos from around the country:
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First published at www.frfi.org.uk
Rock around the Blockade (RATB), the Revolutionary Communist Group’s campaign in solidarity with socialist Cuba, has joined other groups to launch a new international campaign to challenge the British and European banks illegally implementing the US blockade against socialist Cuba. Such a campaign is long overdue. 2022 is the 60th anniversary of the blockade, and its extraterritorial application (outside the US) is a violation of international law as well as UK and EU laws. The damage dealt to Cuba’s development and living conditions is clear, with an estimated cost of at least $144bn. The campaign gives people outside the US a practical way to challenge the banks to unblock Cuba. NATHAN WILLIAMS and WILL JONES report.