[A-List] Fw: dreams and nightmares

[Macdonald Stainsby <mstainsby@xxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "michael a. lebowitz" <mlebowit@xxxxxx>
Dear Friends,
        Last week in Havana, foreign participants at the conference 'Karl
Marx and the Challenges of the 21st Century' agreed that we could not ignore
the current situation in which Cuba finds itself due to the actions of the
United States. We heard from many Cubans (including Fidel in a dialogue with
us) and then put together a statement of solidarity which reflected the
various concerns of the participants and which we think reflects the
concerns of many on the Left. We hope that you will read this statement,
will agree to support it and will circulate it widely. The initial signers
are listed below, and additional signatures can be sent to
marxdreams@xxxxxxxxxxxx


Dreams and Nightmares
Communique of Solidarity by Foreign Participants in the international
conference ´Karl Marx and the challenges of the 21st century'´


1. Humanity has always dreamt of a better world, one marked by equality,
solidarity, and the ability of all people to survive and develop their human
potential. Today we are living through a nightmare, in a new era of world
domination: that of armed neoliberalism.
2. The series of interventionist wars,  from Yugoslavia to Iraq, traversing
Afghanistan, constitutes what seems to be  only the beginning of a longer
process.
3. But fortunately the recent and immense protest against the war and in
favor of peace has demonstrated that the people of the world , including
significant sectors of the North American people, reject this nightmare.
4. This project is led by a group of leaders from the United States who
don't only look  to control the resources of the planet, but also to
establish a universal juridical, political and moral order under their
cynical hegemony.
5. These leaders are militarizing the world and are initiating what they
call cynically "preventive wars". They do not hesitate to violate
international rights and to generalize the inhuman practices inaugurated at
Guantánamo. Further they do not hesitate to reduce the civic liberties of
their own citizens and to destroy the democratic tradition of their own
people.
7. They do not hesitate to adopt  attitudes  and actions  with  hegemonic
and  racist characteristics.
9. Cuba is at the doorway of the empire and it fears, not without reason,
that it can be one of the next targets. There are many signs that support
this fear: the growing media offensive, the accusations of terrorism,
diverse type of provocations, an increase of the extent of the blockade, the
financial support of opposition and of subversion, the announcement of
future attacks on the country by government spokesmen.
10. Today Cuba is trying to realize those dreams of a better world. No one
knows better than the Cuban people themselves how far they have to go yet to
realize their dreams. But the political and social achievements  of the
revolution, the result of their socialist project, demonstrate that dreams
can be realized. Those achievements and hopes for a better world are
threatened by a power based in inequality, force and war.
11. Despite our pain about the recent use of capital punishment in Cuba, a
pain we know is shared by the Cuban government itself, we understand that we
must fight against the nightmare that threatens Cuba and all our dreams for
a better world. We denounce the current process of violence on the part of
the U.S. government. We oppose turning Cuba into another Iraq, and we
reaffirm our solidarity with the Cuban people and their revolution.
May 8, 2003

Listado Firmantes Declaración Conferencia Carlos Marx y los Desafíos del
siglo XXI.

Nombre                                  País

Alarcón C., Sandra                      Colombia
Albritton, Robert                       Canadá
Alcaraz, Vicente                        España
Alnasseri, Sabah                        Irak/Alemania
Alzaga, Luciano                 Suecia
Amezcua, Cuauhtémoc             México
Amin, Samir                             Senegal
Bienefeld, Manfred                      Canadá
Bond, Patrick                           Sud Africa
Boulavka, Liudmila                      Rusia
Brückner, Gerhard                       Alemania/España
Burkett, Paul                           USA
Campbell, Al                            USA                     .
Chelala, Santiago                       Argentina
Chernomas, Robert                       Canada
Clarke, Simon                           UK
Cole, Ken                               Inglaterrra
Comellas Carrizo, Carmen                España
Cooney, Paul                            USA
Cordero, Teresa                 México
Cottrell, Allin                         USA
Diaz Díaz, Julio                        España
Edwards, Seán                   Irlanda
Egan, Daniel                            USA
Escobar, Heron                  México
Fainman, Fagie                  Canadá
Fernández G., Javier                    México
Ferrer, Salvador                        México
Foley, Barbara                          USA
Gallardo, Helio                         Costa Rica
Gil De San Vicente, Iñaki               Euskal Herria
Guerrero, Diego                 España
Harnecker, Marta                        Chile
Hart-Landsberg, Martin                  USA
Hodson, Diana                           Canadá
Houtard, François                       Bélgica
Jiménez, Lola                           España
Kohan, Néstor                           Argentina
Kotz, David                             USA
Labica, Georges                 Francia
Lebowitz, Michael                       Canadá
Lynch, Colin                            Canadá
Marín, Michelle                 UK
Masondo, David                  Sud Africa
Mavroudeas, Stavros                     Grecia
Mcdonough, Terrence                     Irlanda
Mészáros, Donatella                     Inglaterra
Mészáros, István                        Inglaterra
Miller, Nchamah                 Colombia
Milonakis, Dimitris                     Grecia
Monereo, Manuel                 Espana
Morales, Manuel                 Bolivia
Moseley, Fred                           USA
Natarajan, J.                           India
Nayeri, Kamran                  Iran/USA
Ngwane, Trevor                  Sud Africa
Orellana, María de Lourdes              México
Ortiz, Dante                            Rep. Dominicana
Rauber, Isabel                          Argentina
Rolein, Strennie                        Belgica/Cuba
Salem, Bassel Ismail                    Palestina
Sánchez R. De Zapata, Matilde           México
Skalon, Ana de                  Argentina
Spassky, Andrei                 Rusia/Cuba
Stanford, Mark                          UK
Stein, Philip                           USA
Suárez, Federico                        España
Torres, José                            España
Vogel, Lise                             USA
Ware, Robert                            Canadá
Yañez, Gonzalo                  México
Yeu, Marian                             Canadá






---------------------
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6


Currently based in Cuba. Can be reached via:


Michael Lebowitz
c/o MEPLA
Calle 13 No. 504 ent. D y E, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
Codigo Postal 10 4000
(537) 33 30 75 or 832  21 54
telefax (at night): (537) 33 30 75