People’s Weekly World

The following resolution was unanimously passed Nov. 7 by the Detroit City Council. It was introduced by JoAnn Watson and Maryann Mahaffey at the initiative of the U.S/Cuba Labor Exchange, Justice for Cuba Coalition and the National Network on Cuba.

Whereas, The Bush administration is attempting to thwart the vote of the House and Senate to stop the funding for the enforcement of the travel ban,

Whereas, Cuba has developed important medicines and vaccines, which would be of great benefit to our citizens,

Whereas, Secretary of State Colin Powell has publicly recognized the significant accomplishments Cuba has made in the areas of public health and education,

Whereas, In this time of global terrorism, the Cuban government has offered assistance in combating terrorism against American citizens,

Whereas, The United States Department of Defense has confirmed that Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States,

Whereas, The United States government has, without evidence, accused Cuba of collaborating with rogue states to develop weapons of biological warfare,

Whereas, America’s closest allies, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and France, have indicated that Cuba does not belong on a list of states that support international terrorism,

Whereas, Cuba imports upwards of $1 billion worth of food every year, including tons of products that could be furnished by Michigan’s farm industry which could help regenerate Michigan’s economic situation,

Whereas, Cuba could be an important market for the U.S. auto industry, which would benefit Detroit’s auto companies,

Whereas, the Michigan travel industry, including travel agencies in Detroit, are suffering from a severe recession in their industry while tourism opportunities in Cuba remain unreachable to most Detroit travel professionals and citizens,

Then, Therefore be it Resolved, That the Detroit City Council urges the United States Congress to repeal all travel restrictions to Cuba as well as restrictions of trade and commerce with Cuba,

And be it further Resolved, That the Detroit City Council urges the President of the United States to carefully review the inclusion of Cuba on the list of terrorist countries, based on actual evidence and not on political factors,

And be it further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall forward copies of this resolution to the President of the United States and members of Michigan’s Congressional delegation.

The People’s Weekly World is the newspaper of the Communist Party, USA reporting on and analyzing the pressing issues of the day: peace, social and economic justice, workers’ rights, civil liberties, reproductive rights, protection of the environment, and more.

The PWW is the direct descendant of the Daily Worker and has been in the battles of the U.S. working class and people’s movements since the first issue of the Daily Worker came off the press in 1924.