Speech #940106407

Daily World. describes the Committee for the 26th of July as "a coalition of labor. political. church and community organizations." the Venceremos Brigade newsletter clearly stated in May that the brigade was in process of forming these committees as its annual "united front" effort to generate U.S. support for the Cuban Government. In the words of the newsletter: - The Brigade Is initiating the formation of Committees for July 26th in 14 U.S. cities. to plan and carry out rallies. film festivals. exhibitions and cultural programs in honor of the date. The Committees will include individuals. local and national political organizations. church. community. labor and professional groups. "A Peoples Salute to Cuba" is the latest in the series of propaganda festivals extolling the virtues of Cuban communism which began with the 1973 Expo Cuba and continued with Cuba Chile 74 exposition attended nationally. the Venceremos Brigade asserts. by some 8.000 people who "expressed solidarity not only with the Cuban Revolutionbut at a most crucial moment. with the people of Chile in their fight against fascism." Last year. the political highlight of the organizing for Cuba Chile 74 was the visa campaign conducted for Beatriz Allende. daughter of the deposed Marxist president of Chile. wife of a high ranking official of the Cuban secret police who served Allende as a personal assassin. and executive secretary of the Havanabased Chilean Committee in Solidarity with the AntiFascist Resistance in Chile. an organization supporting the use of armed struggle and guerrilla warfare to reestablish a MarxistLeninist regime in Chile. Politically far more important to the Cubans and their supporters than the mere fact of the expositions was the successful visa campaign on Beatriz Allendes behalf which. in their words. "forced the State Department to grant the first U.S. visa to a person carrying a Cuban passport since the blockade was imposed." Now the annual Venceremos Brigade front has made a further gambit to gain visas for aliens excluded by provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. The brigade reported in its newsletter: The organizing for this years July 26th celebration across the country opened early in May with the announcement that a representative from Cuba will be invited to the U.S. to address audiences attending the events In major cities. "If a successful visa campaign Is waged. this will be the first time that large public gatherings in this country will be able to hear a representative from revolutionary Cuba since the U.S. government imposed its criminal blockade 13 years ago." stressed a spokesperson for the National Committee of the Venceremos Brigade. which made the announcement. The article continued quoting the Brigade National Committee representative: This years 26th of July is an important step forward. Inviting a representative from Cuba means we will need to build a strong national campatgn. with broad support. to pressure the U.S. State Department to issue a visa. Vie must mobilize the thousands of people who believe the U.S. public has the right to hear the voice of revolutionary Cuba. and who know that the people of our country must take a forceful stand in opposition to the criminal U.S. policies still directed today against sacialist Cuba. MeIbh.