Guyana marked the forty eighth anniversary of the Cubana Air Catastrophe, reaffirming its dedication to sustaining peace and stability within the Caribbean. On October 6, 1976, Cubana Airways Flight CU-455 was en route from Guyana to Havana, Cuba, with deliberate stops in Trinidad, Barbados, and Jamaica. Tragically, simply 9 minutes after taking off from Barbados’ Seawell Worldwide Airport, two bombs detonated on board, inflicting the aircraft to crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
All 73 people on board—57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese, and 5 North Koreans—misplaced their lives within the catastrophe, lots of whom had been touring to Cuba to review fields comparable to drugs and engineering.
On the commemoration ceremony, Minister of Overseas Affairs and Worldwide Cooperation Hugh Todd emphasised that the previous 48 years have strengthened Guyana’s dedication to advertise peace within the area. He highlighted that the monument honoring these harmless lives serves as a solemn reminder of the necessity to intensify efforts towards all threats to humanity.
“On this CARICOM – Cuba Day Against Terrorism, the forty eighth anniversary of this heinous act, we pledge as a nation that we will always remember the worth they paid. Of their honor, we will spare no effort, working with the worldwide group within the combat towards terror and within the enduring battle for peace, justice, progress, and freedom for all,” he added.
He mentioned given the prevailing world conflicts it is very important uphold the ideas of the United Nations Constitution.
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“As members of the worldwide group, we can’t waver in our dedication to common peace whilst we proceed to encourage the peaceable settlement of disputes and peaceable coexistence amongst states,” Todd added.
In 2022, throughout the Eighth CARICOM-Cuba Summit in Barbados, the CARICOM-Cuba Day towards Terrorism was established in reminiscence of the 73 individuals who misplaced their lives within the tragedy.
This observance additionally gives a robust alternative to reaffirm the dedication of each areas to fight terrorism in all its varieties.
