Dozens of participants in the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) under way at the Tshwane Events Centre raised their voices on Tuesday against the blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba.

The first day of debates at the event, which has Pretoria as its venue until December 21, was characterized by condemnation to the policies of blockades and sanctions against peoples struggling to achieve and maintain their independence.

Aleida Guevara, one of the daughters of Argentinean-Cuban guerilla Ernesto Che Guevara, underlined that Washington maintains the economic, commercial and financial siege because Cuba decided to continue being free.

Jayantha Welivita, general secretary of Sri Lanka’s Youth Communist Federation, described the sanctions and provocations against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as morally unacceptable and illegal, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Likewise, delegates demanded the end of Israel’s aggressions against Palestine and of Morocco’s harassment against the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and called for struggle against the US imperialism.

The opening of the Friendship Fair also took place on Tuesday at the Tshwane Events Centre, where delegates can find articles from the 140 countries represented in the forum, in addition to publications, culinary presentations, flags and handicrafts.

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