FRFI 160 April / May 2001
On 1 March, the Islington Bar in north London played host to ‘Amistad’, the latest fundraising clubnight organised by RATB. By midnight the venue was packed with revellers, both locals and regulars who had travelled across London. The management shared RATB’s passion for Cuba and offered us the venue free of charge. Over £400 was raised, which will go towards the cost of our spring 2002 speaking tour, and to the fund set up to purchase replacement parts for the RATB sound-systems located throughout Cuba. Come to Rock around the Blockade’s next club night at Harpers Bar in Tufnell Park, north London, on Friday 30 March, for another night of positive political clubbing.
March also saw the publication of another excellent edition of Viva Cuba!, the RATB newsletter. This edition features a special article about Assata Shakur and her struggle against racism and oppression in the US. Assata, a committed revolutionary, continues to struggle against racism and imperialism by supporting Cuba where she now lives. Copies of the newsletter are available from the usual address. RATB comrades sold the newsletter when they attended the ‘March Against Racism and Police Brutality’ on 10 March in London, highlighting Cuba’s success in the struggle against racism, and pointing out that only under socialism can racism truly be eliminated. Unlike in Britain where the community is forced to march against the police, in Cuba the police march with demonstrators.
The newsletter also carried a story on the recent Manic Street Preachers concert in Havana. The group played the smash hit Masses Against the Classes, and had the privilege of meeting Fidel Castro after the gig. RATB set up a stall at the recent Manics gig and fan convention in Cardiff, selling Che T-shirts, badges and other merchandise, along with copies of the newsletter and FRFI.
Following the success of that stall, RATB will be attending the 30 and 31 March gigs in London at the Brixton Academy and also those in Glasgow and Manchester later in the year. London comrades held a public meeting at Conway Hall , Red Lion Square, Holborn on 28 February, entitled ‘Cuba in the new millennium’. The next meeting at Conway Hall, which will discuss the Cuban Adjustment Act, will take place on Wednesday 28 March.
The Manchester branch of RATB has been holding stalls and having discussions about Cuba every Wednesday at the University of Central Lancashire (Foster Building, Preston site.) Next month’s Manchester FRFI readers group meeting, scheduled for Saturday 21 April, is entitled ‘Revolutionary Cuba’ and is timed to coincide with a week of international solidarity with Cuba. If you live in the Midlands and want to find out more about Cuba, RATB organise regular street stalls in Nottingham, Lincoln, Birmingham and Leicester.
RATB comrades in Bristol will be linking up with other activistsin April for a day of activities. A regular picket outside Marks and Spencers in Broadmead will be supported by RATB, which will be holding a stall and petitioning against Zionist imperialist oppression and against the illegal blockade of Cuba. Comrades are currently planning some anti-Bacardi activity for the evening.
If you live in Scotland and want to learn about Cuba and get involved in smashing the US blockade, write to the Scottish branch of RATB Unit 111, Connel Building, 36 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 1DL. Stalls and other activities will take place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee throughout the spring and summer months.
RATB comrades have been busy exposing the links between the new Bush administration, Bacardi and the Cuban American National Foundation (see page 12). New information which reveals the extent of the corruption will be a valuable tool and will provide ammunition for the Boycott Bacardi campaign.
Preparations for our speaking tour in Spring 2002 continue apace. Comrades are planning a number of fundraising events for the summer to raise money for the various activities and events which will coincide with the speaking tour. If you have any ideas for fundraising in your area, please write or telephone RATB. As well as discussions, lectures and meetings, the tour will feature film showings and other social and cultural events.
NEW PAMPHLET ON CUBA
The RATB pamphlet on Cuba is nearing completion. The research and discussions surrounding it have reinforced many RATB comrades’ understanding both of Cuba and socialism. You can help us fund the printing by sending us a £5 donation, or more if you can afford it. In return you will get an advance copy of the pamphlet sent out to you as soon as it is completed. £25 gets you 10 copies of the pamphlet in advance to sell to your friends. Send cheques/pos to ratb c/o bcm Box 5909, London WC1N 3XX.
