CUBAN PROTEST AT ACTIVITIES OF COMMUNISTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1949, Page 6

CUBAN PROTEST AT ACTIVITIES OF COMMUNISTS

HAVANA, March 9. The Government of Cuba has sent a note to the Russian Legation here protesting against the statements by the Communists in Western countries that they would support Russia in the event of an East-West war. The Note called these statements “shameless,” and said that they wei<aimed at disrupting peace among the nations, and at destroying democracy throughout the world. The Cuban Note said that these statements were made by leaders of “certain minorities,” who were disloyal Io their own countries, and, doubtless, wore acting on international orders.' It said: “The gravity of tms General mobilisation emphasises the potential strength of these forces of disunion, and it calls for energetic defensive reaction by all of the members of the United Nations and the organisations of the American states. . The Note charges the'Russian Legation in Havana with issuing propaganda which is offensive to a democratic Government. It says that this propaganda has become aggressive and that the Cuban Government cannot, allow this situation to persist; nor can it permit totalitarian groups to receive support from diplomatic missions which enjoy privileges and immunities.

The Note also rejects a Russian protest against the sale in Havana of carnival masks with faces resembling that of Stalin. It says: “This does not constitute any violation whatever of oi.iv laws, which guarantee full liberty to legitimate commercial activities.” , . , Cuba’s Communist Party, which has 154,000 members is regarded as the largest in the Western Hemisphere.