The Government of Guyana on Tuesday hosted a commemorative ceremony in observance of the 44th anniversary of the 1976 Cubana Air Disaster.
The brief ceremony was held at the Cubana Air Disas-ter Monument, located on the campus of the University of Guyana at Turkeyen.
After President Irfaan Ali’s arrival, a minute of silence was observed after which the president laid a wreath on behalf of Guyanese while Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Charles Ramson Jr. laid a wreath on behalf of the people of North Korea.
Cuban Ambassador to Guyana Narciso Reinaldo Amador Socorro also laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Cuba while Barbados Honorary Consul in Guyana Gerry Gouveia laid a wreath on behalf of the People of Barbados and Jerry Thomas, a relative of one of the deceased, laid a wreath on behalf of the families of the victims.
After the ceremony, Ramson told reporters that what happened in1976 was a terrorist attack during which young Guyanese lost their lives. “The principle is that we have to remember occasions like this so we can promote the idea of peace,” he added.
No speeches were made.
Seventy-three persons died when Cubana de Aviación flight 455 from Barbados to Cuba was brought down on October 6, 1976, by a terrorist bomb attack.
Eleven of the victims were Guyanese. There were also 57 were Cubans and five North Koreans aboard the flight.
The Guyanese who died were as Raymond Persaud, Rawle Thomas, Jacqueline Williams, Rita Thomas, Harold Norton, Gordon Sobha, Ann Nelson, Margret Bradshaw, Violet Thomas, Sabrina Harrypaul and Sasenarine Kumar. Six of them were students who were heading to Cuba to study engineering and medicine.
