[NYTr] Cuban FM's Speech to 62nd Gen Assbly -9/26/2007
 
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:35:11 -0500 (CDT)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
[Finally got this copy in .WORD format from the Cuban Mission on Sep 27.
We've gotten rid of the Winduhhs litter and trash, and it should now be
mostly readable text. Still hunting for the other speeches. -NYTr]

             STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. FELIPE PC	REZ ROQUE, 
        MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, 
     AT THE 62ND SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

                  26 SEPTEMBER, 2007, NEW YORK

Mr. President:

Never before had the real dangers menacing the human species become so
evident; never before had the violations of International Law become so
evident, as they increasingly jeopardize international peace and
security; never before had inequality and exclusion become so evident,
as they impact on over two-thirds of the population on our planet.

A key factor to the survival of humankind is to put an end to
wastefulness and to the unbridled consumerism fostered by the large
corporations and the power groups of a handful of developed countries,
which squander at the expense of impoverishment and the perpetuation of
underdevelopment in a sizable number of poor countries where billions
of people scramble to make a living. The high-level meeting of this
General Assembly, held only two days ago, emphasized the danger posed
by the accelerated global warming that is already affecting us and by
its effect on climate change. Action must be taken, and quickly, and
the developed countries have the moral duty and the historic
responsibility to set the example and spearhead the effort.

On the other hand, several of our countries, always from the South,
continue to fall prey to unacceptable acts of aggression by the
ever-powerful -- which are essentially driven by the insatiable hunger
for strategic resources. The wars of conquest and the proclamation and
implementation of doctrines based on pre-emptive wars, which do not
exclude the use of nuclear weapons even against non-nuclear States, and
the repeated use of pretexts such as the alleged war on terror, the
much-trumpeted promotion of democracy or the so-called regime change in
countries that are unilaterally labeled as rogue States, are today the
greatest and most serious threat to peace and security in the world.

The aggression and illegal occupation of countries, military
interventions against International Law and the purposes and principles
enshrined in the UN Charter, the bombing of civilians and tortures
continue to be daily practices. Under the false tirade of freedom and
democracy, an attempt is made to write in stone the pillaging of the
natural resources in the Third World and control areas of increasing
geostrategic importance. That and no other is the imperial domination
plan that the mightiest military superpower ever to exist is trying to
impose through all means possible.

Far from behaving in international relations according to the
principles of solidarity, social and international justice, equality
and development for all, there is no prudence at all in employing the
practices of certifying countries, of imposing unilateral blockades, of
threatening through aggressions, of blackmailing and coercing.

If a small country defends and upholds its right to independence, it is
accused of being a rogue State; if a power launches an attack against a
country, it is said that it "liberates" them. A fighter against foreign
aggression is a terrorist; an attacking soldier is a "freedom fighter."
That is the media war, the swindle of truths, the tyranny of a
one-track mind in a globalized world. 

Instead of moving towards general and complete disarmament, including
nuclear disarmament, which has been an ongoing demand of the
Non-Aligned Movement for decades, we bear witness to the promotion of
the arms race and to the squandering of wealth on new weapons and arms
systems that deplete the resources required by the world in order to
mitigate the effects of climate change and address the very serious
problems stemming from poverty and marginalization.

An attempt is made to prevent, in a politicized and selective fashion,
the implementation of the principle -- already contained in the
Non-Proliferation Treaty -- that nations are entitled to the development
of nuclear energy with peaceful purposes. Threats are imposed to launch
wars against and wreak havoc on some countries, while allowing the
aggressive ally to have hundreds of nuclear devices and helping them
modernize such artifacts continuously.

How much more time will it have to elapse and how many new victims will
have to die before the hawks of war understand that weapons are useless
to resolve the critical problems of humankind?

On a day like today, it is worth recalling the words uttered by
President Fidel Castro in this General Assembly in October 1979:

"Let us bid farewell to arms."  Fidel said, "and let us concentrate, in
a civilized manner, on the most pressing problems of our time. That is
the responsibility and the most sacred duty of all Statesmen in the
world. That is also the indispensable tenet of human survival."

Mr. President:

There is no progress today towards fulfilling the Millennium Goals and
the decisions of the major United Nations conferences held over the
last decade.

Poverty does not decrease. Inequality among and within the countries is
on the rise. Drinking water is not accessible to 1.1 billion people;
2.6 billion lack cleaning services; over 800 million are illiterate and
115 million children do not attend primary school; 850 million starve
every day. And 1% of the world's richest people own 40% of the wealth,
while 50% of the world's population merely has 10%. All this is
happening in a world that spends a trillion dollars on weapons and
another one on advertising.

The nearly 1 billion people living in developed countries consume
approximately half of all the energy, while 2 billion poor people are
still not acquainted with electricity. 

Is that the world that they want us to accept? Is that, by any chance,
the future that we should settle for? Are we entitled or not to fight
in order to change that state of things? Should we or should we not
fight so that a better world can be possible?

Why are such colossal resources squandered on the killing industry and
not used to save lives? Why are schools not built instead of nuclear
submarines, and hospitals instead of "smart" bombs? Why are vaccines
not produced instead of armored vehicles and more food instead of more
fighter jets? Why is there no momentum given to research to fight off
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis instead of promoting the manufacture of
anti-missile shields? Why is there no war waged against poverty instead
of against the poor?

Despite the fact that only US$ 150 billion is needed to meet the
Millennium Goals, we hear the hypocritical assertion that there is no
source from which to obtain the necessary financial resources. That is
a lie! There is money in abundance; what is lacking is the political
will, ethics and the real commitment of those who have to make a choice.

If they really want money to appear:

Let the commitment of setting aside 0.7% of GDP as Official Development
Assistance be fulfilled once and for all. That would mean an additional
US$ 141 billion to the current amounts. At the height of deceit, the
donor countries are now auditing the cancellations of a debt that they
know they will not be able to collect in order to artificially inflate
their contributions.

Let the foreign debt be cancelled, which our countries have already
paid more than once. That would make it possible to set aside for
development the over US$ 400 billion currently employed in servicing a
debt that does not cease to grow. 

Let the Doha Round for Development come to an end and let the US$ 300
billion in agricultural subsidies for the developed countries be
removed. That would make it possible to earmark that money to fight
rural poverty and food insecurity and to ensure fair prices for the
export products of the underdeveloped countries.

Let our right to development be recognized. Let our right to have
access to markets, patents and technologies be guaranteed, for these
are now the exclusive monopoly of the powerful. Let our countries be
helped in training professionals and scientists and let the brain drain
stop. 

The non-aligned countries need no alms; we need and demand justice.

Let our rights to cultural diversity be respected, as well as our right
to the preservation of our heritage, our symbols and our idiosyncrasy.
That has been the unanimous demand that the non-aligned countries have
just proclaimed in Tehran, at our Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights
and Cultural Diversity. 

Mr. President:

The non-aligned countries want a more democratic and transparent United
Nations, in which the General Assembly, its most representative and
democratic body, can really implement the powers vested in it.

We need a United Nations with a reformed Security Council, acting in
conformity with the mandate granted to it by the Organization's
Charter, without infringing upon the functions and prerogatives of
other organs of the system. There must be a Security Council with an
expanded membership, in line with the current composition of the United
Nations, where the underdeveloped countries are the majority. There
must be a Security Council with a radical modification to its working
methods in order to allow transparency and the access of all Member
States to its deliberations.

We uphold the idea of having a United Nations where multilateralism and
the solutions agreed upon in full compliance with the Charter are the
only way to address and resolve the current problems.

We need a Human Rights Council that prevents the repetition of the
serious mistakes made by the former Commission on Human Rights. A
Council that enshrines in its practices the principle that human rights
are universal, indivisible and interdependent. A Council to put an end
to selectivity and double standards. The non-aligned countries will
firmly oppose those devilish schemes by some mighty quarters which,
frustrated as they are for failing to achieve their goals, are now
attempting to reopen and call into question the agreement reached in
the hard and difficult process of institutional building of the
Council. 

The non-aligned countries will not give up on our effort to defend the
precepts that incepted our Movement, similar to those of this
Organization. Among the nations, we will foster relations of friendship
based on the respect for the principles of sovereignty, equality of
rights and the self-determination of the peoples.

We will continue to defend the right of the grief-stricken and heroic
people of Palestine to have their own State with East Jerusalem as its
capital. We will continue to condemn the genocide committed against it.

We will continue to proclaim the right of the people of Puerto Rico to
sovereignty and to independence.

The non-aligned countries account for nearly two-thirds of the
membership of the United Nations. Our demands will not be forgotten,
nor our interests ignored. We will remain united and we will find
support in the defense of our rights. We will make our voice heard.

Mr. President:

This was supposed to be the end of my statement as Chair of the
Non-Aligned Movement. However, the shameless and gross behavior of the
US President in this hall, yesterday morning, now forces me to utter a
few remarks on CubaBs behalf.

With a foul language and an arrogant tone, President Bush insulted and
threatened some ten countries; he gave orders, in a firm and
authoritarian fashion, to the General Assembly; and with such bossiness
never ever seen in this hall, he dished out terms and judgments on a
score of countries.

It was an embarrassing show. The delirium tremens of the world's
policeman. The intoxication of imperial power, sprinkled with the
mediocrity and the cynicism of those who threaten to launch wars in
which they know their life is not at stake.

The President of the United States has no right at all to pass judgment
on any other sovereign nation on this planet. Having powerful nuclear
weapons offers no right whatsoever to tread upon the rights of the
peoples of the other 191 countries that are represented here.

And the determination and courage of the peoples should not be
underestimated when it comes to defending their rights! After all, what
prevails is not the power of cannons but the fairness of the ideas that
you fight for. The bullish and menacing President should have already
learned it by now.

Sovereign equality of States and not "regime change." Respect for
sovereignty and not unilateral certifications of good behavior. Respect
for International Law and not illegal blockades and wars.

President Bush talked about democracy, but we all know that he is
lying. He came into office through fraud and deceit. We would have been
spared his presence yesterday and would have listened to President
Albert Gore talking about climate change and the risks to our species.
We also recall how he brazenly supported the coup d'etat against the
President and the Constitution of Venezuela.

He talked about peace, but we know that he is lying. We remember very
well when he threatened 60 or more countries, which he called "dark
corners of the world," saying that he would wipe them off the face of
the earth with pre-emptive and surprise attacks. Bush is a strange
warrior who, from the rearguard, sends the young people of his country
to kill and to die thousands of kilometers away.

He talked about human rights, but we know that he is lying. He is
responsible for the death of 600,000 civilians in Iraq; he authorized
tortures at the GuantC!namo Naval Base and at Abu Ghraib, and he is an
accessory to the kidnapping and disappearance of people, as well as to
the secret flights and the clandestine prisons.

He talked about the fight against terrorism, but we know that he is
lying. He has ensured complete impunity for the most hateful terrorist
groups which, from Miami, have perpetrated heinous crimes against the
Cuban people.

President Bush attacked the new Human Rights Council. He is bleeding
through the wound; he is grunting his helplessness. He is haunted by
the shamefulness that, during his term in office, the United States
cannot even look forward to being a member because elections are
through secret ballot. Cuba, in turn, was elected as a founding member
of the Council with more than two-thirds of the votes.

He talked about cooperation, development and prosperity for the rest of
the world, but we all know that he is lying. He has been the most
selfish and reckless politician we have ever seen. In a world that this
year will bear witness to the death of 10 million children under the
age of 5 through preventable diseases, his self-seeking and empty
proposals of yesterday are but a sick joke.

President Bush has no moral authority or credibility to judge anyone.
He should be held accountable to the world for his crimes.

There are boundaries, Excellencies, to both arrogance and hypocrisy.
There are boundaries to lies and blackmail. Cuba rejects and condemns
each of the devious words uttered yesterday by the President of the
United States.

Mr. President:     

Cuba appreciates the solidarity received from this General Assembly in
its struggle against the blockade and the aggressions that it has been
forced to endure for nearly five decades. I would like to particularly
appreciate the words uttered yesterday here by the President of
Nicaragua, comrade Daniel Ortega, present in the hall, and those of all
the people who have raised their voice in favor of the right of and the
justice to the Cuban people.

Cuba thanks all those who have supported its tenacious fight against
terrorism and have raised their voice in favor of the release of five
Cuban anti-terrorism fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States.

Cuba will fight, delegates, along with all the members of the
Non-Aligned Movement, in order to achieve a more just and democratic
international order, in which our peoples can exercise their right to
peace and development.

We may be accused of being dreamers, but we are fighting with the
conviction that today's dreams will be tomorrow's realities.

We are fighting, and we will not stop doing so, with the conviction
that even when there are men without decorum, there are always others
who have in themselves the decorum of many men and carry in them a
whole nation, as well as human dignity. 

Thank you very much.
 

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