U.S., Cuba Exchange Signs of
Reconciliation
ALBA Summit Vetos Declaration of
Summit of Americas
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UN Joins Venezuela
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ALBA Summit Vetos
Declaration of
Summit of Americas
Caracas - The 7th
Presidential Summit of the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas (ALBA)
concluded on Friday with rejection of the
declaration of the Summit of the Americas.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez read a
15-point statement, blaming capitalism for
creating the current global economic crisis
and criticizing U.S. imperialist policy on
Latin America.
Before the Summit of the Americas, scheduled
for April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago,
leaders from Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia,
Honduras, Venezuela and Dominican Republic
formed a common position towards the summit
during their meeting in Cumana, capital of
Venezuela's Sucre state.
AN ANNOUNCED VETO
ALBA on Friday rejected the Declaration of
the Summit of Americas because it considered
the declaration fails to give an effective
answer to the world economic crisis and
reach a regional consensus on demanding an
end of the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
"It is unacceptable to apply coercive and
unilateral measures which affect people, as
well as measures against the international
law," ALBA said in the statement. It also
demanded the United States fulfill the UN
resolution on ending the economic embargo
against Cuba which started half a century
ago.
"We contend there's no consensus for
adopting that draft statement and we propose
an exhaustive debate," Chavez said.
Or as Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega put
it, "You can not call that summit 'of the
Americas' because Cuba and Puerto Rico are
missing."
Bolivian President Evo Morales said on
Thursday that it would be important to
"prepare for our battle at the Summit of the
Americas for the United States to change its
policies."
Obama "has a moral and ethical obligation to
repair the damage caused by his country's
former presidents," he added.
The ALBA is a regional organization founded
in 2004 under the initiative of Venezuela
and Cuba to counter the U.S.-led Free Trade
Area of the Americas
It comprises Bolivia, Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
U.S. POSITION
The Obama administration dismissed the veto
to the declaration of the Fifth Summit of
the Americas as irresponsible and misplaced.
"The declaration of the summit is a
document, a fairly lengthy document that's
been negotiated for the last nine months by
all 34countries, including Venezuela,"
Jeffrey Davidow, adviser to Barack Obama on
the summit, said in Mexico City where he
accompanied the U.S president for a one-day
visit on Thursday.
"It's been a laborious process of
negotiation. Many of Venezuela's points were
accepted, as were the points of the United
States and other countries. This decision to
not sign the document is something that just
came up in the last day or so, and is
inconsistent with the negotiations that have
been going on for almost a year," Davidow
said.
"It makes no mention of the policies of any
specific country. It's not a list of the
pros and cons about what the United States
does or what Venezuela does or what any of
the countries do," he added.
Many Latin American newspapers on Thursday
carried an editorial written by Obama, in
which he tried to shift the agenda of the
summit to topics other than Cuba.
"The US-Cuba relationship is one example of
a debate in the Americas that is too often
dragged back to the 20th century," the
editorial said.
The summit was reserved for "democratic"
nations and "we expect all of our friends in
the hemisphere to join together in
supporting liberty, equality and human
rights for all Cubans," it added.
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