Cuba criticizes US accusations
against Annan
Cuba on Wednesday criticized the
United States' accusations
against United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan, and called
for a complete revival of the
world body under his leadership.
"These accusations against the
secretary general do not appear
now by mere chance," the Foreign
Ministry said in a statement
carried by state-run daily
Granma.
The statement said US
congressmen have been seeking to
sack Annan in recent days as
part of a "historical campaign."
The government of US President
George W. Bush, the statement
said, seems bothered by Annan's
recent comments over the
illegality of the US-led war on
Iraq.
The Foreign Ministry said that
Washington has no moral
authority to judge the UN
secretary general, and that US
policies have gone against norms
of the United Nations and the
multilateral order in
international relations.
Last Tuesday, Annan rejected
calls by some US congressmen for
his resignation over his alleged
involvement in a possible
corruption scandal surrounding
the oil-for-food program in
Iraq.
Peruvian president hails birth
of South American Community of
Nations
Peruvian President Alejandro
Toledo said on Wednesday the
newly created South American
Community of Nations (CSN) would
help confront the challenges of
globalization.
Toledo told the third Summit of
South American Presidents in the
ancient Inca capital that the
birth of the CSN is an historic
event and that the integration
dreamed of 180 years ago by
South American independence hero
Simon Bolivar has come true.
"Today we have a new country
with 360 million inhabitants,"
Toledo said in welcoming seven
presidents to the summit in the
Inca sun temple of Koricancha.
According to Toledo, the CSN
covers a territory of 17 million
square km, with a gross domestic
product of nearly 1 trillion US
dollars.
The seven presidents are Carlos
Mesa of Bolivia, Luis Inacio
Lula da Silva of Brazil, Alvaro
Uribe of Colombia, Ricardo Lagos
of Chile, Bharrat Jagdeo of
Guyana, Ronald Venetiaan of
Surinam, and Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela.
Presidents of Argentina,
Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay
did not attend the summit and
instead sent their foreign
ministers as representatives,
which raised doubts among
critics of the new organization.
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Street violence leaves 25
injured in downtown Caracas
Twenty-five people, including a
police officer, were injured in
street violence between angry
street vendors and the police in
downtown Caracas on Wednesday.
Freddy Bernal, the capital's
mayor, said the violence erupted
after police tried to remove
vendors from areas where they
are banned from selling
following an order from the
Interior Ministry to clear areas
around banks and subway
stations.
Twelve of the 25 injured had
been shot and two of them remain
in critical condition, said
Manuel Rojas, director of the
Vargas Hospital of Caracas.
Hundreds of rioters burned two
buses, set fire to piles of
garbage and threw rocks and
fireworks at police. Some of
them blocked streets with
barricades of concrete rubble
and scrap metal, which led to a
temporary traffic halt in
downtown Caracas. Many stores
had to close down.
The mayor said three protesters
were arrested after hurling
powerful fireworks at police.
The National Guard and the
police, firing tear gas and
rubber bullets to disperse the
protesters, had restored order
to the streets.
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