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POLITICS:
Caribbean
Embraces Cuba, Chastises U.S.
Peter
Richards
BRIDGETOWN, (IPS) - The summit
was the second in three years,
and for Cuban President Fidel
Castro, dressed in a business
suit rather than his usual olive
fatigues, it was the ideal
opportunity to salute the
Caribbean Community for its
"unflinching" opposition to the
decades-old United States trade
embargo against the only
Communist state in this
hemisphere.
In a 13-minute speech to the
joint Cuba-CARICOM Summit in
Barbados Thursday, Castro
praised the 33-year-old
diplomatic ties between Havana
and the 14-nation bloc on its
anniversary, dubbed "Cuba-CARICOM
Day", while paying homage to the
regional leaders who defied U.S.
pressure and kept their close
ties with Havana.
"We once more reiterate our
appreciation for the unflinching
solidarity of the Caribbean
countries with Cuba. It was most
recently expressed through the
unanimous Caribbean vote at the
United Nations in favour of
lifting the 45-year-long
blockade on our people," said
Castro, who is now 78.
In recent years, the
relationship between Havana and
the regional grouping has
included the provision of
educational opportunities and
medical care to thousands of
Caribbean nationals.
St. Lucia's Prime Minister Kenny
Anthony, the current CARICOM
chairman, urged Washington to
remove the 45-year-old blockade,
reiterating that the region
regarded "Cuba (as) an integral
part of the hemispheric
community and we remain
convinced that efforts at its
isolation were not only unjust
but counter-productive".
Anthony said the embargo was
"blatantly inconsistent with
international trading norms" and
urged Washington to engage in
"constructive engagement" with
the Cuban government.
"We continue to offer our view
that effective resolution of
conflict and difficulty can only
come from constructive
engagement," Anthony said.
"When we convened in Havana
three years ago, the Caribbean
Community sent a clear and
unambiguous statement to the
rest of the world that Cuba, by
virtue of geography and history,
was an integral part of the
Caribbean family and would not
be treated otherwise," he said.
The summit ended with a call for
Washington to lift "with
immediate effect... the unjust
economic, commercial and
financial embargo imposed
against the Republic of Cuba and
cease the application of
measures adopted as of 6 May
2004 to reinforce that policy".
The leaders also made it clear
that they enjoyed "a shared
Caribbean identity that enriches
and strengthens our support for
South-South cooperation and
enhances opportunities for
coordination and cooperation in
the promotion and protection of
our common values, objectives
and interests in various
international fora and
organisations".
The summit discussed the status
of global trade negotiations, as
well as United Nations efforts
to implement the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015.
The eight MDGs include a 50
percent reduction in poverty and
hunger; universal primary
education; reduction of child
mortality by two-thirds;
cutbacks in maternal mortality
by three-quarters; the promotion
of gender equality;
environmental sustainability;
reversal of the spread of
HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases; and a global
partnership for development
between the rich and poor.
While supporting the MDGs,
Caribbean leaders emphasised
that every country has the
sovereign right to determine its
own development priorities and
strategies, and called on the
international community "to
categorically reject any
conditionality in the provision
of development assistance".
They also stressed the "critical
importance of South-South
Cooperation, particularly within
the framework of the
implementation of the Doha Plan
of Action adopted at the Second
South Summit of the G77 and
China in June 2005 under the
Chairmanship of Jamaica".
But the summit also provided
Havana with another venue to
press its claim on Washington to
extradite Luis Posada Carrilles,
the anti-Castro Cuban émigré who
is alleged to have plotted the
1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner
off the coast of Barbados.
Last April, Posada, a
naturalised Venezuelan citizen
who developed a relationship
with the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency, sought
political asylum in the United
States. A U.S. judge has ruled
that he cannot be deported to
Venezuela, which has formally
requested Posada's extradition,
upholding his claims that he
would be tortured on his return.
In a "Statement on Terrorism",
the regional leaders and Castro
urged "the Government of the
United States of America to
consider favourably this
request, to ensure that he is
brought to justice on charges of
terrorism, in accordance with
its obligations under
international law and its
national legislation".
They described terrorism as
"abhorrent to all humanity",
urged all countries to become
parties to the international
conventions and agreements
relating to terrorism, and to
comply with the obligations
mandated by those instruments.
"We therefore reaffirm our
commitment to fighting terrorism
in all its forms and
manifestations, with strict
adherence to international law
and relevant General Assembly
and Security Council
Resolutions, international
standards of protection of human
rights, and to international
humanitarian law for which,
among other actions, we will
reinforce our national laws and
will promote active and
efficient international
cooperation in order to prevent
and eliminate this scourge."
"In conformity with
international law, we affirm our
commitment not to assist or
harbour perpetrators and
promoters of, or participants in
terrorist activities. Likewise,
we repudiate any action, which
assists or supports perpetrators
and promoters of, or
participants in terrorist
activities." |
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