unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/03/89)
dignitaries and others.
THOMAS R. PICKERING (United States) said it was unfortunate that
the spirit of co-operation and conciliation which had so far
permeated the meetings of the forty-fourth session had been cast
aside by the representative of Cuba in this morning's address.
"The contentious language and distortions by the Foreign
Minister of Cuba deceive no one", he said. Cuba clearly sought
to deflect attention from the failures and shortcomings of its
own repressive regime, which had left the Cuban people yearning
for basic human rights and freedoms.
The Cuban Foreign Minister in his defence of the illegal regime
of Panama had accused the United States of creating an
atmosphere of mistrust regarding the Panama Canal Treaties. It
showed clearly Cuba's disregard for fundamental freedoms, free
elections and democracy. The United States Government intended
to fully abide by the terms of the Panama Canal Treaties, and
turn over control of the Canal to a "legitimate, democratically
elected Government", at the time designated.
The Foreign Minister had also criticized his Government's efforts
to promote peace and democracy in Nicaragua. "Our support for
the Esquipulas, Tesoro and Tela Accords is fundamental to those
efforts", he stated. If Cuba was sincerely interested in
promoting peace in the region, it could best do so by stopping
its arms shipments to Nicaragua and to the Salvadorian guerrillas
and by encouraging its Sandinista and Panamanian allies to join
the wave of democracy and freedom which was spreading throughout
the region.
The Cuban distortions on Puerto Rico also could not go
unanswered, he said. The present relationship between the
people of Puerto Rico and the United States was the result of a
free act of self-determination by the people of Puerto Rico;
the 1952 referendum on the constitution establishing
commonwealth status. The people of Puerto Rico enjoyed free and
fair elections every four years; a right which still eluded
the unfortunate citizens of Cuba. Once again, the United States
Congress, with administration support, was considering
legislation for another early referendum of self-determination
for the Puerto Rican people, with clear choices for
independence, statehood or commonwealth status. In recognition
that the Puerto Rican people had already attained a full measure
of self-government, the Assembly had removed Puerto Rico from
the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1953. The General
Assembly itself decided that Puerto Rico was not a proper
subject for review at the United Nations again when it rejected
Cuba's requests to inscribe the question on several occasions,
most recently in 1982.
It was time for Cuba to put aside shallow distortions, propaganda
and demagoguery and join in the new spirit of co-operation and
freedom which was becoming a part of new thinking throughout the
world.
ABELARDO MORENO (Cuba) said that Jose Marti's efforts to secure
independence were intended to prevent the United States from
seizing Cuba and expand its dominion over Latin America. Since
then, many had warned against the designs of the United States.
Relations between the United States and Cuba had changed in this
century. First, the United States tried to absorb Cuba. The
situation of neo-colonialism there had prevailed until 1959 when
Cuba achieved independence.
Since then, the imperial Power had tried to bring Cuba to its
knees, he said. He would not go into details, but was it Cuba
that had imposed a harsh economic blockade on the United States
since 1960? he asked. Was it Cuba that had planned a
subversive television station to broadcast to the United
States? Was it Cuba that had a military base in United States
territory? Was it Cuba that had military bases all over the
world?
Mr. REINO (Portugal) responded to the statement made by
Indonesia. He said that East Timor did not constitute a
decolonization issue since the United Nations had never
recognized the exercise of self-determination in East Timor in
any valid manner. It was still a non-self-governing Territory
under Portuguese administration, pursuant to the provisions of
Chapter XI of the Charter.
On the question of human rights, he called attention to the
resolution adopted on 31 August last by the Sub-Commission on
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,
which spoke for itself. (By the resolution, the Sub-Commission
appreciated Indonesia's new policy of openness in East Timor,
but regretted that more arrests, torture and summary executions
were alleged to have taken place.) He reaffirmed his country's
deep commitment to the discussions being held under the auspices
of the Secretary-General dealing with the issue.
ZUHDI LABIB TERZI, Observer for Palestine), said that the
representative of Israel had called on the Palestinian people to
cease acts of violence. He was sure that Israel had been
referring to the glorious intifadah.
When he spoke about the uprising of the Warsaw ghetto, he wished
to remind Israel of one thing. The Zionist leaders of the
Warsaw ghetto had betrayed their people. Also, the survivors of
the concentration camps of Europe had been denied refuge on the
shores of the United States. With regard to Israel's peace
initiative, he said the General Assembly, last December, had, by
a nearly unanimous vote, already adopted principles for a
comprehensive peace in the Middle East. He wished the United
States and Israel had responded.
The Acting President, Mr. NAVAJAS-MOGRO (Bolivia), adjourned the
meeting at 6:30 p.m.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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