Tags
#Cuba, #MNOAL, #No to hate, #No to interference, #No to war, #President Miguel Díaz Canel, but for solidarity, but for sovereignty, United States, yes for peace
Dear President Ilham Aliyev,
Distinguished heads of state and government,
Delegates and guests:
With sincere emotion, I am grateful for the warm welcome given us by the people and government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with whom we are joined by 27 years of uninterrupted relations. It has been a long but essential journey.
We reached the beautiful, prosperous Baku, after traveling more than 11,300 kilometers, breaking the blockade’s barriers – which in recent months have been brutally reinforced – because the current serious challenges require us to retake the role required of the Non-Aligned Movement in the international arena, as the organization that represents the majority of the planet.
Again, as in 1961, it is crucial that we work together, upholding the founding principles of Bandung, for peace and development of our peoples. Because it is our responsibility as political leaders, and because no one else will do it for us.
Before the open contempt for the just demands of the nations of the South by the United States and other governments; in the face of obscene politicization of human rights and flagrant disrespect for the right of peoples to choose their own political, socio-economic, and cultural systems; in the absence of a commitment to multilateralism and international treaties, others may be indifferent. We are not. Because all these actions are directed against our peoples.
The nations which, with their blood, their sweat, and their suffering have paid the highest price for progress, emerging from colonial exploitation and plunder, from centuries of economic and social relegation, have every right to ask:
Why do military expenditures continue to increase irrationally, while investments for development and cooperation are cut?
Why underestimate the seriousness of climate change that has endangered the existence of small island states and the survival of humanity itself?
Why are weapons not silenced and the most backward and impoverished nations compensated for their looting with fair, special, differentiated treatment?
Your Excellencies:
Cuba is honored to have been the first Latin American country in the Non-Aligned Movement. This grouping of free nations that operates under democratic rules and without veto, is what we defend and dream of seeing one day at the UN. Given the strength of these values, we reiterate here:
Our solidarity with all peoples struggling for the recognition of their right to self-determination.
Our condemnation of unilateral decisions by the United States in support of Israel and against Iran, which increase instability in the volatile region of the Middle East.
Our call to end the war against the Syrian people and to find a comprehensive, fair, lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Our welcome to the process of rapprochement and inter-Korean dialogue and our condemnation of unilateral sanctions against the DPRK.
Our energetic rejection of U.S. campaigns against political forces, left leaders, and progressive governments in Latin America and the Caribbean
Our firm solidarity with the constitutional President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, the Chavista Bolivarian Revolution and the civic-military union of the people, who have managed to defend the country’s sovereignty against great threats and dangers.
We also reaffirm our support and solidarity with the Nicaraguan government in the face of U.S. attempts to destabilize this sister nation.
Our congratulations to the people of the Plurinational State of Bolivia for their active participation in the electoral process and to President Evo Morales Ayma for his re-election. Continue reading