>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Fidel at UN summit. Few Anti-Castro protesters > >Published Thursday, September 7, 2000, in the Miami Herald >U.S. Cubans revile Castro. Summit draws global protests > BY FRANK DAVIES ><mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >NEW YORK -- Two blocks from where Fidel Castro spoke to the United >Nations, a somber congregation of Cuban exiles marched and chanted >Wednesday, insisting that the Cuban president was not welcome. >About 100 anti-Castro demonstrators rubbed shoulders with Iranians, >Chinese, Pakistanis and other groups, transforming historic tree- >lined Dag Hammarskjold Plaza into a global village of protest while >world leaders addressed the U.N.'s Millennium Summit. > > Protest leaders, disappointed that more demonstrators could not >attend, said they were confident their message was getting through. >"We have to let the American people know that the world community >should not allow this criminal to parade himself around New York with >impunity,'' said Maria Werlau of New Jersey, an organizer. Jorge >Acosta, a translator from Miami, had just finished the long drive up >the East Coast: "Anywhere Castro goes, I drop everything -- I have to >be there.'' > > Behind him, demonstrators carried posters with the names and faces >of political prisoners, and those executed in Cuba. One photo held by >Sylvia Iriondo of Mothers and Women Against Repression had a special >meaning. It showed a smiling Armando Alejandre, who demonstrated here >in 1995, the last time Castro came to the United Nations. Less than a >year later, Alejandre and three others were killed when Cuban jets >shot down two Brothers to the Rescue planes. > > ``This protest is for him and all the other martyrs and victims of >Castro,'' Iriondo said. The anti-Castro demonstrators shared a chunk >of the plaza with more than a thousand members and backers of Falun >Gong, a religious sect facing persecution in China, and a boisterous >group of Iranian and Pakistani nationals denouncing their >governments. > > ``But that's fine,'' Acosta said, "We all share the same cause of >ending human rights abuses and tyranny." Protesters then marched down >Lexington Avenue to within one block of the Cuban Mission to the >United Nations. They chanted ``Shame'' and "Remember Pinochet," a >reference to the former Chilean leader who was detained in Britain on >charges of human rights abuse. Citing the Pinochet case as a >precedent, Castro's opponents have called for his arrest while he is >here. > > Ram�n Sa�l S�nchez, a leader of the Democracy Movement in Miami, >noted that Castro has rarely left Cuba in recent years. "He feels >more unsafe traveling because there is a new world order of justice, >and he is worried,'' S�nchez said. [I've added the emphasis. --Jose] > >Post comments to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Send an email to subscribe: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To unsubscribe from this CubaNews group, send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] " JC > > ****** > >from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "Jose G. Perez" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject:[CubaNews]Miami Herald "spin" on speech: Fidel "denounces" UN > >-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor ------------------------- >Kids tested. Mom approved. And Dad liked it because >he got his loan approved in under 60 seconds. >Find out how. Click below >http://click.egroups.com/1/8423/15/_/_/_/968331947/ >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >Published Thursday, September 7, 2000, in the Miami Herald > >Castro denounces U.N. during historic summit >Leaders hear calls for peace, justice >BY FRANCES ROBLES >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >UNITED NATIONS -- President Fidel Castro of Cuba appeared Wednesday >before kings, generals, presidents and prime ministers to denounce >the United Nations, saying his host was a worn-out institution >manipulated by superpowers. > >But before assailing the U.N.'s Millennium Summit, he started his >speech by spoofing himself. The Cuban leader took the handkerchief he >usually keeps handy during long, rambling addresses to wipe the sweat >from his brow, placed it on the podium, then back in his pocket. >Castro wouldn't need it: this five-minute timed tirade would be >terse. > >Once the laughter died down, Castro sharply attacked the U.N. and >the summit. > >``There is chaos in our world,'' Castro declared. ``Three dozen >developed and wealthy nations that monopolize the economic, political >and technological power have joined us in this gathering to offer >more of the same recipes that have only served to make us poorer, >more exploited and more dependent.'' > >Castro criticized the superpowers, saying it was their colonialism >that causes the poverty and wars they now seek to eradicate. The >countries, he said, keep spending money on arms and luxuries while 80 >percent of the world's six billion people live in poverty. > >"The dream of having truly fair and sensible rules to guide human >destiny seems impossible to many,'' Castro said. ``However, we are >convinced that the struggle for the impossible should be the motto of >this institution that brings us together today." > >Aside from his speech, Castro kept uncharacteristically quiet >throughout the day, listening and mingling with the other world >leaders, taking a back seat to Middle East peace talks and ambitious >goals such as eradicating disease and poverty. > >He spoke up in the early evening during his alloted slot, nestled >between the leaders of Rwanda and Portugal. > >SPEECHES, PROTEST > >The summit was convened Wednesday with a farewell speech by >President Clinton, who addressed the largest-ever gathering of world >leaders by pressing for peace in the Middle East and support for the >United Nations. > >The event included speeches by Palestinian Liberation Organization >leader Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel, Prime >Minister Tony Blair of Britain and President Vladimir Putin of >Russia. > >The meeting took place against a backdrop of protest by thousands of >members of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong, traffic- >snarling motorcades and heavy security. Inside, it was a whirlwind >who's who of diplomacy. > >``My friends,'' Clinton told the world's leaders, ``the bloodiest >wars in human history belong now to another century. We have a chance >for a fresh start. Can we seize this chance for peace? The answer is >not waiting to be revealed; it is waiting to be created -- by our >actions.'' > >The purpose of the Millennium Summit is to chart the course of the >United Nations in the 21st Century -- particularly its efforts to >forge peace. But the irony was lost on no one: Clinton's morning >address occurred just hours after U.N. aid workers were killed in >West Timor. > >Even Clinton acknowledged that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's >summit goals -- ending poverty, disease and war -- have been dubbed >``lofty.'' > >ANNAN'S APPEAL > >``The problems seem huge,'' Annan said. ``But in today's world, given >the technology and the resources around, we have the means to tackle >them. If we have the will, we can deal with them.'' > >Clinton hoped the summit would be an opportunity to make headway on >a looming deadline for peace in the Middle East. Sept. 13 is the date >on which Arafat has long said the Palestinians would establish an >independent state on the West Bank, though diplomats have suggested >the move might be deferred. > >The two sides have difficult issues to resolve, including the final >status of Jerusalem, which both claim as part of their historic >homeland. > >Clinton implored the U.N. members to aid the peace process. ``To >those who have supported the right of Israel to live in security and >peace, to those who have championed the Palestinian cause these many >years, let me say to all of you: They need your support now more than >ever to take the hard risks for peace,'' the president said. > >Arafat said the Palestinian Central Council would make a decision >about statehood within days. > >``Let this summit be the beginning of the end of the greatest and >most difficult refugee tragedy in the world,'' Arafat said. ``May it >be the beginning of the end of the historical oppression that befell >the Palestinian people, and signal a new chance for life for the >Palestinian people.'' > >Putin in his address to the summit called for an international >conference to be held in Moscow that would ban the militarization of >space -- a response to American proposals for an anti-missile defense >system. > >U.S. CALLED `ROGUE' > >North Korea, meanwhile, denounced the United States as a "rogue >state," claiming the government was responsible for allegedly >ordering the searching of members of the delegation as they switched >planes in Germany. > >The incident on Tuesday prompted North Korea to call off the summit >trip by No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam, who had been scheduled to meet >South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. > >When the hoopla of the summit ends, Annan wants the United Nations >to monitor how every world leader is implementing the high goals in >the summit declaration. The declaration, expected to be adopted >Friday, asks the General Assembly to review ``on a regular basis'' >the progress made in implementing its provisions. And it asks Annan >to issue periodic reports for consideration by the General Assembly. > >"I am telling the world leaders not only to come here and approve a >plan of action,'' Annan said, ``but that I would expect each and >every one of them to go back home and begin to do something about >it.'' > >This report was supplemented with material from The Associated >Press. > > >Post comments to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Send an email to subscribe: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To unsubscribe from this CubaNews group, send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] " JC > > > > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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