CUBA, June 29, 2009. On behalf of the Cuban people, President Raul Castro strongly condemned on Monday the brutal coup d’état perpetrated early on Sunday against the constitutional Government and President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Speaking during a meeting of the Rio Group in Managua, Nicaragua, the Cuban leader sent a message of solidarity to the Honduran people.Raul recalled the aggression by the military against President Zelaya and Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas along with the ambassadors of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba and he added that this attack against the political constitutionality of the Central American nation has to be unanimously and strongly condemned by the Rio Group. As President Chavez said last night, it is a moment to act according to our principles and to immediately expose those who condemn but, under the table, applaud, as has happened so many times in the past, Raul said. In Honduras, there is and there can only be one President, Jose Manuel Zelaya, who must unconditionally be reinstated, he added. There can not be any negotiations with the coup supporters and no demands or conditions can be imposed on the legitimate government of President Zelaya. The Cuban head of state recalled that the confrontation in Honduras is between the people’s aspirations to a better future and the interests of the oligarchic sectors that seek to perpetuate an unjust and unsustainable order. Raul stressed that this conflict goes beyond the Honduran borders and is an expression of the danger of returning to the past, when military dictatorships, with the support of the United States, terrorized Latin America, particularly, the peoples of Central America and the Caribbean. Recalling past coup attempts in Bolivia and Venezuela, Raul wondered if it is a coincidence that these two countries, plus Honduras are all members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA), a regional integration and cooperation bloc. These three examples show that the oligarchies and their forces have many means to resort to in order to hold back the course of history. Raul Castro affirmed that the fascist coup against President Zelaya is an insult to all the nations and governments of Latin America and the Caribbean and can not remain unpunished. Its perpetrators will have to accept the consequences of their crimes in the sister nation of Honduras, he said. The Cuban leader praised the work of Telesur television network and criticized media outlets that have worked in favor of those who staged the coup in order to misinform the people. Finally, after saying he believes in the sincerity of US President Barack Obama and its State Secretary, Hillary Clinton, he urged them to act in accordance with their statements. But they have to prove it with facts, not only with words, he stressed. (Cubaminrex- ACN) |