CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

On 29 September 2001, one week later, in Ciego de Ávila, President Fidel Castro made the following statement

"Fellow citizens:

A peaceful solution might still be possible.

Under the tense circumstances of the moment, nobody can write a speech just hours before delivering it without running the risk of being overtaken by events. I am also running the risk of being too optimistic, without being really optimistic. However, I must speak my mind.

The commotion that spread throughout the world after the demented terrorist attack of 11 September, which was shown live on television, created an exceptional opportunity for eradicating terrorism without unleashing a useless and possibly interminable war.

As they would anywhere in the world, the acts of terrorism in the United States caused terrible harm to all those peoples who are fighting for what they see as a just cause, objectively speaking.

Terror has always been an instrument used by the worst enemies of humankind to crush and repress many peoples' struggle for their liberation. It will never be an instrument used for a truly noble and just cause.

Throughout history, almost every struggle for national independence, including that of the North American people, has been carried out through armed struggle, and no one has questioned, nor could they question, the right to do so. But the intentional use of arms to kill innocent people as a method of struggle is absolutely reprehensible and must be eradicated, for it is as unworthy and inhuman, as abhorrent as the historical terrorism practiced by oppressive States.

In the present crisis, despite the real possibility of eradicating terrorism without war, the fundamental obstacle is that the main political and military leaders of the United States don't want to hear anything that would keep them from using arms or contribute to the search for a truly and effective solution to the difficult problem. They don't take into account the fact that it would be highly honourable for the North American people to achieve this without shedding a drop of blood. Those who take decisions only think of warlike action. They have associated honour and war. Some talk about using nuclear weapons as if that were as simple as drinking a glass of water. Others say they will use guerrilla war tactics with special forces. Someone has even pondered the use of lies as a weapon, although there are always those who are more rational and use common sense, still within the context of war. There is a shortage of objectivity and calm reflection. Warlike formulas have been planted in the minds of many citizens, without regard for the loss of American lives.

It is hard to know whether they a final decision has already been reached as to the strategy and tactics to be used against a country whose communications and technological infrastructure and materials conditions have hardly left the stone age.

Guerrilla tactics with squadrons of aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers and submarines in a landlocked country? Why send dozens of B-1 and B-2 bombers, hundreds of modern combat planes, thousands of missiles and other strategic weapons? What will they shoot? In the meantime, confusion and panic reign in the rest of the world, along with opportunism, fuelled by those who seek their own benefit and by national interests. Some have torn their honour into shreds. As a result of the initial bewilderment, we now see a strange and widespread manifestation of the ostrich instinct, and there are not even any holes in which people could hide their heads.

Many people still don't seem to be aware of the fact that on 20 September, the Congress of the United States decreed the end of independence for all other States, without exception, and put an end to the role played by the United Nations.
Let no one think, however, that the peoples and many honest political leaders won't react as soon as the acts of war materialize and the horrible pictures begin to be published. Then they will take the place of the sad and compelling pictures of the tragedy in New York. Forgetting them will seriously impair the feelings of solidarity with the North American people, which at present is a fundamental factor in eliminating terrorism without the need for war, with its unpredictable consequences, and without the death of countless innocent people.

We have already seen the first victims: millions of people fleeing from war, pictures of starving children, which deeply touch the world. Nothing can stop the world from seeing these things.

It is a great mistake for the United States and its rich allies in NATO to think that the strong nationalism and deeply held religious convictions of the Muslim peoples can be neutralized with money and promises of aid or that their countries can be indefinitely intimidated by force. We are already hearing statements by religious leaders in large nations that have no relationship with the Taliban expressing their strong opposition to the military attack. Disagreements are already surfacing among the allies of the United States in central and southern Asia.

Feelings of xenophobia, hatred and contempt against all Muslim countries are coming to the fore. An important European Head of Government recently said in Berlin that Western civilization was superior to Islamic civilization and that the West would continue conquering nations, even if that meant confrontation with Islamic civilization, which had remained stagnant at the same point it was 1,400 years ago.

In an economic situation such as the one the world is going through now, with many serious problems still facing mankind, including its very survival, when it is threatened by the destructive power of modern weapons, why insist on starting a complicated and endless war? Why are the United States leaders so arrogant, if their enormous power gives them the privilege of showing some moderation?

It would be enough to restore to the United Nations the prerogatives that were snatched from it, so as to allow the General Assembly, the most universal and representative body of the Organization, to serve as the central forum in this struggle for peace, no matter how limited its powers may be, given the veto right of the Permanent Members of the Security Council, most of whom are also members of NATO. Then terrorism could be eradicated with the full and unanimous support of world public opinion.

Under no circumstances should those who were responsible for the brutal attack against the people of the United States go unpunished if they can be identified. An honourable solution for all countries would be for them to be tried by impartial courts that would guarantee the veracity of the evidence and ensure the rule of law.

Cuba was the first country to speak of the need for an international struggle against terrorism. This was clearly stated in the following words, spoken shortly after the tragedy suffered by the North American people on 11 September: "None of the problems facing the world today can be solved by the use of force. […] The international community needs to create awareness throughout the world of the need to fight terrorism. […] Only an intelligent policy that relies on the strength of consensus and international public opinion can eliminate the problem at its roots. […] This unprecedented act should give rise to an international determination to fight terrorism. […] There is no hope for the world outside of international peace and cooperation."

We firmly hold to those views.

It is essential that the role of the United Nations as a peacemaker be restored to it.

I don't for a minute doubt that the Third World countries - almost without exception, I would venture to say -, regardless of their political or religious differences, would be willing to join with the rest of the world in the struggle against terrorism as an alternative to war.

I think the ideas I have expressed do not in any way minimize honour, dignity or the political and religious principles held by the aforementioned States.

I am not speaking on behalf of any country in the poor and underdeveloped world. I am expressing these views out of my profound conviction, and in the light of the tragedy which these countries are suffering, having been exploited and humiliated for centuries. Even in the absence of war, the poverty and underdevelopment they have inherited, along with hunger and curable diseases, are silently killing tens of millions of innocent people every year.

For these peoples, defending peace with dignity, with independence and without war is the cornerstone of a struggle in which we must all be involved, so as to preserve true justice in a world where everyone is free.

Cuba is not motivated by any economic interest; we are not being opportunistic, and we are certainly not afraid of threats, danger and risks. A people who, as everyone knows, has for more than 40 years stood firm with honour despite the economic war, the blockade and the terrorism to which it has been subjected, has the right to expound, to reiterate and to insist on its viewpoints. And it will not hesitate to do so to the very end.

We are and we will always be against terrorism and against war!

Nothing that might happen will cause us to depart from this line of thinking!

The dark clouds that are have appeared on the world horizon will not prevent the Cuban people from continuing to work tirelessly on our wonderful social and cultural programmes, as we realize that we are carrying out a human task for which there is no parallel in history. And if the wars that are being announced should turn these programmes into mere dreams, we will fall with honour defending those dreams."

 

 

<< Back