CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Alarcón calls for respect for human rights without discrimination or manipulation

By Aida Calviac Mora

RICARDO Alarcón de Quesada, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, insisted this Wednesday on the urgent need to respect human rights without discrimination, selectivity or manipulation, during the closing event of the International Workshop on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 60 Years Later, at the International Conference Center. The road toward ensuring that the principles of this declaration are respected is a long one and will require determination and a tremendous effort on the part of the peoples of the world. "This date should not be forgotten or diminished; it should serve to spur us on in the struggle until victory is attained," he stated.

During the meeting, organized by the Cuban and Venezuelan chapters of the Network of Networks in Defense of Humanity, and the Cuban National Commission of UNESCO, eminent intellectuals, politicians, clergy and social activists called for the immediate closure of the prison on the illegal base in Guantánamo and the return of this territory to the island, as well as the release of the Cuban Five.

In that context, the Cuban parliamentary president stated that this case is irrefutable evidence of the real nature of double standards in Washington, because the very same regime that has treated René, Fernando, Ramón, Gerardo and Antonio so harshly, has invaded sovereign nations in the name of a supposed war on terrorism, has violated the rights of U.S. citizens and is still protecting, providing refuge to and defending terrorist groups intent on attacking the Cuban people and also the U.S. population itself.

The workshop, which began with a speech from Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, was also attended by pacifist Cindy Sheehan, mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq; Brazilian theologian Frei Betto; Spanish singer-songwriter Luis Eduardo Aute; and Puerto Rican nationalist leader Rafael Cancel Miranda.

During the final session, participants heard messages of support from Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquival; José Saramago, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; and Alfredo Guevara, president of the Havana Film Festival.

Likewise, Saul Landau read out a statement drafted by the U.S. delegation, signed by, among others, Cynthia McKinney, former presidential candidate for the Green Party, criticizing the use of human rights as an instrument of foreign policy on the part of rich nations against poorer and weaker peoples.

Translated by Granma International
(Cubaminrex- Granma Internacional)