Maravi

I wasn’t elected to restore capitalism, Raul tells Clinton

I wasn’t elected to restore capitalism, Raul tells Clinton
Written by Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Monday, August 03, 2009 12:10:18 AM

CUBAN President Raul Castro has told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he was not elected President to restore capitalism in Cuba or give away the Revolution.
Addressing the Cuban National Assembly of Peoples Power on Saturday evening, President Raul told the parliamentarians that recently, Clinton said the US was open to dialogue with Cuba but was very clear in wishing to see fundamental changes in the Cuban regime.

“I am obliged respectfully to answer Ms Clinton and also those in the European Union who ask for unilateral gestures in the direction of us dismantling our political and social regime,” he said.

“I was not elected as President to restore Capitalism in Cuba nor to give away the Revolution. I was elected to defend, save and keep on improving socialism, not to destroy it. This is something we are to be very clear about since it represents the firm will of the Cuban people as approved on February 1976 in a referendum through direct and secret vote of 97.7 per cent voters.”

President Raul said Clinton should also know that the Cuban Constitution expressed in its first article that, “Cuba is an independent and sovereign socialist state of workers, organised with all and for the good of all as a united and democratic republic, for the enjoyment of political freedom, social justice, individual and collective wellbeing and human solidarity.”

He said Cuba as recently as 2002 declared irrevocable the socialist character, the political and social system contained in the constitution.

“I take advantage of this occasion to reiterate the Cuban disposition to hold with the US respectful dialogue, as equals, without a shade to our independence, sovereignty and self-determination,” President Raul said. “We are ready to talk about all, I repeat, about all, but about here, about Cuba, and about there, about the United States, not to negotiate our political and social system. We do not ask the United States to do it. We shall respect mutually our differences. We do not recognise the government of that country, nor any other nor any group of states’ jurisdiction on our sovereign issues.”

He said in Cuba, since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, there had not been any extrajudicial execution, disappearance of people or torture.

President Raul said torture in Cuba was only perpetrated at the US-held Guantanamo Naval Base.

“Yes, there was torture, and it is on a part of the Cuban territory even though it was not made by us,” he said. “That is why we said with all respect, to Ms Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State of that country, that if she wants to discuss about everything, we will discuss on everything, about here, but about there too.”

President Raul, who noted Cuba and the US were currently holding talks on immigration, said the communist island was not in a hurry to be at the table with its ideological foe, the US.

“We have been walking 50 years on the edge of a blade in which we are well trained, and we are able to resist another 50 years of aggressions and blockade,” said President Raul.

“There are some who say that US power sectors will wait for the disappearance of historic generation of the Revolution, a dark bet around ‘biologic factors’, or in other words, death of Fidel and all of us. Those who think like that are destined to failure since generations of revolutionary patriots to come, first of all our magnificent youth, will not disarm ever ideologically.”

Labels: HILLARY CLINTON, NEOLIBERALISM, RAUL CASTRO

posted by MrK @ 11:06 PM