FIDEL: Feverish Dreams

[magbana]

Fidel whacks the OAS . . .

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Feverish Dreams

http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/reflexiones/2009/ing/f200409i.html

I could find no explanation for the euphoria expressed by some of the
participants at the Port of Spain Summit.

I put in a lot of effort and I read the famous Declaration of the
Commitment approved at that “Summit of the Americas”. I had heard the
press conference that was presided over by the Prime Minister of
Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, which was also attended by the
illustrious Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, and the
presidents of Mexico and Panama, Felipe Calderon and Martin Torrijos
respectively. According to them, this Summit has been the most
extraordinary ever held.

Some kind of miracle should have been worked out, I said to myself.
The philosopher’s stone has just been discovered. Why should we worry
for one more second? No one should think that this happened out of
mere chance. Don’t we know how to read and write? It was the OAS
which saved us all; it has been so stated in 13 out of the 97
subparagraphs contained in the 67 pages of the final declaration.

I will only use six of the eight pages of this reflection to also
acknowledge the glories of the OAS:

The countries that signed the Declaration reaffirm the principles and
values of the UN Charter, the OAS Charter, the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for
Development and the Millennium Declaration, and express their
determination to intensify their struggle against poverty, hunger,
social exclusion, discrimination and inequality and promote social
inclusion and cohesion in order to improve the living standards of
their peoples and attain development and social justice.

Likewise, they reaffirm the importance of promoting cooperation among
States in a fraternal way in different spheres of inter-American
relations, in conformity with the essential principles and purposes
of the OAS Charter and recognizing their social, political and
economic diversity.

They further stated that they have given instructions to their
ministers, particularly those responsible for finances, planning and
social development, to begin or strengthen the review of all national
programs for social protection and inclusion and the eradication of
poverty. They call upon the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank
(IADB) and other relevant finance and development regional and sub
regional institutions so that they support these efforts within the
scope of their respective mandates.

They call upon the Ministers of Labor so that, within the context of
the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor of the OAS, in
cooperation with the consultative organs of workers and employers,
and with the support of the ILO, as appropriate, they would support a
working program to attain these objectives at the Sixteenth
Inter-American Conference of Labor Ministers to be held in the year
2009.

The countries that signed the Declaration call upon the Ministers of
Education so that, with the support of the OAS, specialized regional
and international institutions as well as the civil society
organizations, they could develop strategies aimed at making quality
secondary education available to all youths by the year 2015 at the
latest, specially to the most vulnerable groups and those with
special educational needs.

They further stated that they will increase their efforts to prevent
and combat all aspects inherent to the international problem of drugs
and other related crimes by strengthening international cooperation
and adopting a comprehensive and balanced approach, based on the
principle of common and shared responsibility, in conformity with the
principles enshrined in the UN Charter, the OAS Charter,
international law and their applicable legal frameworks.

The countries signing the Declaration request the General Secretariat
of the OAS to submit to the next Summit of the Americas a report on
the progress attained in complying with the commitments entered into
at the meetings of Ministers of Public Security of the Americas and
the meetings of Ministers of Justice or other ministers, attorneys or
General Attorneys of the Americas… The Declaration seeks to promote
greater cooperation in these meetings, as well as the work of the OAS
in support to the meetings of Ministers of Public Security of the
Americas and the meetings of Ministers of Justice of the Americas.
The countries that signed the Declaration expressed their gratitude
over the continued technical support offered by the OAS to all those
issues which are discussed at these meetings.”

The countries will encourage the work of the OAS in the design of a
new comprehensive and hemispheric strategy to promote inter-American
cooperation in coping with criminal gangs.

The countries that signed the Declaration renewed their commitment to
combat poverty, inequality, hunger, and social exclusion in order to
improve the living conditions of their peoples and strengthen
democratic governance in the Americas, and committed themselves to
upheld and fully implement the principles contained in the
Inter-American Democratic Charter.

The countries reiterated their support to the goals contained in the
Social Charter of the Americas and its Plan of Action, which are
intended to offer all citizens more opportunities to benefit from
sustainable development with equity and social inclusion. They
encouraged the OAS to conclude the drafting of these instruments, and
pledged to work in the interest of concluding negotiations and
adopting these documents before the end of 2009.

They recognize the important role played by the OAS in the peaceful
settlement of their differences, its participation in the promotion
of a culture of democracy, peace, dialogue and non-violence in the
region, and the role it played in the implementation of the
Inter-American Democratic Charter.

The countries that signed the Declaration will see to it that yearly
national reports about the actions carried out and the progress
achieved in pursuing the specific goals identified in the Summit of
the Americas continue to be submitted to the OAS.

Why should we be surprised to see that, thanks to the support and
inspiration of such a meritorious institution, in the last
subparagraph of page 67 of the Declaration it is reaffirmed that the
Heads of State or Government of the Americas agree that this document
should be known as “The Declaration of the Commitment of Port-of
Spain”, and that it will be so approved on April 19, 2009.

Is it so that the OAS is a guarantee to the sovereignty and integrity
of Latin American peoples? It always has!

Did it ever interfere in the internal affairs of any country in the
hemisphere? It never has!

Is it true that it has always been a docile instrument of the United
Sates? It never has!

Did any Latin American or Caribbean die because of its own fault?
Not a single one of them did! Those are slanders, fabricated by the
Castroist-Communist, which have emanated from Cuba, a country
expelled from the OAS because its government proclaimed
Marxism-Leninism in a country where there was never an election,
where no one is entitled to vote or being elected, which lives under
the rule of a tyranny that has blatantly confronted a country so
weak, defenseless and poor as the United States for half a century.

If Cuba does rectify its position, the selfless and noble government
of the United States will not sell a single aspirin to Cuba. The OAS
is a guarantee of the democratic rights of the long-suffering Cuban
people.

Fidel Castro Ruz

April 20, 2009

1:46 p.m.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Don't blame this guy. He was definitely paying attention. n/t