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"Ortega Reveals Summit Cloaked in Secrecy and Censorship Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expounds on the so-called Summit of the Americas and points out that Cuba was present in the unanimous voice of the heads of state and government who demanded the unconditional lifting of the US blockade By: Juana Carrasco Martin Email: digital@jrebelde.cip.cu 2009-04-24 | 09:22:02 EST Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega spoke in depth about the recently held Summit of the Americas on the Cuban television show The Round Table broadcast Wednesday afternoon. “I would say that the first big achievement and the first great victory was having Cuba present in the voice of the people, via the Latin American and Caribbean governments. Even the most rightwing governments and the most submissive felt obliged to demand an end to the blockade against Cuba. Some did so with a certain nuance; nevertheless, they had to mention it. It was a unanimous voice: End the blockade against Cuba.”
“Cuba was overwhelmingly present, before, during and after the summit. It was an issue that could not be ignored, that could not be censured. They could not prohibit us from talking about Cuba, because among the people and governments represented at the summit there is a growing number of us who are breaking old patterns and putting an end to censorship in Latin America and the Caribbean where change is emerging.”
“As in all the battles for freedom, democracy and justice, Cuba, Fidel and Raúl were present.”
Ortega said he was privileged to be among the few who were able to publicly speak to the people of the continent face to face during the only public session of the gathering in which 34 countries of the Americas participated. Only four leaders were allowed to speak during this session as sub-regional representatives —Belize, United States, Argentina and Nicaragua—, and Trinidad and Tobago as host.
Despite being allotted only ten minutes to speak, Ortega took nearly 45 minutes to expound on the reality of the continent. After this opening session, the rest of what happened during the summit in Port of Spain took place behind closed doors. Ortega said that this was the summit’s first weakness and that, in addition to being a secret meeting, as Fidel had wrote in his Reflections, it was also a meeting where heads of states of Latin American and the Caribbean were censored. Ortega said that the US delegation surely had a hand in this censorship as they helped organize the meeting along with the OAS.
Ortega said that the structure of the summit was different from others, where closed-door sessions foster greater openness during the discussion of some topics and where all participants are free to openly express themselves, but which also feature public sessions that allow people to be informed about the debates between the leaders.
The Nicaraguan president spoke about some of the disrespect that took place, citing the example of when several presidents had to wait three hours before entering the airport due to the arrival of the president of the United States.
Ortega said that during his opening session address he spoke on behalf of the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic and presented the resolution that was passed in Cumaná, Venezuela during the Bolivian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) extraordinary session.
“We took the initiative, we went on the offensive to make our concerns known because we were convinced that the meeting was going to be censored and that the inaugural public session was going to be our only opportunity...We couldn’t remain silent...The rest of the presidents and prime ministers were muzzled, there was an attempt to cover the eyes and ears of our people.”
Some of what was discussed during the closed-door debates on Saturday leaked out. Cuba was one of the topics of conversation and the US president and Canadian prime minister had to listen to the unanimous voice calling for an end of the blockade.
Ortega said that he was pleased that, in the midst of an atmosphere of censorship, Evo Morales responded to Barack Obama saying that we cannot forget the past because historic events have consequences in the present and the future. Ortega said that Morales told Obama that at that very moment there were US officials conspiring in Bolivia and that he added that in his country, Nicaragua, they were conspiring in the US embassy.
“How could Obama ask people to forget history if we are living trapped in the history of a policy of intervention,” said Daniel Ortega. He spoke about an improvised address by Cuban President Raúl Castro in Cumaná, which he said was like a “volcanic eruption of truth and firmness.”
Ortega said that Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa’s speech was very good and went straight to the point when he said, “elections don’t equal democracy.” He said that people want to discredit Cuban democracy, which he said is “real democracy because it doesn’t divide the people or lead to war as has happened throughout history with the multiparty system that is imposed on the peoples of Latin America.
Speaking about the secretive environment and veil of censorship that shrouded the Fifth Summit of the Americas, Ortega said that the photographs of Obama greeting other presidents were big news item, raising hopes that they meant more than what they really where: a mere formality.
He recalled that he had shook hands with Ronald Reagan in New York when the US was at war with his people and that the Sandinista movement carried on. He added that out of politeness he has shaken hands with other US presidents —Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr. and now Obama—, and that courtesy does not belie bravery, nor does it erase ideological and political differences.
Ortega said that he noticed that some of the heads of state and government where really moved to have their pictures taken with President Obama, equating it to the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. However he said that the “flute had no effect” since the theme of Cuba managed to emerge.
The United States hasn’t changed
“The United States, however, hasn’t changed. This sentiment was even expressed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias during Obama’s meeting with Central American countries.”
“Some facts that support this are: During the electoral campaign they said they were going to withdraw from Iraq where US$ 400 million are spent every day. In this regard, Arias asked, Are you going to keep your promise? And there was silence on the part of Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”
“The US President is trapped in what is a model for an empire, expansionist by nature. All empires are expansionist, and he who rules an empire is going to defend that policy.”
“During the summit we saw a United States fixed on top of an imperial policy, which has changed slightly, but maintains its continuity.”
Ortega once again cited Raúl, who during the Cumaná Summit reminded participants that it was a Republican administration that planned the Bay of Pigs invasion, and a Democrat one that carried it out.
Speaking about Obama’s call to not speak about the past, Ortega said that it is he “who is trapped in the past, with troops in Iraq, strengthening forces in Afghanistan, carrying on the policy of expansion and of controlling strategic resources like oil, and continuing the 50-year blockade against Cuba.”
“Changes are certainly taking place in Latin America in favor of our sovereignty, integration, and the unity of our people...the ALBA is the most noble and supportive relationship that exists on the planet...it is an example of how to end wars, inequalities, poverty and exclusion, and even to address the threat of destruction that our planet faces.”
The OAS is dead but not buried
“There are people who still think that the OAS, which came about as a tool of the empire, can be saved, when in reality it is dead, it is an unburied corpse. We need an organization where Latin American and Caribbean people can engage in dialogue with the North, with the Europeans, and strongly defend our positions and the interests of our people.”
“This summit has made one thing clear: that the United States hasn’t changed, and that Latin America and the Caribbean have. We have clung to the roots of our history... that is why we can move on; with the strength we have accumulated throughout this historical process.”
Ortega asked for Cuba’s understanding related to the effort to have the OAS lift their sanctions against Cuba. He said that with the impetus that the topic has gathered —even General Secretary José Miguel Insulza acknowledges the wrongdoing—, there is a possibility that the OAS will lift the sanctions during the next meeting of OAS Foreign ministers in Honduras. “Although Cuba is not interested in becoming a member of this tool of the empire, it is shameful for ALBA member countries to belong to an organization that maintains sanctions against Cuba, because —as President Zelaya stated— we become accomplices to the crime.”
More on the secret meeting
During his Round Table address, President Ortega said that Trinidadian Prime Minister Manning had told summit participants that during the private meeting on Sunday the issue of Haiti would be discussed with an address by Haitian President Preval and an analysis of what actions could be taken to help a country that finds itself in a terrible situation.
Ortega said that, in his address, Preval praised Cuba’s cooperation and solidarity and that of Venezuela, which he said characterizes the integration strategy between the ALBA countries. He said Obama had not brought anything to the summit other then handshakes; not a single in-depth strategy in view of the crisis.
Speaking about the summit’s final document, he said that it had been “buried” until Sunday. “After the ALBA nations made it clear that they were not going to sign it and that other countries would probably do the same, Prime Minister Manning announced on Sunday that it would be presented to the media as adopted by consensus and that he alone would sign it. It wasn’t even discussed by the presidents, it didn’t have their approval, and it didn’t include the essential components of the current global situation.”
Ortega said that once Chávez and Evo set forth the position of ALBA, everyone began to speak. He said that he was sure that not even President Obama was familiar with the document and that many of those present hadn’t read it either. The US president cleverly admitted to this.
Answering questions by Cuban journalists Rosa Miriam Elizalde, Rogelio Polanco and Randy Alonso, President Ortega said that some of the changes the US would have to make would include respectful policies in all fields and to learn how to coexist, which he said would not be easy and might be impossible given the nature of the US empire. He said that lifting the blockade against Cuba would be part of this policy of coexistence and added that the international community has called on the UN to put an end to the blockade.
PIE DE FOTO: At the conclusion of his television appearance, President Daniel Ortega spoke with young Nicaraguans who are studying Medicine in Cuba. Photo: Juan Moreno
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