> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: US Economic Warfare against Cuba. G77 >Copyright -Granma International DIGITAL EDITION. La Havana. Cuba > >La guerra... >ECONOMIC WARFARE AGAINST CUBA >el fracaso.... >The most scandalous political failure of the century > >Comenz..... >Presentation of evidence begins regarding the lawsuit against the >U.S. government for economic damages ¿ ¿ The blockade has cost the >island $67 billion USD > >BY MARELYS VALENCIA AND RAISA PAGES >(Granma International staff writers) > >THE first session of the presentation of evidence in the civil >lawsuit against the U.S. government for economic damages to the >island exposed the U.S. economic war against Cuba as one of the most >blatant and scandalous failures, and in violation of international >law. >Confessions, statements from more than 100 witnesses, 33 reports by >experts and 100 declassified documents will be presented over a >period of two weeks in the former Supreme Court of Justice, now the >Palace of the Revolution. > >The suit was lodged on January 3 in the civil and administrative >section of City of Havana People's Provincial Court, by social and >popular organizations representing virtually the entire Cuban >population. >Dr. Olga Miranda, legal director at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign >Affairs, who was the first expert witness to take the stand and >present evidence, providing explanations of a prolific report, stated >that there are no principles within international law justifying the >so-called peaceful "blockade" which was practiced by the colonial >powers in the 19th century and early 20th century. >However, it would seem that U.S. leaders have a poor memory, she >affirmed ironically, as they fail to remember that in 1916, that >nations authorities warned France that the United States would not >accept the right of any foreign power to block the exercise of the >trading rights of third countries, by having recourse to a blockade >when a state of war does not exist. > >The 1909 London Naval Conference confirmed the international legal >principle that blockades are acts of war and are not applicable in >peacetime excepting between warring nations. >The 8th consultation meeting of the Organization of American States >(OAS) adopted a resolution sanctioning Cuba for being a pawn of the >Chinese-Soviet axis, a charge which was not accepted by Mexico, the >Caribbean states or the Chilean government of Salvador Allende. > >In September 1962, Section 620A of the U.S. Foreign Aid Act gave the >president of that nation authority to decree a total blockade, >authorized by John F. Kennedy in Presidential Executive Order Number >3447, on February 7, 1962. >The International Pact on Civil and Political Rights (adopted by a UN >General Assembly resolution on December 16, 1966) states that all >peoples have the right to determine their political status and freely >dispose of their wealth and natural resources, in order to guarantee >their economic, social and cultural development. >Based on similar principles, the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights >Pact was signed in the UN General Assembly in 1966. These two pacts >complement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. > >Four UN resolutions, adopted between 1952 and 1974, establish >adequate compensation for the owners of nationalized properties, and >Cuban compensation offers were made within that framework. > Instead of applying the 1961 Cuban legislation, persons who had >property expropriated went to the U.S. courts and were thus subject >to negotiations between the governments, -legal expert Olga Miranda >explained. > >Cuba continues to recognize their rights, contemplated in >Decree(c)Law 80 of December 1996, called the Reaffirmation of Cuban >Sovereignty Act, but these rights are linked to our compensation for >economic and human damages caused by the blockade over more than 40 >years. >Presiding Judge Rafael Enrique Dujarric, master of law, asked Olga >Miranda for further details related to the validity of the >compensation claims against Cuba. >She stated that a U.S. commission presented 8,816 claims from >expropriated citizens up until 1964; 2,905 were rejected and 5,911 >were recognized. > >THE UNITED STATES DENIES ITS OWN PRINCIPLES > >In their desperate actions against the Cuban economy with the >objective of destroying the Revolution, successive U.S. >administrations have been in contradiction with the principles laid >down by countries and international financial mechanisms as the >"divine steps" for the "functioning of the world economy". >This affirmation was expressed by Osvaldo Martinez, president of the >National Assembly's Economic Commission, who gave the court a >profound analysis of the causes and scope of the economic war against >Cuba. > >The opening up of trade and the free movement of capital are being >held back by the very same persons who are promoting neoliberal >globalization. The international financial agencies have predicted >that nations which fail to fulfill these principles will fall behind; >nevertheless, the United States is contradicting its own principles >by establishing legislation like the Helms-Burton Act, which >obstructs the free flow of capital. >As Martinez explained, the U.S. government intentionally uses the >term "embargo" to describe its policy in relation to the island, >which has a population 23 times smaller and a gross domestic product >600 times lower that the United States. The attacks, which later took >the legal and practical form of a blockade, have cost Cuba $67 >billion USD in direct and indirect losses, an overwhelming figure for >any economy. > >The term "embargo" has been exposed as a lie by the extraterritorial >nature of the Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts, which dictate >sanctions for countries, persons and companies trading with the >island, and even prohibit entry into the United States to such >citizens and their families. >The obstinacy shown by successive U.S. administrations has led them >to act against their own interests, one example being the rejection >of the Cuban formula to compensate expropriations through the 1960 >Nationalization Act. Under that formula, Cuba would pay those >compensations in sugar, which is a high-cost production sector in the >United States and is partially funded by high prices on the domestic >market. Current subsidies for sugar production in the United States >cost consumers approximately two billion dollars per year. > >The specialist recalled that limits on land ownership established by >the Agrarian Reform Act, promulgated on May 17, 1959, oscillated >between 402.9 hectares and 1,343 hectares. In spite of not being too >radical, Martinez noted, "that act gave rise to a singular reaction >in the U.S. government, which demanded rapid, adequate and effective >compensation." >The terms of compensation offered by Cuba were very generous compared >to those defended by the United States during its military occupation >of Japan. > >There were no negotiations with Cuba, despite the fact that it was a >weak economy, weighed down by various decades of U.S. neocolonialism. >It had seen its national coffers virtually emptied in January 1959, >when Batista's acolytes fled to the United States, taking with them >$424 million USD of the gold and dollar reserves supporting the Cuban >peso. Those funds ended up in banks in that country, and not a single >cent was returned. > >In addition, the country's technological base experienced a traumatic >period. The blockade prevented the acquisition of technology and >spare parts from the United States, and the island had to transform >part of its system of production and build new factories with >technology from its new trading partners, the socialist bloc >countries. During the '90s it faced a similar situation once again, >with the disappearance of that market, but this time it was alone, >facing adverse world economic conditions and a blockade impeding its >every move. > >The longest blockade to which a country has been subjected in >peacetime, but with bellicose measures, Martinez pointed out, has not >gained its objective. The economy began to recover from 1996 onward, >and the Helms-Burton Act has not been able to prevent increased >negotiations with international companies. Through their heroism and >resistance, the Cubans have been able to mock that U.S. economic war >during these 40 years, he concluded. > >Documents declassified during the last nine years reveal that, even >prior to 1959, a conspiracy against the revolutionary movement was >being hatched in the highest U.S. political circles. >In his statement, Tomas Diez Acosta, a researcher at the Cuban >History Institute, offered a selection of examples from three volumes >published by the U.S. State Department covering January 1958 to >September 1963. >Details of a covert operation against the Revolution were presented >to the U.S. National Security Council before 1959, at the request of >President Eisenhower. >"Economic aggression was the method most frequently employed", the >expert witness maintained during a reading of the principal >operations organized by the highest U.S. authorities. > >CUBANS' FOOD SUPPLY AFFECTED > >Damages valued at $542 million USD have been occasioned by the U.S. >blockade of Cuba in terms of imported foodstuffs, apart from the >enormous difficulties it causes in terms of ensuring that the >components of the basic ration, available to the entire population at >a subsidized price, actually reach the population, according to >expert witnesses from the Ministry of Foreign Trade (MINCEX) giving >evidence before the court. > >Among other reasons, this is due to the island being forced to >purchase those items in distant countries, with excessive >transportation costs and instability of supplies; as well as the need >to maintain large inventories, having few alternatives in terms of >price, and other financial problems resulting from U.S. pressures. >Orlando Hernandez Guillion, deputy minister of MINCEX, was one of the >witnesses. He detailed the activities of the blockade against Cuba >over these 40 years, involving successive U.S. administrations as >accomplices and promoters. This is a form of economic warfare which >has been intensified and increased in recent years, he affirmed. >One example of that continued aggression was the grotesque blacklist >on which the United States places every ship from anywhere in the >world which touches Cuban ports, and which grew to include more than >900 vessels between 1960 and 1970; this measure was revived in the >mid(c)90s. > >For his part, Colonel Jose Maria Perez, from the Ministry of the >Interior's Center for Historical Research, demonstrated how the >economic aggression was the complement to a bloody armed aggression, >and detailed hundreds of incidents in which damages to human life >were associated with material and economic destruction. >Armando Valdes Mercado, a State Security agent who infiltrated the >Miami counterrevolutionary organizations, also appeared before the >court and recounted how the U.S. authorities turn a blind eye to the >activities of these terrorist groups. > >On the second day of the hearings, a further dozen or so witnesses >and experts gave evidence, among them officials from banking agencies >and the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation." JC > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Havana meeting G 77. >Copyright -Granma International DIGITAL EDITION. La Havana. Cuba > More than 50 heads of state confirm their attendance > >en La Habana >A diplomatic meeting is held in Havana to prepare for the mega event >involving about 60 underdeveloped countries Industrialized countries, >including the United States, will also be invited > >APPROXIMATELY 100 diplomats from 60 countries of what is known as the >Group of 77 gathered to prepare for the South Summit. More than 50 >heads of state, out of the 133 that form the Preparatory Committee of >the event, have confirmed their attendance. >The visitors were provided with detailed information on the official >program of the summit, on security and protection measures for >delegates, travel arrangements for heads of state, accommodations, >venues, communications, transportation of delegations and reception >in Jose Marti International Airport, as well as other particulars. > >Jorge Bolanos, deputy foreign minister and acting president of the >Preparatory Committee, announced that some 130 countries have been >invited and that the most developed countries in the world, including >the United States, will also receive invitations. >Bolanos stressed that this summit is taking place due to the concern >of Third World countries over disasters caused by neoliberal >globalization, which denies the poorest countries development >opportunities and relentlessly increases the level of poverty. > >The deputy minister referred to the gulf separating rich and poor >nations, which in the 1960s numbered 30, but this figure has now >grown to over 70 with regard to the gross domestic product. He said >that the 10th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development >(UNCTAD), held in Bangkok, Thailand, was positive for wealthy >countries but of little use to Third World nations. >Participants in this preparatory meeting for the South Summit visited >the Jose Marti International Airport, the protocol houses where >heads of state and government will be staying, the International >Conference Center and the surrounding area, hotels and other >facilities which will be made available to guests. > >In the case of the airport, protocol measures and official reception >areas are ready for the ceremony and all work related to the summit. >At the same time, there will be up to 24 aircraft deployed for the >duration of the Summit. >It was announced that leaders of the G77 will arrive in Cuba on April >10 and 11 and that the inaugural ceremony will be held on April 12 at >10:00 a.m. at the International Conference Center. > >The inaugural ceremony will be addressed by Olusegun Obasanjo, >president of Nigeria and of the G77; President Fidel Castro; and Kofi >Annan, secretary©general of the United Nations." JC > >1 > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
