Al Jazeera & Granma & CubaDebate – 2009-01-30 21:36:41
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/2009130211620456769.html
Castro Attacks Obama over Gaza
Al Jazeera
The intelligent and noble face of the first black president of the United States since its founding as an independent republic two and one-third centuries ago had transformed itself, with the inspiration of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, becoming a living symbol of the American dream.
— Fidel Castro Ruiz
HAVANA (January 31, 2009) — Fidel Castro, the former Cuban president, has attacked Barack Obama, the US president, accusing him of supporting “Israeli genocide” against the Palestinians. Castro, who had recently praised Obama as “honest” and “noble,”,said in a column posted on a government website that Obama was continuing the policies of George Bush, his predecessor, by supporting Israel.
The former Cuban leader, who was succeeded by his brother Raul as president in February, accused the US of having enabled Israel to become an “important nuclear power.” He also accused the US of giving Israel military aid with which it “threatens extreme violence against the population of all the Muslim countries”.
Castro highlighted statements made by the Obama administration that reiterated its strong support for Israel, which recently carried out a 22-day assault on Gaza in which more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed.
Obama has repeatedly reiterated his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters.
Guantanamo Claim
Fidel Castro also criticised Obama for suggesting Cuba would have to make concessions before it considers returning the territory of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay. “Maintaining a military base in Cuba against the will of the people violates the most elemental principles of international law,” Castro said. “Not respecting Cuba’s will is an arrogant act and an abuse of immense power against a little country,” he added.
Cuba indefinitely leased Guantanamo to the US in 1903 after the US occupied the country during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Castro has claimed that the base at the south-eastern tip of Cuba was taken over illegally.
Obama said during his election campaign he was willing to consider holding talks with nations with poor relations with the US, such as Cuba and Iran.
The 11th President of the United States
Fidel Castro Ruz / “Reflections of Fidel,” Granma
HAVANA (January 22, 2009) — This past Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Barack Obama took over the leadership of the empire as president No. 11 of the United Sates since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January 1959.
Nobody could doubt the sincerity of his words when he affirms that he will turn the country into a model of liberty, respect for human rights in the world and the independence of other peoples. Of course, without this offending barely anyone, except the misanthropes out there in the world. He now has said comfortably that imprisonment and torture on the illegally-occupied Guantánamo base will cease immediately, which is beginning to sow doubts among those who worship terror as a necessary instrument of their country’s foreign policy.
The intelligent and noble face of the first black president of the United States since its founding as an independent republic two and one-third centuries ago had transformed itself, with the inspiration of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, becoming a living symbol of the American dream.
However, despite all the tests that he has withstood, Obama has not passed the central one. What will he do when the immense power in his hands proves absolutely useless for overcoming the system’s insoluble antagonistic contradictions?
I have shortened my “Reflections,” just as I resolved to do this year, in order not to interfere or get in the way of the comrades of the Party and state as they make constant decisions about objective difficulties stemming from the world economic crisis. I am fine, but I insist, none of them should feel constrained by any of my Reflections, the seriousness of my condition or my death.
I am reviewing the speeches and materials I have elaborated over more than half a century.
I have had the rare privilege of observing events over such a long period of time. I receive information and meditate calmly on the events. I don’t expect to have that privilege in four years, when Obama’s first presidential term will have concluded.
Translated by Granma International
Deciphering the Thinking of the
New President of the United States
Fidel Castro Ruz / Reflections of Fidel, CubaDebate
HAVANA (January 29, 2009) — It isn’t too difficult. After his inauguration, Barack Obama stated that the return of the territory occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base to its legitimate owner had to be carefully considered, in the first place, in terms of whether it would affect the defense capacity of the United States in the most minimal way.
He immediately added that, in relation to the return to Cuba of the occupied territory, he would have to consider under which concessions the Cuban side would accede to that solution, which is equivalent to demanding a change in its political system, a price against which Cuba has fought for half a century.
Maintaining a military base in Cuba against the will of our people is in violation of the most elemental principles of international law. It is a faculty of the president of the United States to abide by that standard without any conditions. Not to respect it constitutes an act of arrogance and an abuse of his immense power against a little country.
If one wishes to better understand the abusive nature of the power of the empire, statements published on its official Internet website by the U.S. government on January 22, after Barack Obama’s inauguration, should be taken into account. Biden and Obama are resolutely decided on supporting the relations between the United States and Israel and believe that their incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, the principal U.S. ally in the region.
The United States will never distance itself from Israel, and its president and vice president “believe strongly in Israel’s right to protect its citizens,” assures the statement of principles which, on those points, takes up the policy followed by Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush.
It is the mode of sharing in the genocide of Palestinians into which our friend Obama has fallen. He is offering similar sweeteners to Russia, China, Europe, Latin America and the rest of the world, after the United States converted Israel into an important nuclear power that annually absorbs a significant part of the exports of the empire’s prosperous military industry, with which it is threatening, with extreme violence, the population of all countries of Muslim faith.
There are many similar examples; one does not need to be a fortune-teller. For more information, read the statements of the new Pentagon chief, an expert in military affairs.
Taken from Cubadebate
Translated by Granma International
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes
