THE United Nations General Assembly once again voted overwhelmingly, on October 28, to condemn the 50-year-long American economic blockade of Cuba. Of the 192 member-states that were represented, only three voted against the Cuban resolution Israel, the Pacific island nation of Palau and the United States.
Israel and Palau had done so last year too. Interestingly, the Ambassador of Palau in the U.N. is an American lawyer with Israeli citizenship. Two other tiny Pacific island states, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, despite pressure from the U.S., abstained from the vote. Last year the vote was 185 to 3 against the blockade. This year it was 187 to 3.
Representatives of European Union member countries were among those who spoke strongly against the unlawful blockade, which has had a devastating effect on the Cuban economy. The Cuban government estimated that it had incurred a loss of $242 million last year. For the past 18 years, Cuba has been presenting a non-binding resolution in the U.N. calling for an end to the commercial, financial and economic embargo imposed by the U.S. The voting pattern over the years has shown how isolated the U.S. is internationally on its policy on Cuba.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, in his speech at the U.N., said that while President Barack Obama had taken some steps to improve bilateral relations, most of the draconian anti-Cuba laws inherited from the Bush administrations remained intact. These include the ban on the export of essential medical equipment to Cuba and the imposition of fines on companies from all over the world that do business with Cuba. The Cuban government has said that it has lost tens of billions of dollars in the last five decades.
Earlier in the year, Obama lifted the restrictions on Cubans having American citizenship from visiting and sending remittances to Cuba. But the ban on Americans travelling to Cuba remains. The Obama administration also allowed American food and telecom companies to trade with Cuba. But at the same time, Obama announced in September that he was extending the economic blockade for yet another year. This despite his promise on the campaign trail of turning a new page in the dealings with Cuba.
American public opinion for some time has been in favour of normalising ties with Cuba. The blockade can be lifted only under an Act of the U.S. Congress. In talks held earlier in the year, the first between the U.S. and Cuba since 2003, the U.S. put forward intolerable conditions for lifting the blockade. Washington wants socialist Havana to reverse many of its economic and political policies as a precursor to ties being normalised. Havana has rejected these demands but has indicated that it would like to continue the dialogue process.
Rodriguez, in his speech, said that the blockade would never make the Cuban people bend but he added that it generates shortages and is the fundamental obstacle that hinders [Cubas] development. Addressing a press conference in Havana, Rodriguez noted that the American people voted for Obama because he promised change. Where is the change on the blockade? the Cuban Foreign Minister asked. The blockade should be lifted because it is an uncultured act of arrogance, an act of genocide that is ethically unacceptable, he said.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in a statement after the vote, said that Obama had the opportunity now to earn the Nobel Peace Prize by lifting the blockade on Cuba. Obama, earn the Prize. Its also a good time to go down in history, Chavez said. It would be a shame if Obama wastes the opportunity, he added.
John Cherian
COMMents
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