2. Let me begin by congratulating the president on his election to the high post he occupies in this Assembly. I also wish enthusiastically to welcome to membership in the United Nations, the new States embarking upon the great adventure of national independence, Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and to hail in advance and pay tribute to a great nation which will soon enter this Organization: Algeria, whose admission marks the culmination of the glorious campaign it has waged for independence. Algeria's triumph is doubtless the most striking proof of our historical good fortune as witnesses of the end of the era of colonialism and of the oppression of peoples.
3. I must also express here the deep gratitude of the people and Revolutionary Government of Cuba to the representatives who have shown their strong support and deep understanding in their references to our country, I wish to express our gratitude to those who have raised their voices here in defence of: the legitimate rights of our people. We are also grateful to those who, without mentioning our country by name, have once again warmly and resolutely supported the principles of the self-determination of peoples and of opposition to every kind of foreign interference in the fate and decisions of nations.
4. This session is being held in the midst of intensified preparations for nuclear war and increased propaganda in favour of preventive nuclear war. We can, it is true, not with real satisfaction some hopeful signs amid these depressing circumstances, for example, the solution of the problem of Laos, the agreement on West Irian and the independence of new States, these events raise our hopes. At the same time, however, we must regretfully recognize that at this session, as in the past, the General Assembly is faced with unique and dramatic circumstances fraught with serious threats to world peace.
5. The problems of peace and, hence, those of disarmament, the cessation of nuclear tests and the liquidation of colonialism and all forms of oppression are essential questions which claim your attention today. Cuba has more than once dearly defined its position with regard to each of these questions which now concern the Assembly; our position was stated at the fifteenth session [872nd meeting] by our Prime Minister, Mr. Castro. Now as then, we can express here our support of all activities, measures, action and agreements which promote general and complete disarmament, not only because it would mean that war would become materially impossible but also, as has been said more than once in this Assembly, because it would be possible to use the great resources released by disarmament to further the economic and cultural development of all the countries of the world, especially the under-developed ones.
6. We have also made clear our views in favour of the cessation and prohibition of nuclear tests in outer space in the atmosphere, under Water and under ground.
7. Our country, with its open economy, is highly dependent on international trade; for essential reasons of principle, therefore, we advocate here the widest freedom in trade and support the convening of an international trade conference to deal with all the measure, present and future which now limit and threaten to limit even further the free flow of trade in the world.
8. In addition, we reaffirm our stand in favour of the immediate restoration of the rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations; that country' s exclusion, which we consider absurd, greatly weakens the real effectiveness of the international agreements produced here.
9. We wish to lend our full support, together with other nations which, have been heard in this hall, to promote a most rapid implementation of the Declarations on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)] because we in particular have seen what foreign military intervention means; the withdrawal of foreign troops…
10. Interruptions of this sort do not worry us any more. During the few days which we have spent in this country, we have been constantly harassed and this is clear proof of the fact that this is a country which does, not offer adequate safeguards for the functioning of the United Nations.
12. I shall continue with the utmost patience. Of course we intend to say all that we came here to say.
13. We demand — I repeat — the withdrawal of foreign troops from Korea and South Viet-Nam...
14. I have no assurance that I can continue.
16. These are matters which concern you all. These matters are closely linked with the problems of peace and war. The delegation of Cuba, in keeping with the general attitude which we have outlined, must on every occasion state its position clearly and advance its arguments with conviction.
17. These, however, are not the only problems which threaten the peace of mankind today. We have come before the General Assembly precisely because so much has been made of the so-called Cuban question and such an atmosphere has been created that, despite our wishes and sincere desires, the question is being turned into one which involves the threat of war or an attempt is being made to do so.
18. Accordingly, it is advisable for us to explain the situation of Cuba and the transparently clear position of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba in words based on facts, without speculating beyond the facts, and in the light of recent history and contemporary events. First of all, let us remember this: today it is asserted that Cuba constitutes a threat to the peace of the American continent because it promotes subversion, inspired by Marxist-Leninist ideas, and the attempt is being made to turn this into the basic and fundamental issue.
19. It is advisable, I repeat, to bear in mind that the tension which surrounds our country, the situation which exists between the United States and Cuba, began long before our revolution had taken on the socialist characteristics it now displays.
20. It was enough for us to promulgate laws which affected the United States monopolistic interests in our country, it was enough to promulgate the land reform act at a period when our revolutionary development was not yet shaped by socialist principles, for aggressive action against our homeland to be undertaken by the United States Government.
21. That was the start of the insolent diplomatic notes and piratical flights over our territory. Then the Cuban sugar quota was, eliminated from the United States market, supplies of petroleum to our country were stopped, and diplomatic measures were taken aimed at isolating Cuba from the continent. Finally there was a whole series of eminently aggressive activities which generated this tension, long before — I repeat — long before we proclaimed that our revolution was at socialist one.
22. And what has happened since?
23. It would be unduly tedious, I think, to recapitulate all the act of aggression committed by the United States against Cuba. Suffice it to mention all the efforts designed to subvert our country from within, the acts of sabotage, the attacks on persons and the espionage activities on our soil. In brief, suffice it to recall the armed invasion of our country by mercenary forces financed, trained in warfare, militarily protected and commanded by the Government of the United States: the invasion of Playa Girón. And what happened after Playa Girón, that ridiculous fiasco? Did they perchance learn a great lesson of history from it? Did they perchance have sufficient perception and knowledge to realize what immense forces can be marshalled by a nation firmly resolved to preserve its freedom and independence? That is not what happened. We immediately became the victims of further acts of aggression with the infiltration of agents landed on our coasts and trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, new attempts at sabotage, the military training of groups to carry out the hitherto unsuccessful internal subversion of our country and the increase of economic pressure on our homeland — tenaciously and doggedly applied in the hope that it would undermine our revolution and that, as a result, their sole objective would be attained: the downfall of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba.
24. Although they boycotted us from the United States sugar market, cut off our supplies of petroleum, and broke off completely and definitively trade relations between our country and the United States, expecting our economy to collapse, we are still able to come before the General Assembly today and we could spend some considerable time describing the successes which we have already achieved in our economic development, successes which are apparent and which constitute...
25. With all due respect, Mr. President, I should like some “assurance that I may continue.
27. I shall lose neither my calm, nor my patience.
28. Today we can show the General Assembly a long record of economic achievements: that of an industry criminally deprived of all supplies of spare parts, notwithstanding which — with the exception of our sugar industry — we have, in a short time and in the face of difficulties, now attained a growth of more than 7 per cent; the progress of our agricultural development and the organization and planning of our economy which shows promising signs of balanced and speedy development in the years to come. The fundamental purpose of this development is to ensure the nation's supplies, to build up stocks, chiefly of agricultural commodities, for export, and to expand our international trade. It is the necessary preparatory stage for future industrial development, which is to transform the entire structure and character of our under-developed economy.
29. Add to this the public health measures; which give our country a privileged position in this continent, and the fundamental achievements in our education policy, which now enables us to say, among other things, with pride and deep satisfaction, that in this continent swarming with uneducated people, in this continent where some countries have alarming illiteracy figures, Cuba, thanks to its revolution, is now a country without illiterates.
30. But this we have had to achieve and carry out harassed at every turn by aggression from all sides while the literacy campaign was getting underway, it was marked by some dramatic and painful incidents, since the counter-revolutionary bands, organized and armed by the United States Government, even went so far as to murder young teachers, mere students, who had gone into our countryside to eradicate illiteracy.
31. All this progress, which has earned the acclaim of even those who may have ideological views different from ours, these successes and the failures of our enemies have not served as a lesson either. So the act of aggression continued; the provocations continued; the training of counter-revolutionary groups on the territory of the United States and Caribbean countries continues; the provocation from the United States naval base in our country continues; and violations of our country's territorial waters and air space continue.
32. For lack of time it would not be possible to give an outline of these violations here; but a list will be distributed to the representatives.
33. These aggressive acts continue, like the United States warships that lie near the coast off our harbours. Every day those of us who live in Havana must see with our own eyes these warships lurking around our island, making a show of war or of preparation for war.
34. This is the situation today but we can also say that it is qualitatively different from the situation which existed before the invasion of our country at Playa Girón, for the following reasons. Before Playa Girón, the Government of the United States had on more than one occasion stated that it had no aggressive intentions towards our country. It is obvious that after Playa Girón even the President of the United States publicly and officially acknowledged his responsibility and his sympathy and support for that invasion.
35. Today the situation is different, for while it is true that once again it is being asserted — as the Head of the United States delegation has stated here [1125th meeting] — that there are no aggressive designs on our country, on the other hand there are records, and there have been statements and official resolutions which authorize armed aggression against Cuba and seek to justify it in advance. The fact is that the object — as acknowledged recently in a statement by the State Department of the United States — of the foreign policy of the United States Government in regard to Cuba is clearly and obviously the overthrow of the revolutionary Government and the destruction of our glorious revolution.
36. This is happening in the midst of a press, radio and television campaign which is spreading a cloud of warlike hysteria over the political scene in the United States. Add to this the repeated insolent statements by United States senators and congressmen, and the most absurd misuse made of all the facts and circumstances to intensify the campaign of aggressive hysteria against our country, culminating in the ridiculous statement that the setting-up of a fishing base on our territory through friendly negotiations with the Government of the Soviet Union also implies a danger of armed aggression affecting the security of the United States itself; in other words, they are making a war scare out of codfish and herring.
37. We are aware that this climate of hysteria, this campaign and the interminable slander and libel create a pressure which is being, exerted on the United States Government to make it decide once and for all to launch direct armed aggression on our country. We know that such pressure exists; but we also believe that the Government of the United States itself first and foremost is responsible for the existence of that pressure. For in the last analysis it is the inevitable consequence of the policy of constant and permanent aggression which continued when the new Administration took over in this country.
38. There for all to see are the manoeuvres and activities which are being carried out in this atmosphere of anti-Cuban hysteria and aggressiveness. For example, the foreign ministers of the countries of Latin America are summoned, not to United Nations Headquarters but, with obvious disrespect, to the State Department, and they are summoned so they can be invited to plot subversion in our country. Again it is claimed that the so-called Inter-American System is being consulted, a system which the United States Government has deliberately ignored, since the system was not consulted in connexion with the aggression which took place, nor in connexion with the invasion at Playa Girón and obviously it will not be consulted in the event of further armed aggression against our country.
39. We have noticed that the United States Secretary of State has not come to this Assembly to talk about his concern for peace, disarmament or the cessation of nuclear tests. He has been outside this room, engaged in conspiracy and subversion against our country. We are also aware that, at the meeting of foreign ministers and elsewhere, respectable representatives of Latin American countries, despite their ideological differences with our revolution, have defended the principles of non-intervention and national self-determination. From this rostrum I challenge any of these Latin American foreign ministers to state here what was said to thorn at that meeting and what was said to them outside of it, so that it can be established here that it is not Cuba that is disturbing the peace of the continent and attacking brother countries, but that Cuba has been the victim of aggression and will certainly be the victim, of further interference and aggression in its peaceful and creative development.
40. Outside the Organization of American States, without consulting any international body and in defiance of all, the United States Government by its unilateral decisions is engaging in activities which are a flagrant violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter. On the one hand, the policy of the so-called Alliance for Progress is launched — a policy of opportunism which is being tried out in this continent only because of the example of the Cuban revolution — and the decision to support the development of the backward countries is proclaimed, while on the other hand, in the case of Cuba, which has an underdeveloped economy and a people absorbed in its efforts to create and to promote economic and cultural progress, a whole policy is being pursued with the object of creating economic problems and sapping the strength of the Cuban revolution taxed as it is by these difficulties and by hunger.
41. In addition to all that has been done, further decisions have been taken, which have already been officially announced, to apply pressure, by means of force and retaliatory measures, on the shipping companies whose ships carry goods to supply the Cuban people, raw materials for our industries, and fertilizers and equipment for the development of our agriculture, in an attempt to enforce a naval blockade of our island. Pressure is openly being brought to bear on the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] to prevent their vessels from carrying goods to our country; and even if this cannot be achieved, another expedient is to be used immediately: the announced retaliatory measures against ships which carry goods to our country; even against the interests of shipping companies of countries friendly to the United States.
42. To begin with, this is the most obvious tacit admission of failure by those who predicted the economic ruin of Cuba. It has been said that our revolution, owing to the historical paths which it has chosen, must of necessity lead our country to disaster and to famine. The fact that these manoeuvres and retaliatory measures now have to be resorted to in order to prevent trade with Cuba reveals the folly of these forecasts and of the desire to destroy the Cuban revolution by artificially creating economic difficulties and by taking advantage of the fact that our country depends for its economic development on the expansion of its trade with other countries, and will continue to do so for a long time to come. In view of this pressure to create a blockade and of the unilateral action taken to enforce it in a time of peace, I ask myself, and I ask you, whether the blockade constitutes or does not constitute an act of war. I wonder if the United States Government is entitled to take such unilateral decisions outside this international Organization and in defiance of it.
43. I wonder whether this is compatible with the aims of improving and developing international relations which inspired the establishment of the United Nations. I wonder whether the United Nations can remain indifferent to a fact of this kind, I wonder, and I ask the Representatives, whether this blockade which is being imposed against our country is or is not an act of war, or an act preparatory to or conducive to war, and whether the United Nations can conceivably remain silent in the face of it. Cuba calls for condemnation of these aggressive acts by the United Nations.
44. The cardinal principles of the freedom to trade, an old and historic triumph of mankind, are being attacked. Obviously they do not dare to submit to an international body the claim to exercise a right which is not theirs to boast. Yet, although they do not have that rights these acts are being carried out and of course the United States representative in this General Assembly has not told you about that. But it is our responsibility and duty to speak of these facts: the violation of the principles which guarantee the freedom of international trade; the commission of an act of war in times of peace, and the commission — which is arrogant and absurd in any case — of these acts by a great Power on a small country. But these attempts will fail again, as the previous ones came to naught.
45. Cuba does not stand alone; it has friends, it can count on the solidarity of other nations and relies on friendly countries which must enable it to carry on its international trade.
46. But there is something more, something to which I emphatically wish to draw the attention of the Assembly. At the beginning of my address I said that the situation as regards Cuban-United States relations before the invasion at Playa Girón was qualitatively different from the present situation. And I said so because in the United States there have been statements and official resolutions designed to build up a case in advance for direct armed aggression against our country. By way of proof it is sufficient to take n brief look at the operative part of the joint resolution of the United States Congress. "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. "That the United States is determined "(a) To prevent by whatever means may be necessary, including the use of arms" — I repeat - including the use of arms — "the Marxist-Leninist regime in Cuba from extending, by force or the threat of force, its aggressive or subversive activities to any part of this hemisphere."
47. This is very curious; now let us just refer to recent past history. Has Cuba perhaps been guilty of carrying out subversive or aggressive activities against any country of this hemisphere? On the contrary. Reflect for just one moment on the invasion at Playa Girón, supported and organized, as President Kennedy himself stated, by the Government of the United States. After the mercenary troops had been trained in one Central American country, they launched their invasion from another Central American country.
48. Was it perhaps Cuba that carried out subversive activities in this continent, or was it those Governments which supported that invasion in one form or another which were guilty of this international crime?
49. Cuba has said more than once — and I shall repeat it here — that it does not plan to carry out, nor will it carry out, any aggressive activity aimed at extending to other countries of the continent the ideology underlying its revolutionary movement.
50. But what does the resolution of the United States Congress say? The third operative paragraph reads as follows: "(o) To work with the Organization of American States and with freedom-loving Cubans to support the aspirations of the Cuban people for self-determination."
51. ‘Let us interpret this. This sub-paragraph of the joint resolution of the United States Congress means that the support given to aggressive and subversive activities against our country is to continue: further piratical raids on our coasts are to be financed and protected; that further armed aggression against our country is to be financed and given military protection. In other words, it means the admission — this time the express, official and categorical admission — of the intention to interfere in the internal affairs of our country, thus avowed officially and publicly by the United States Congress, and, by an absurd contradiction, it is avowed in the very text of the resolution in which Cuba, is accused of being the country which threatens the peace of the continent.
52. The second paragraph of the joint resolution of the United States Congress expresses the determination: "(b) To prevent in Cuba the Creation or use of an externally supported military capability endangering the security of the United States.” In other words, the United States Congress is giving prior sanction to the use of arms, to armed aggression against our country, in order to prevent in our territory the creation or use of a military capability endangering the security of the United States. Cuba, endangering the security of a great Power! Cuba, the attacked, Cuba, the invaded, fills the leaders of tills great Power with panic! I do not think I need emphasize how ridiculous and how absurd such an assertion is.
53. In addition, in order to back this official statement of the United States Congress with action and, as a member of the House of Representatives put it, to face up to the Cuban question, among other purposes, 150,000 reservists are being called up, and units of Cuban counter-revolutionaries are being formed in the regular army of the United States. This, according to the terms of the joint resolution, is due to the danger that Cuba may become a military Power capable of disturbing the peaceful daily life of the people of the United States and endangering the security of this great Power. What shall we say in reply to this? We shall say that Cuba has indeed armed itself; that it has the right to arm itself and to defend itself. The important question is: Why has Cuba armed itself?
54. Of course we should have preferred to devote all those human and material resources, all the energies we have had to employ in strengthening our military defences, to the development of our economy and culture; We have armed ourselves against our wishes contrary to our aspirations, because we were driven to strengthen our military defences lest we should jeopardize the sovereignty of our nation and the independence of our homeland. We have armed ourselves because the people of Cuba have a legitimate right, sanctioned by history, to defend their sovereign decisions and to steer their country on the historic course which, in the exercise of their sovereignty, they have chosen.
55. I ask you, so that you may answer in all sincerity to your own consciences: what would have happened if we had not strengthened our military defences when a division armed and trained by the United States Government invaded our country at Playa Girón? Our revolution would not, of course have been defeated nor the tide of our history turnedbaok; but no doubt the struggle would have been long and bloody, and many more lives and more, wealth than our country actually lost would have been destroyed. We wiped out this invasion, this unjustified act of aggression and arrogance towards our country, in seventy-two hours, because we had exercised in time the right to strengthen our defensive military capability in order to safeguard our sovereignty, our independence and our revolution.
56. That is why we armed ourselves. We hope to be able one day to throw these armaments overboard. We are a peace-loving people; we want peace, and not war. The people of Cuba aspire only to carry out the great triumphs of its future history in developing our country through peaceful and creative work. We have been obliged to arm ourselves, not in order to attack anyone, any nation, but only to defend ourselves.
57. We replied to the joint resolution of the United States Congress at the appropriate time with a statement approved by our Council of Ministers, the pertinent part of which I will read to you. Our Council of Ministers said: "If the United States could give Cuba effective and satisfactory guarantees concerning the integrity of our territory and if it would desist from its subversive and counter-revolutionary activities against our people, Cuba would not need to strengthen its defences and would not even need an army, and we would gladly apply all the resources now employed in defence to the economic and cultural development of our nation."
58. If the United States could give assurances, by word and by deed, that it would not commit acts of aggression against our country, we solemnly declare that there would be no need for our weapons and our armies, because we want peace and we want to carry on our work in peace.
59. However, we are in no way obliged to account to the United States Congress for what we are doing to defend our territorial integrity. We are arming ourselves as we think best for the defence of our nation, and not in order to attack anyone; and, I repeat, we do not have to account for this to any Power or to any foreign congress.
60. We shall continue, as long as the tragic circumstances so require, to strengthen our military defences for our own protection, and not in order to attack anyone; and if we are attacked, the attackers will be met with the force of our arms, but also with the force of our patriotism.
61. Obviously, the most important and most serious aspect of this resolution of the United States Congress is that the United States claims to reserve the right — the alleged right — to decide unilaterally and on its own account when, in its judgement, these conditions laid down by the joint resolution as grounds for giving prior sanction to armed aggression against our country have arisen. This is the most serious point because, according to this resolution, the United States Government need only declare that any one of these conditions exists in order to feel itself entitled to make a direct armed attack on us. What remarkable contempt for international law, what remarkable contempt for international organizations, what remarkable contempt for the United Nations.
62. Thus artificially are pretexts for aggression fabricated in advance, just as attempts are made to use as a pretext for aggression the alleged possibility that Cuba may attempt, by force or by arms, to take over the territory occupied. by the United States naval base at Guantanamo. We have indeed more than once asserted our right to recover this territory, which was taken from us by coercion and force on the occasion of intervention by the United States. Even international conferences, such as the Belgrade Conference have expressly recognized this right of ours to recover the territory in question.
63. We are also aware of the use being made of that naval base at the present time. It is being used to recruit and train counter-revolutionaries, to carry out acts of provocation against our military posts at the frontier, to affront our citizens and to infiltrate into our territory agents of subversion, conspiracy and espionage.
64. However, we wish to take this further opportunity to state once more that we shall exercise this right at the appropriate time, but not by physical force or by arms, We, shall exercise this right, at the time we deem appropriate, through the legal channels of international law and before the competent international bodies. We shall not present the United States with a pretext for aggression. We wish that this were a dispute that might one day be settled by peaceful negotiations; but so long as that does not come to pass, and so long as we postpone exercising this right through the channels sanctioned by international law, we here protest the possibility that a pretext for aggression may be engineered through an act of self-provocation at the Guantánamo naval base.
65. What is the Cuban position in the face of this aggressive conduct towards us? From the time of the initial worsening of Cuban-United States relations up to the present day, Cuba has always been prepared to negotiate the differences between the United States and Cuba, through normal diplomatic channels or by any appropriate means. For instance, as is proclaimed in the statement by our Council of Ministers, Cuba could have compensated United States citizens and interests affected by the revolutionary laws if economic aggression had not intervened and if the Government of that country had been willing to negotiate on a basis of respect for the wishes, the dignity and the sovereignty of our people. Our readiness for peaceful and negotiated solutions was stated more than once, and we declared these intentions clearly and repeatedly in official diplomatic notes to the United States Government. The United States Government's refusal, time and again, to negotiate has served to show that it pursues but one objective, which is the overthrow of the Revolutionary Government of my country, the destruction of the Cuban revolution, and interference with the self-determination of our people.
66. With the change of the Administration in the United States when President Kennedy assumed the presidency of that country, we again stated our willingness to resolve the existing state of tension by peaceful means. What were the replies t6 these words and these overtures of peace? The replies were a continuation of the aggressive policy of the previous Administration, an attack upon and invasion of our country, the execution by the present Government, as President. Kennedy himself has admitted, of the plans for attacking and invading Cuba prepared by the former Administration. Cuba wanted peace and the United States of America wanted war.
67. Sometimes, however, the lessons of history are not learnt, and the great lesson of Playa Girón was not learnt. Even after that ridiculous fiasco, which so affected the prestige of those who had just been installed in power, there were further acts of aggression, further refusals to negotiate, and the situation today is the deplorable outcome of this contempt, this arrogance, these aggressive intentions towards our country.
68. Cuba, mark you, has been and is disposed to, take any steps deemed helpful in easing this tension which envelops Cuban-United States relations, with their threat to world peace. Being thus disposed, Cuba has the moral right to call upon the delegation of the Government of the United States of America, from this rostrum, to say whether the United States Government is also disposed to take the steps which would help to settle this state of international tension enveloping Cuba.
69. I am sorry to say that we do not feel very hopeful because, unfortunately, we know more or less what the answer will be. These steps in the interest of peace which we are disposed to take and which we are asking the Government of the United States of America whether it is disposed to take, will unfortunately — and you will be special witnesses of this — not be taken.
70. We should like these steps to be taken. We love peace, we want to work; we want to expedite the progress of our nation. We do not want to squabble and make war. Yet we follow the course dictated by patriotism, by cool-headedness and by the responsibility of government. Unfortunately the course taken by the Government of the United States of America is a different one; it is a course dictated by arrogance, by a desire to dominate and by panic at the example of the Cuban revolution.
71. Cuba is not an aggressive country, it is a peaceful country. Cuba has no monopolies in its territory devoted to the manufacture of weapons, and thus war is not good business for our country. Cuba does not want war. Cuba wants peace; it wants to live in peace and friendship with all the peoples of this continent and of the world. It would have liked to live on peaceful terms with the United States, and yet despite this wish of ours, we have had to live with all our defences constantly on the alert, with our weapons ready, with our fighting forces on stand-by both day and night, always ready to go about our peaceful and creative daily work, but always ready, also, to engage in armed strife, which we do not want, but which, should it become inevitable, we shall face with all this historic courage of our people.
72. Cuba does not, as has been stated here, represent a problem between the East and the West. Cuba poses a problem of sovereignty and independence. The Cuban problem is a problem involving the sovereign decision of a people and the right of that people to self-determination. Cuba has not wanted to be drawn into the cold war. Cuba merely wants to pursue its economic and cultural development and to shape its own future in peace, and it is ready to demonstrate these intentions at any time. And if it is not true that there is an intention to attack our country — although we consider that such an intention certainly exists — we urge the head of the United States delegation specifically to guarantee before this Assembly that his Government does not intend to attack Cuba. We urge him, however, to back up these guarantees not merely by words, but more especially by deeds. Verbal guarantees were given before Playa Girón, and when the invasion took place, many Members of the Assembly heard the representative of the United States Government state that there was no such invasion and that his Government had not planned one; yet only a few days later, the President of the United States himself publicly and officially assumed the responsibility for that invasion.
73. Bearing in mind these precedents, we are consequently justified in requesting here in the United Nations that guarantees of non-aggression be given, but they should not be merely verbal, but should also, and above all, be backed up by deeds.
74. Let no one tell us that the Cuban problem is not a question of bilateral differences between the United States and our country, but rather a problem that concerns the hemisphere.
75. We have repeatedly proclaimed, and we do so again, our respect for the principle of non-intervention, for the sovereignty and for the independence of all the other American countries. We do not represent a hemisphere problem. Cuba poses no problem for this hemisphere; the problem of the hemisphere is under-development. Cuba is not a problem of the hemisphere; the problem of the hemisphere is hunger in this continent. Cuba is not a problem of the hemisphere; the problem of the hemisphere is illiteracy and the lack of education on this continent. Cuba is not a problem of the hemisphere; the problem of the hemisphere is interference by the United States in the domestic affairs of the countries of this continent. A problem of the hemisphere and a problem of peace is the fact that the United States Government is making ready special armed forces in various countries of this continent in order to foster the suppression of popular movements, and this problem embodies nothing less than the threat of a new colonial war in America.
76. Cuba is not a problem of hemispheric concern, but the United States is because of its lack of respect for the sovereignty of the other States. Cuba poses no problem for the countries that respect it; Cuba can pose a problem only for the Governments that have cause to fear, not our subversive capacity or any hypothetical aggressive intentions on our part, but rather the example set by. the Cuban revolution.
77. The Revolutionary Government of Cuba, as was stated in the decision of its Council of Ministers, affirms once more that the foreign policy of our country is founded on the principle of non-intervention, on the right of all nations to self-determination, on recognition of the sovereign equality of States, on freedom of trade, on the settlement of international disputes by negotiation and on the will to co-exist in peace with all the peoples of the world.
78. Faithful as it is to these tenets of its international policy and to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, Cuba does not constitute the slightest threat to the security of any country in our continent, It has never displayed, nor does it now display, any, aggressive intentions towards any of them; but rather the most absolute respect for the policy of non-intervention being convinced, as our own national history goes, to show, that every people has the sovereign right to shape its own destinies without any odious interference from outside.
79. Far from infringing this international norm, Cuba, on the contrary — suffering a tragic loss of resources and of lives as a result — has persistently been the victim of interference in its internal policies and of aggression coming from the territories of other countries of the continent, not only, from the United States but also from some Latin American countries whose Governments, indifferent to the true feelings of their peoples, have covertly or overtly joined in the chorus of imperialist slander led by the Government of the United States.
80. That: is our policy: a policy of peace and co-existence, imbued with the firm and profound desire to maintain the best possible relations with all the nations of this continent. But if, in spite of it, we are attacked, we shall defend ourselves. We are, I repeat, well equipped to defend ourselves, for while we can of course rely on our unavoidable weapons — weapons that we wish we did not need and that we do not want to use — we can also rely on the unyielding patriotism of our people and — as history has given great and eloquent proof — on the solidarity of other peoples. We can likewise rely, we are pleased to say, on friendly nations and Governments that are ready to. offer us their solidarity and to defend Cuba's right to its independence and its territorial integrity.
81. We hope from the bottom of our hearts that past errors will not be repeated. We sincerely hope that the United States Government will not commit any further error. If it has not learnt the lesson of Playa Girón, let it at least pause in its arrogance and heed the insistent voice of international wisdom. If, however, to our great regret and against our wishes, it does commit such an error, then we put the United Nations on notice here and now that we are determined to fight. If this error is committed, we give warning that the aggression against Cuba, despite ourselves and against our will, could, as has been pointed out here, become the starting-point of a new world war.
82. We profoundly hope that that will not happen; we profoundly hope that this error will not be made. We hope as much because we are concerned not only for the fate if our people but also for the fate of all mankind. We are convinced of the sincerity and worth of international solidarity. That is why we believe in the sincerity and worth of the statements of solidarity that have been made by the Government of the Soviet Union. If the Government of the United States does not share this belief, that is because it does not grasp the meaning of a policy founded on principles. We place our trust in principles, we carry on our struggle under the guidance of principles, and all our work and creative endeavours are actuated by and founded on principles. We do indeed believe in principles, and that is why we believe in that solidarity.
83. We do not want such an error to be made. We want peace and I repeat here that we are ready to take all the steps that are required in order to guarantee peace. We only wish to give wanting of the risks which we have brought to the attention of the world through the United Nations. Our position, then, is that we are willing to take the necessary steps to ensure peace. But if pride; the quest for domination, or panic in the face of the example set for the continent by the Cuban revolution should once again cause the United States Government to tread the path of error, the Cuban people, always ready and willing to live in peace, will also be ready to take up arms at any time and fight for their independence.
84, That is our position. In the course of the last few hours, the Press and radio of this country have taken it upon themselves to forecast the possibility that the United States delegation may make a statement in reply to our own. We are aware that that is not the usual practice in the United Nations, bearing in mind our position, but we do not object to that. In the final analysis, we do not care who speaks last in this Assembly; it is of no importance to us who had the last word here. The last word will be that of history as recorded in the future. The Cuban people place its confidence in the future and is content to rely on the future verdict of history because for the first time that people is shaping its own history in complete freedom.