On Monday January 4, press reports indicated that as from that day, the US
Transport Security Administration was applying additional security measures,
at every airport in the world, to any passenger carrying a passport from the
countries the State Department has listed as “sponsors of international
terrorism.” Among the countries unfairly and arbitrarily included in that
list are Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan as well as other countries “of
interest” such as: Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. The measures also apply to any
person making a stopover in any of these 14 nations.
It has been reported that the decision to impose these new measures was
adopted after an attempted terrorist action against an American Northwest
Airlines aircraft aimed for Detroit city last December 25.
According to statements from unidentified American officials ran by the
press, the passengers that qualify in these categories will be subjected to
body search and their hand luggage will be thoroughly checked using
sophisticated explosive-detection techniques or imaging scanners.
In the evening of January 5, after a meeting with members of his National
Security staff, President Barack Obama confirmed the adoption of the
abovementioned regulations, in effect since the previous day, affecting
“passengers traveling to the United States from or through the nations in
our list of states sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest.”
That same evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba and its
Interests Section in Washington presented a Note of protest to the US
Interests Section in Havana and the State Department, respectively.
In the Note, the MINREX categorically rebuffs this new hostile action by
the US administration arising from the unjustified inclusion of Cuba in the
so-called list of ‘States sponsors of terrorism’ for purely political
reasons and with the single purpose of justifying the blockade policy that
the international community has so overwhelmingly condemned.
The Note contests the elaboration of such lists and underlines facts that
prove Cuba’s impeccable record in the fight on terrorism, an evil of which
it has historically been the victim. It also reaffirms that the arguments
used by the US administration to justify our country’s inclusion in its list
of “States sponsors of terrorism” are absolutely baseless, and demands its
immediate removal from that arbitrary list.
That same day, in response to an AFP question on the MINREX Note of
protest, a State Department spokesman said that “Cuba is a country that
supports terrorist activities, therefore, its citizens and travelers in air
transit should be subjected to additional controls for security reasons.”
Following the public announcement of this new measure, columnists of major
US newspapers like the Washington Post have referred to Cuba’s designation
as a “terrorist State” as something “ridiculous” and “unwarranted,” and have
recalled that our country poses no threat to the security of the United
States, adding that looking for terrorists in flights coming from Cuba “is a
waste of time.”
Again on January 5, 2010, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley stated
that Cuba’s designation as a “State sponsor of terrorism” is “well-earned.”
Next day, January 6, another spokesman repeated to AFP the worn out pretexts
that supposedly justify keeping Cuba in the terrorist list.
As one more element of its policy of hostility and its propaganda campaigns
aimed at discrediting the Revolution, in 1982, long before the attacks on
the Twin Towers in New York City, the Ronald Reagan administration unjustly
included Cuba in the annual State Department list of “States sponsors of
international terrorism.”
The insertion of Cuba in that list led to the implementation of new
economic sanctions that included freezing financial transactions, preventing
technology transfer and executing restrictive and isolationist actions
against the country and its citizens. These sanctions would be added to the
already Draconian regulations derived from the economic, commercial and
financial blockade imposed since the beginning of the Revolution.
Every year, the US administration has kept Cuba on that list resorting to
different pretexts, all of them unsustainable, while unable to offer any
evidence of our country’s involvement in any terrorist action.
On April 30, 2009, Obama’s administration ratified the absurd inclusion of
Cuba in that list while insisting that “the Cuban government continues to
provide save haven to various terrorists,” that “members of ETA, the FARC
and the ELN have remained in Cuba during 2008” and that “it continues to
allow some US fugitives to have legal residence in Cuba.” This was strongly
denied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and motivated a *Reflection* by
comrade Fidel challenging the United States to discuss the issue.
Cuba has revealed the past sufficient information to prove the falsity of
such pretexts and their manipulative nature. This was also extensively
described in the Declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs entitled
“Cuba has nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of,” published on May 2,
2003.
The presence of various exiled members of the Basque organization ETA was
not initiated by Cuba; it originated in a request from the Spanish
governments concerned with the issue, with which an agreement was reached,
more than one-fourth of a century ago, allowing a small group of members of
that organization to travel to Cuba. Our country then established the strict
rule that if any member of that group ever left the country they would be
unable to return to Cuban territory.
The members of ETA living in Cuba have never used our territory to conduct
actions of that organization against Spain or any other country. Cuba has
scrupulously abided by that agreement. The presence of ETA members in Cuba
is a bilateral issue discussed with the Spanish government in various
contacts. The US administration has no right or authority to interfere in
these affairs which do not involve or affect in any way its national
security or that of any other country.
As to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National
Liberation Army (ELN) of Colombia, it is widely known that, at a certain
point, both the Colombian government and these guerrilla forces converged in
asking Cuba to participate in the peace process. In that framework, Cuba has
been a member of the Group of Countries Facilitators of the dialogue and of
the Group of Friendly Countries to the Peace Talks and has hosted several
rounds of negotiations.
The transparent position of the Cuban government and its contribution to
the peace process has been publicly recognized not only by the FARC and the
ELN but also by the United Nations and the Colombian government.
As to the presence in Cuba of fugitives of the US justice, it would be
worthwhile repeating that no terrorist from any country has ever found save
haven or residence in our territory. Cuba has legitimately offered
protection and political asylum to some American civil right fighters.
Also living in Cuba are other American citizens who have broken the law,
mainly aircraft hijackers. These people were tried in court and severely
punished and after serving their sentences requested to remain in the
country. It was the Cuban government that adopted the necessary measures
that during Carter’s government definitely put an end to plane hijackings, a
scourge that had originated in the United States.
In contrast, since the triumph of the Revolution the US administration has
welcomed to its territory hundreds of criminals, murderers and terrorists,
ignoring the formal requests for their return filed by the Cuban government
in every case, in accordance with the Extradition Accords that were then in
effect. Many of these individuals still walk free and undisturbed the
streets of that country, even when they have been involved in other
terrorist actions against citizens and interests of the United States, Cuba
and other nations. The most notorious and appalling case was the blasting of
a Cubana Airlines passengers’ plane on October 6, 1976, that took the lives
of 73 people; this was the first terrorist action against a commercial
airliner in mid flight in the Western Hemisphere. The authors --Orlando
Bosch Avila and Luis Posada Carriles-- have lived and still live unpunished
in Miami. The former received a presidential pardon from George H.W.Bush
while the latter awaits a protracted trial under charges of deceit and
obstruction of justice in a migratory case but not for international
terrorism as his actions warrant.
Those same State Department reports that designate Cuba as a “State sponsor
of terrorism” have been unable to overlook some of these truths.
Cuba refuses to accept the illegitimate mechanism used by the US
administration to take upon itself the right of certifying the behavior of
other nations with respect to terrorism and to issue politically motivated,
discriminatory and selective lists while assuming a double-standard position
and failing to take to trial the confessed culprits of horrible terrorist
actions against Cuba who are instead allowed to go free.
An example of this is provided by our Five Heroes -- Gerardo, Fernando,
Ramón, Antonio and René—who are serving arbitrary and unfair sentences in
American prisons for protecting Cuba, --3478 of whose citizens were killed
and 2099 maimed by terrorist actions-- and also for defending the integrity
of citizens from the United States and other countries.
Cuba has always behaved in an exemplary manner in the fight on terrorism:
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Cuba condemns every act of terrorism, in all forms and manifestations;
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The Cuban territory has never been used nor will it ever be used to
arrange, finance or implement terrorist actions against any other country,
including the United States;
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Cuba is a Party to the 13 international conventions on terrorism and it
strictly observes the obligations set forth in UN Security Council
Resolutions 1267, 1373 and 1540 on this matter;
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Cuba does not have, nor does it intend to have, any kind of weapon of
mass destruction and it abides by its obligations stemming from the
international instruments it has signed related to nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons;
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The National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba adopted
on December 20, 2001, the Act 93 ‘Against Terrorist Actions,’ defining every
act of international terrorism as a serious crimes and establishing very
severe sentences;
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Additionally, Cuba has adopted measures to prevent and suppress every act
of terrorism and every action related to them, including financing
terrorism. Likewise, it has increased surveillance along its borders and
promoted actions to thwart the trafficking of weapons and to intensify
juridical cooperation with other countries. To this end, it has signed 35
agreements for juridical assistance and repeatedly expressed its continued
willingness to cooperate with very State in this area;
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In this spirit, Cuba has cooperated, even actively, with the US
administration. On three occasions, --November 2001, December 2001 and March
2002-- Cuba proposed to the US authorities a draft program of bilateral
cooperation to combat terrorism; and on July 2009, Cuba reiterated its
willingness to cooperate in this area;
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On various occasions, the Cuban authorities have let the US
administration know of its willingness to exchange information on plans to
carry out attacks and/or terrorist actions on targets located in either one
of the two countries. It is also known that in 1984 Cuba alerted on a plan
to attempt against the life of President Ronald Reagan which led to the
neutralization of those involved by the US authorities. In 1998, information
was transferred to the William F.Clinton administration on plans to blow up
planes from Cuban airlines or from other countries traveling to Cuba;
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Likewise, the Cuban authorities have provided the US government with
plenty of information on terrorist actions carried out against Cuba. In
1997, 1998, 2005 and 2006, Cuba handed over to the FBI numerous evidence on
a string of bombs set up in various Cuban tourist resorts, and even gave
them access to those responsible for such actions detained in Cuba and to
some witnesses;
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It should not be forgotten that Cuba was one of the first countries to
publicly condemn the criminal terrorist attacks of 9/11-2001 in the United
States; that it expressed its willingness to provide medical and
humanitarian assistance to the victims and that it immediately opened its
air space and airports to passenger planes flying towards American
territory. Despite the numerous terrorist actions against Cuba originated in
the US territory, our country has observed a clean and flawless conduct with
regards to any event that could affect US citizens because Cuba is a nation
guided by political principles and ethical standards.
The government of Cuba, loyal to its honor and dignity, condemns the
arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the list of 14 countries whose citizens will
be the subject of new restrictive measures determined by the US
Administration.
The government of Cuba also demands the immediate removal of Cuba from the
list of “States sponsors of international terrorism,” since it is an unfair,
arbitrary and politically motivated designation that contradicts the
exemplary conduct of our country in the struggle against terrorism and calls
into question the seriousness of the United States in the fight against that
scourge.
Similarly, it urges the US administration to act firmly and without double
standards, --as an expression of its commitment to the antiterrorist
struggle-- against those that have carried out terrorist actions on Cuba
from the US territory; and to free the Five Heroes who are Cuban
antiterrorists unjustly incarcerated in that country.
Havana, January 7, 2010
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba
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