Posted on 04/23/2002 4:55:38 PM PDT by GeneD
Filed at 7:29 p.m. ET
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) -- Uruguay's president announced Tuesday that his country was breaking diplomatic ties with Cuba, days after Uruguay sponsored a U.N. human rights vote targeting Fidel Castro's government.
The surprise announcement by President Jorge Batlle came as the Uruguayan leader charged Cuba with a series of insults against his small South American nation.
Uruguay sponsored a resolution targeting Cuba that was passed Friday by the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The vote was a tight 23-21 with nine abstentions.
The resolution invited the communist-run country to provide its people with greater civil and political rights. It also exhorted Cuba to allow a U.N. representative to visit the island -- an idea Havana rejected.
Almost all Latin American nations on the 53-member commission approved the human rights measure, prompting Cuba to term them all ``Judases.''
In the weeks leading up to the vote, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque accused Uruguay of ``genuflecting'' and of ``being servile'' to the United States by sponsoring the resolution.
At a news conference late Tuesday, Batlle bluntly complained that insults by Cuban leaders ``continued to escalate in tone'' to the point that Uruguay was forced to act.
``The rupture will remain until it is clear that the Cuban people have peace and liberty,'' Batlle bristled at the news conference in this South American capital.
Batlle said he instructed Foreign Minister Didier Opertti to carry out the necessary steps to formalize the break in relations. He did not elaborate nor say whether he had ordered the expulsion of Cuba's ambassador to Uruguay.
Diplomatic relations between Uruguay and Cuba date to 1986, restored after the end of a right-wing military dictatorship in Uruguay.
But relations fell on rocky times in the weeks leading up to the Geneva vote. Uruguay's government went so far as to recall its ambassador, Enrique Estrazulas, to show its displeasure.
No official could immediately be reached at Cuba's embassy in Montevideo for comment.
Ha, ha!
Then the rest of the world could live without the lying and scheming of the socialists. Of course empty all of the Commies out of Cuba. We could make Cub our 51st state if they want to become a state. If not they would be a great neighbor without the commies and Fidel.
What high handed language. If Uruguay took a stand with Cuba, what possible advantage could Cuba offer? Uruguay has decided to back winners. Smart countries on the rest of the continent will take stock and follow.
As a matter of interest, do you know which countries abstained and which voted "against"?
In a resolution on the situation of human rights in Cuba (E/CN.4/2002.L.30), the Commission invited the Government of Cuba, whose efforts to give effect to the social rights of the population despite an adverse international environment were to be recognized, to make efforts to achieve similar progress in respect of human, civil and political rights, in accordance with the provision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles and standards of the rule of law; encouraged the Government to accede to the International Covenants on Civil and Political and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a personal representative with a view to cooperation between her Office and the Government of Cuba in implementation of the present resolution; and urged the Government to take all necessary measures so that such a visit could take place as soon as possible....
L.30 was adopted by a roll-call vote of 23 in favour to 21 against, with 9 abstaining. The result of the vote on L.30 was as follows:
In favour: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Uruguay.
Against: Algeria, Bahrain, Burundi, China, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Indonesia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia.
I'll never forget watching TV with my Uruguayan father, viewing an excerpt of one of Castro's hours-long rants before a huge assembled Cuban crowd.
As the camera panned over some fidgeting crowd members, my dad commented, "And you can bet none of those Cuban bastards dares to move or to even go to the bathroom on pain of death."
I forgot the abstentions: Armenia, Brazil, Ecuador, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Thailand and Uganda.
If you're wondering about the ellipsis, I left out an intermediate procedural vote that went by about the same margin.
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