HAVANA.- Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that the U.S. government, in its desire to create greater tensions and increase hostility, is placing obstacles in the way of the upcoming UN vote against the blockade.
According to Prensa Latina, Minister Rodriguez a explained that Washington, in its attempts to increase hostility against Cuba, had no limits in creating difficulties for the General Assembly, which is an international, universal and democratic organ of the United Nations.
In this sense, he explained that the U.S. Department of State originally presented a few days ago a text of eight paragraphs of amendments to the draft resolution 'Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba'.
But it then viciously divided that document into eight separate amendments that it will submit tomorrow to the U.N. General Assembly for analysis, he added.
All of this shows the evident purpose of creating a pretext to harden the blockade and try to present the illusion that there is international support for that policy, the Cuban foreign minister said.
In this way, he added, the U.S. delegation seeks to disturb, consume time, create confusion and hinder the adoption of the resolution calling for an end to the blockade against Cuba.
The amendments presented by the United States aim to change the nature of the resolution opposing the blockade, with emphasis on its extraterritorial application, he explained.
Instead, he said, the United States wants to turn it into a resolution containing attacks against Cuba in the area of human rights, which is totally unjustified.
Cuba has presented this draft resolution in the last 26 years and, this time, the United States is seeking to obstruct the adoption of the resolution, thus concealing 'the flagrant and systematic massive violation suffered by the Cuban people, which is precisely the application of the blockade,' he said.
The northern delegation forces the UN General Assembly to pronounce on eight documents of amendments, all aggressive against Cuba, all manipulators of the cause of human rights and the Objectives of Sustainable Development, denounced the foreign minister.
As he explained, there are other UN bodies and instances where it would be appropriate to have a conversation on human rights.
Unlike in previous years, Wednesday morning's session will see a debate in the General Assembly on the resolution presented by Cuba, and speeches by groups of countries and member states will be heard.
The vote on the draft resolution calling for an end to the blockade will take place on Thursday, because instead of facilitating a brief vote as in previous years, the U.S. Department of State seeks to alter the process and analyze eight different amendments, underscored the Chancellor.
We are confident that the amendments will be rejected and that the resolution will receiv overwhelming majority support, as has happened in the past.