11-10-05,9:25am

Prior to a historic vote by the UN General Assembly, the Cuban Foreign Minister, Felipe Perez Roque, delivered a speech condemning the US blockade of his country and providing evidence of its negative impact on the island and of its territorial nature.

Dear President:

Dear Delegates:

Today is a day of particular importance for the United Nations. By casting a vote for the fourteenth time on the draft resolution presented by Cuba, entitled ´The Need To Put An End To The Economic, Commercial And Financial Blockade Imposed On Cuba By The United States of America´, the General Assembly will not only be making a decision regarding a subject that affects Cuba; we will also be voting in favour of the principles and regulations of International Law, against the extraterritorial application of laws and in defense of the human rights of Cubans, Americans and the citizens of the 191 States represented in this Assembly.

It is true that the United States Government has repeatedly ignored the almost unanimous demand of the international community and it is also certain that President Bush will intensify the blockade even more, making it the longest and cruelest of its kind in history. But this doesn´t diminish in any way the political, moral, ethical and legal significance of this vote.

Never before has this blockade been applied with the viciousness and brutally seen over the last 18 months. Never before has a Government of the United States so cruelly and mercilessly persecuted the economy and the right of the Cuban people to live a decent and respectable life. Ever since May 6 2004, when the President of the United States signed his new plan to annex Cuba, there has been an unprecedented and hysterical escalation in the application of new and aggressive measures, including the threat of military force against Cuba and the persecution of citizens and companies from not only Cuba, but also from the United States and the rest of the world.

Due to these measures, in May 2004, the Swiss bank, UBS, was fined 100 million dollars, the largest fine ever to be imposed on a banking institution for having suposedly violated the sanctions against Cuba.

On 30 September 2004, at the height of delirium and absurdity, the so-called Control Regulations on Cuban Assets were intensified and it was established that ´citizens and permanent residents of the United States cannot legally buy products of Cuban origin, including tobacco and alcohol in a third country, even for their own personal use abroad.´ The criminal sanctions for these violations are fines of up to one million dollars for corporations and 250 thousand dollars and a maximum of 10 years in jail for citizens. This is the first time ever that an American is banned from smoking a Cuban cigar or from buying a bottle of the incomparable ´Havana Club´ rum, even if they do so as tourists on holiday in another country. Apropos insane acts, this draconian ban should be entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

On October 9, 2004, in an act of aggression without precedent in the history of international financial relations, the Department of State announced the establishment of a ´Persecution Group of Cuban Assets´. The very existence of a group with this name should make the President of the most powerful nation on Earth feel ashamed.

In January 2005, the Office of Foreign Assets Control redefined travel regulations in a way which meant that American citizens were no longer allowed to participate in meetings in Cuba that were sponsored and organised by United Nations agencies based in the United States, unless they had been previously granted permission by the U.S. Government.

In blatant and shameless violation of the international regulations regarding brand names and patents, on February 24th, a legal maneuver was put into force that would rob Cuba of its rights to the Cohiba brand name, one of the most prestigious among all Cuban cigars.

On April 13, 2005, a guilty verdict was reached in the case of the American citizen, Stefan Brodie, the former president of the PUROLITE company, who was accused of having sold ionised resin to Cuba for the purification of the water in Cuban water systems.

On April 29th, President Bush ordered the Treasury Department to hand over 198 million dollars from Cuban funds illegally frozen in banks in the United States in order to settle one of the spurious lawsuits brought against Cuba by the violent and extremist groups that, with total impunity, organize terrorist plots against Cuba from Miami.

In April 2005, in accordance with the Helms-Burton Law, the new directors of the Canadian company, Sheritt, and their families, were denied entry... ( click here for remainder of speech at Prensa Latina)