Raul Castro in His Worldwide Debut

Raul Castro in His Worldwide Debut / Cubanet, Miriam Leiva
Posted on October 2, 2015

Cubanet, Miriam Leiva, Havana, 30 September 2015 – The organization
United Nations organization is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its
creation in a big way. The most important players in world politics and
the dignitaries from the majority of its member countries met in New
York. The 2030 Sustainable Development Summit, where Pope Francis gave
his first speech before the UN, took place from 25-27 September, and the
Conference on Gender Equality was held on the 27th. The high-level
meetings of the UN's 70th session began on the 28th.

Raúl Castro traveled for the first time to the United States as
President of Cuba on 24 September. The General-President wore the halo
of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the United States,
the reopening of the respective embassies, conversations with President
Obama, the constant flow of dignitaries from other countries and
American visitors to Cuba, the mediation between Venezuela and the US,
and participation in the meeting of Colombian President Juan Manuel
Santos and the chief of the FARC-EP for the signing in Havana of their
first peace accord.

The Cuban leader seemed to enjoy the influence of his constant
accompaniment of Pope Francis during his Cuban tour—with a synchronicity
developed during the papal facilitation of conversations with the US—and
appeared to be counting on the symbolism continuing in Washington, New
York and Philadelphia.

But the media stumble caused to the Supreme Pontiff over the detention
of more than 150 activists from the independent civil society, among
them three ladies who had been invited by the Papal Nunciature to greet
him, uncovered the buried reality that in Cuba the same dictatorship
from the last almost 57 years still exists; and it tarnished the arrival
of Raúl Castro in the US, and his presence in the Cuban seat during the
speech by the Holy Father before the United Nations on 25 September.
Then he did not hear Cuba explicitly named for the negotiations with the
US, nor the condemnation of the embargo/blockade, just as had not
happened in the speeches by Pontiff previously during the US Congress
joint session. The public greeting, and the Francis/Castro/Obama meeting
that had been predicted by the media, did not occur.

Nonetheless, Raúl Castro saturated the UN as planned, to make up for his
prior absence since assuming power nine years ago. He delivered speeches
on 26, 27 and 28 September at the 2030 Development Summit, the Gender
Equality Conference, and the high-level segment of the UN General
Assembly, consecutively.

The General held meetings with: Bill Clinton; the Prime Minister of
Sweden; Ban Ki-Moon; the President of Guyana; Vladimir Putin; Xi
Jinping; Lukashenko (the dictator of Belarus); Francois Hollande;
Democratic senators and representatives; the president of the US Chamber
of Commerce and CEOs of major corporations; the Governor of the State of
New York, Andrew Cuomo, and the mayor of the City of New York, Bill de
Blasio; as well as other personalities. Also, diplomatic relations were
established with the Marshall Islands.

During the inauguration of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly,
on 28 September, Obama reiterated that the policy maintained by the US
towards Cuba for 50 years had failed in bettering the lives of the Cuban
people, that the US will continue having differences with the Cuban
government, and that it would defend human rights—but that it would deal
with these matters through diplomatic channels as well as through
increased levels of commerce and people-to-people ties (a policy
initiated by President Obama in 2009).

He added that, as progress is made, he is confident that the Congress
will inevitably lift "an embargo that should not be in place anymore."
He similarly reaffirmed that his policies have the same objectives,
through other means: "Change won't come overnight to Cuba, but I'm
confident that openness, not coercion, will support the reforms and
better the life the Cuban people deserve, just as I believe that Cuba
will find its success if it pursues cooperation with other nations."

Raúl Castro delivered a speech in Comandante style, albeit closely
hewing to the brevity required in the UN (unlike Fidel Castro on 28
September 1960). He reiterated demands on the US for normalizing
relations: elimination of the embargo, compensation for the
embargo/blockade, return of the territory occupied by the Naval Base at
Guantánamo, and the cessation of broadcasts from Radio and TV Martí.

That night he attended the reception hosted by Barack Obama for
high-level dignitaries attending the UN—the first such occasion, since
the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, in which he participated as
Chief of State and Government at an official activity of the United
States Government.

The presidents met the next morning, accompanied by their chancellors,
Alejandro Castro Espín (Raúl's son), and other functionaries. Later,
[Foreign Affairs Minister] Bruno Rodríguez held press conference where
he stated that the meeting had taken place in a respectful and
productive atmosphere.

Regarding the detention of government opponents during the visit by Pope
Francis, the minister responded that the Cuban government is proud of
its record of achievement in human rights, that the exercise of all
rights is guaranteed, that the laws and courts adjudicate and sanction
according to the legal classification of behaviors, and that laws
regarding foreign government agents in the US and European countries are
much more severe.

This answer constitutes a warning that the Cuban government continues to
categorize all opponents as US agents, and that it could go back to
using Law #88 of 1997, on "Protection of the National Independence and
Economy of Cuba," for which they sentenced 75 peaceful individuals to
terms of up to 28 years in prison. Twelve of those so condemned are
still in Cuba on parole.

The world has opened up for Raúl Castro. How he will fulfill his
promises remains to be seen. He cannot forget the "disposable ones":
almost all the people of Cuba.

Translated by Alicia Barraqué Ellison

Source: Raul Castro in His Worldwide Debut / Cubanet, Miriam Leiva |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/raul-castro-in-his-worldwide-debut-cubanet-miriam-leiva/