The leader of the Cuban
Revolution, Fidel Castro, today said that he "unhesitatingly" opposes the
killing of innocent people in armed conflicts. "I unhesitatingly oppose the
killing of innocent people," Fidel Castro told Ancol [Colombian News
Agency] and the special correspondent of Colombia's private media network
Radio Cadena Nacional (RCN)...
Herewith the remarks of President Fidel Castro to Ancol and RCN:
[Ancol/RCN] What is Cuba's current role in the Colombian peace process?
[Castro] We are not seeking a prominent role. We maintain absolute
discretion and we are willing to cooperate in what is within our reach.
[Ancol/RCN] Do you recommend prudence and patience?
[Castro] One should not make recommendations. If one wants to be
successful, one should refrain from making recommendations to anyone;
otherwise people will say you are applying pressure. I believe that we are
being very discreet on the Colombian issue. The peace process in
Colombia is no easy task.
[Ancol/RCN] Do you mean to say that Cuba's interest in bringing about
peace in Colombia is very much alive?
[Castro] I believe we have duly proven that it is.
[Ancol/RCN] What are your feelings about 11 September, three months
after the fact? What do you think about the counterterrorist struggle? What
course should it take?
[Castro] I have always advocated a different approach. Violence is not the
right approach because it generates tensions and hatred. I am absolutely
convinced that in this struggle, no religion or culture remains indifferent to
the killing of innocent children and women. We were fighters, guerrillas, but
I do not remember a single case of a civilian being killed in combat, no
matter how fierce it may have been.
[Ancol/RCN] The civilians were always spared in your struggle?
[Castro] The civilian population supported us because we respected them
and our adversaries. We respected our prisoners...
[Ancol/RCN] Commander Castro, many innocent people are getting killed in
the Colombian war... [ellipsis as published]
[Castro] I unhesitatingly oppose the killing of innocent people. Just recently
I talked about what is happening in Israel where tanks, planes, and
helicopters are being used to kill people one by one, to attack homes...
[ellipsis as published] However, I also said that we condemn all acts of
terror directed at Israeli children, women and citizens. One must be
consistent. One can see that Palestinians are the victims of genocide, but,
even so, nothing can justify actions that inflict such terrible pain. Not even
vanquished people are entitled to kill women, children, etc...[ellipsis as
published]
In the face of events such as those in New York, they should think about
the children. We are talking about our children, our grandchildren, young,
intelligent boys and girls, our future. I imagine that several of them have died
in such actions. That is why we have remained faithful to our position. We
have our own opinion on the matter and when we talk to people we tell them
what we think. However, one cannot go around publicly telling people what
to do because nobody likes it. When you talk with somebody and they ask
for your opinion, you can give it, but in Colombia's specific case one must
be very discreet. Londono (Colombian ambassador to Cuba) is there (in
Havana) and I would very much like to, but we do not want to meddle, not
even in that. [Sentence as received] We have asked the ambassador to tell
us how things are going. I am convinced that peace will be good for his
nation. We want to contribute our grain of sand and that is what we are
doing.
[Ancol/RCN] The meeting with the ELN [National Liberation Army] in Cuba
has aroused great expectations in Colombia. These expectations take
precedence over everything else because Colombia is tired of all this
violence... [ellipsis as published]...
Source: Colombian Office of the President web site, Bogota, in Spanish 12
Dec 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
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