• In light of the Cuban president’s determination not to be denied his
                   right to participate in the Summit, "top-ranking persons" in the
                   Mexican government asked him to leave after the luncheon, National
                   Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón charges

                   BY JOAQUIN RIVERY TUR (Granma daily special correspondent)

                   MONTERREY.- Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, president of
                   Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power and head of the
                   Cuban delegation to the United Nations Conference on
                   Financing for Development, revealed that President Fidel
                   Castro’s early return to Cuba was due to brutal pressure
                   placed on the Mexican government by the United States.

                   Alarcón told a group of Cuban and foreign reporters that they
                   were exceptional witnesses to the efforts made by the
                   island’s delegation to avoid making declarations regarding the
                   situation, which obliged President Fidel Castro to make a
                   clarification after concluding his speech, and then to leave the
                   conference.

                   "We tried to find a favorable solution and avoid having to do
                   what I now have no choice but to do. Foreign Minister
                   Castañeda declared to the press on several occasions that no
                   steps were taken by any authorized official to place
                   restrictions on Cuba’s participation, and he suggested several
                   times that Cuba was the one that had to explain what had
                   occurred, because he did not have the information. I must say
                   that the statements Castañeda made are absolutely false.

                   "I was surprised to hear his statements, because I know that
                   he knew exactly what had occurred. He knew perfectly well
                   that Cuba knew, was informed and could have given
                   appropriate explanations, and that nonetheless we had
                   chosen not to do so, as was made evident to you yesterday
                   when you made sustained efforts so that I would tell you
                   what I am going to say now.

                   "Not only high-ranking officials, but I would say very
                   high-ranking persons in the Mexican government
                   communicated to us before the conference began that they
                   had been subjected to pressures by the United States to
                   block Cuba’s participati in the conference, and specifically to
                   keep its delegation from being headed by the president of the
                   Council of State, Comrade Fidel Castro.

                   "Cuba rejected those proposals, demanding its right to
                   participate in a United Nations conference to which it was
                   properly invited. As a result of Cuba’s reaction and Cuba’s
                   resistance, and the apparently sustained and very strong U.S.
                   pressure, they had to let Fidel come, but simultaneously
                   requested and asked him – I repeat, very high-ranking
                   persons in this country – to leave after the luncheon."

                   He added that this had not been explained before, "because
                   we tried to be constructive and to persuade the Mexican
                   authorities that the most suitable thing for everyone was to
                   find an honorable, adequate solution, which is now impossible
                   because the closed-door meeting [for heads of state, not
                   heads of delegations] is now taking place.

                   Alarcón pointed out that some heads of state or government
                   did not attend the closed-door meeting because, among other
                   things, they knew it was a discriminatory meeting contributing
                   an additional element of incorrectness to this process.

                   They say that the United Nations rules and those of the host
                   country are different, the president of the Cuban parliament
                   commented. "I am not a head of state, but I am the only
                   person who is in Monterrey to whom the head of state
                   delegated his representation, and he is the only head of state
                   who has been arbitrarily excluded from participating in this
                   meeting.

                   "It’s not true that Cuba could be represented by its head of
                   state, because he was clearly and categorically asked to leave
                   Mexico as soon as possible, that is, to leave yesterday at a
                   specific time, after the luncheon."

                   In addition, the head of the Cuban delegation revealed the
                   existence of a document in English referred to during the
                   "closed-door" meeting, which would later be proposed for
                   adoption by the conference and which could be the same as
                   the Monterrey Consensus, in the sense that perhaps it would
                   not be debatable or amendable.

                   He added that a group of people cannot assume the
                   representation of a conference, without even asking
                   permission.

                   He was very comforted and even moved by the fact that some
                   Caribbean delegations had not attended the official dinner nor
                   the meeting of heads of state, as an expression of solidarity
                   with Cuba.

                   In response to a question, Alarcón stated that very little
                   precedent will remain in the United Nations as a result of the
                   incident with Cuba, because no one there will understand nor
                   accept such a thing, which is completely contrary to the spirit
                   and tradition of the organization. The United Nations
                   demands that host countries of a meeting accept all members
                   of the United Nations, based on a principle in the UN
                   Charter’s first paragraph, establishing sovereign equality
                   among states, he added.

                   He also highlighted that many of his colleagues, some
                   government representatives, also wanted to know if Cuba
                   would attend the activity, if the delegation was invited. "I can
                   say that we feel very well accompanied and I have never had
                   as much contact with heads of state or government as I have
                   in the last hour, when they should presumably be
                   participating in that meeting behind closed doors.

                   "I do not believe it has to do with a lack of hospitality on the
                   part of the host country," he clarified. "It was simply
                   impossible to resist that amount of pressure, which was
                   strong enough to provoke a truly unheard-of situation. We,
                   understanding the situation our Mexican friends faced, were
                   willing to make a maximum effort, and that is what we have
                   done."

                   He explained that the decision to expose this situation came
                   "after it was reiterated to me by the Department of Foreign
                   Relations that I could not participate in the famous
                   closed-door meeting."

                   Regarding what he has heard from other countries about
                   Fidel’s words, Alarcón said there were expressions of
                   agreement and support, and that he heard very interesting
                   opinions about concrete proposals that go far beyond the
                   Monterrey Consensus, even expressions of dissatisfaction
                   with the banal document, as it was described by the prime
                   minister of Belgium, who also complained about the
                   imposition of the document and the fact that there was no
                   room for discussion at the highest political levels.

                   RELATIONS WITH MEXICO

                   When questioned about relations between both countries, he
                   indicated that what had occurred was a regrettable event,
                   "but relations with Mexico have passed through other difficult
                   moments, which others have also tried to create. It’s not the
                   first time. There is a long history of relations, in which the
                   enemy of both Mexico and Cuba has attempted to create
                   problems, but at the same time there are profound feelings, a
                   solid friendship and solidarity between both peoples, millions
                   and millions of Mexicans and Cubans, including people very
                   representative of Mexican society.

                   "I’m confident that relations between Mexico and Cuba will be
                   able to overcome any obstacle. The enemy will have to
                   become stronger if it hopes to confuse our two nations in the
                   future, but I don’t think it will succeed."