Excerpts From Statements Made by Roa and Stevenson
to U.N. Political Committee
Special to The New York Times
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y., April
17--Following are excerpts from statements today by Dr. Raul Roa, Cuban
Foreign Minister, and Adlai E. Stevenson, chief United States delegate,
before the Central Assembly's Political Committee:
By Dr. Roa (Translation from the Spanish)
I must announce officially,
on behalf of the Government which I have the honor to represent, that the
Republic of Cuba was invaded this morning by a mercenary force which came
from Guatemala and Florida and which was organized, financed and armed
by the Government of the United States of America.
The Government of Cuba wishes
that notice be taken of its solemn accusations against the Government of
the United States. As far as the sovereignty and independence of my country
are concerned, it lays this responsibility on the shoulders of the United
States.
When all is said and done,
it is the Cuban people that are suffering from American bombs; they are
being strangled by American agents. Public buildings are being destroyed
by saboteurs. Sugar cane plantations are being burned by piratical planes
that are coming from Guatemalan bases.
Pentagon Assailed
These crimes and depredations
have been sanctified, paid for and blessed by the State Department, the
Pentagon and the C.I.A. in advance. They have received the absolution of
high ecclesiastical officials. In exchange for this absolution they are
at the same time crucifying the mandates of man and God and the principle
of nonintervention.
I do not think any dialectics
are necessary to stress the importance and urgency of this question. Suffice
it merely to glance at the newspapers, to listen to the radio, or even
to watch American television.
Perhaps some naive people
might ask, "Why does the Cuban delegation impute this guilt when a change
of administration has occurred in the United States? Do they capriciously
or stubbornly want to transfer to the Democratic Administration contumacy
and the ostensible transgression of an international juridical order, committed
by the Republican Administration, to the Democratic Administration?" Well,
the answer to this is, just watch the flow of events.
When the Democratic Administration
took over power on Jan. 20 of this year, the Government of Cuba had certain
hopes that the new leaders in the United States, who had learned from the
catastrophic orientation of American foreign policy, and were conscious
of the signs of the times, would change the methods and objectives of the
previous Administration in their relations of cold-war policy regarding
Cuba.
Kennedy Policy Scored
The step, which was taken immediately
by the new Administration was a backward step and it went so far back that
the claim presented against the Republican Administration was maintained
fully because it became dramatically topical.
The Democratic Administration
is still planning acts of aggression without looking at, respecting, remembering,
or in any other way honoring the Charter of the United Nations and the
agreements of the Organizations of American States. Nor is it even hewing
in any way to the most elementary norms of international law.
The policy of power of the
Republican Administration has been crudely overthrown by the Democratic
Administration and replaced by an even grater one.
Let us speak frankly: The
true and only reason for this cruel war without quarter is to place an
imperial yoke over the shoulders of a country which was strong enough to
break and shatter a previous yoke.
The Cuban Revolution represents
the crowning in the time in which we are living, of the centuries-old efforts
of thousands of generations who were immolated on the altar of that ideal.
The objective contrast between the position adopted by the Government of
Cuba and the Government of the United States casts vivid light on the plane
aggression and the acts of intervention which have been carried out by
the Democratic Administration, with the subsequent threat to international
peace and security.
The United States lacks
the right to judge, to qualify or to sanction acts which fall within the
domestic or even the external jurisdiction of states. These acts are within
the competency of the United Nations only when they infringe upon the basic
principles of the Charter, when they violate international treaties or
when they endanger international peace and security.
Cuba is Defended
But no domestic or foreign act
of the Government of Cuba can be judged, qualified or sanctioned by the
United Nations, when Cuba has not acted in any way, dramatically or internationally,
so as to endanger future generations.
The United States Government
has undermined the two pillars of the inter-American juridical system--political
sovereignty and economic security. The first is guaranteed in Article 15
of the Charter of Bogota, which states that no state or group of states
has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, regardless of the reason,
in the internal or external affairs of any other state.
The second, economic security,
is based on Article 16 of the same Charter, which states that no state
may devise or apply coercive economic measures to frustrate the will of
another sovereign state thereby securing advantages of any nature whatsoever.
It has violated Article
18, Sections 959 and 960 of the Code of the United States. Section
959 says that whosoever, with in the territory of the United States, enlists
or forms part of, or enlists or induces another person to enlist or form
part of, or who leaves the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose
of enlisting or forming part of the service of any sovereign state, colony,
district or foreign people, as a soldier, marine or sailor shall be fined
no more than $1,000 or imprisoned for no more than three years, or both.
U.S. Law Is Cited
Section 960 states that whosoever,
within the territory of the United States knowingly undertakes or initiates,
or assists in or prepares the means for, or supplies the money for, or
takes part in any military or naval expedition directed from this country
against the territory or dominion of any sovereign state, colony, district
or people with which the United States is at peace, shall be fined no more
than $3,000 or imprisoned for more than three years or both.
The grass had scarcely turned
green on the grave of Franklin Delano Roosevelt--a liberal who never resorted
to witch-hunting to defend the foundations of the capitalist order--when
the pretext was again resurrected with the overwhelming strength of a stereotype
built out of prelogical ingredients--the "Communist influence," the "Communist
bridge-head," the "Communist peril," the "diabolical expansion of international
communism."
Such is the pretext which
is invoked in order to destroy the Cuban Revolution and restore the system
of interests, privileges, concessions and bribery which that revolution
overthrew.
Pretexts Are Alleged
It is enough for the slightest
trace of political self-determination or economic or social reform to appear,
affecting the privileges of the North American corporations or stockholders
and the national oligarchies at their service, for the pretext to leap
out like a rabbit: and then the threatening notes begin to descend, political
pressures and economic reprisals are applied, and if this does not produce
surrender then diplomatic action is replaced by direct economic aggression,
by undisguised acts of intervention and the open organization of counter-revolution.
The full and proper reply
to the McCarthyite pamphlet published by the Government of the United States
is already being prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the [Cuban]
Government and will be distributed in a book entitled "The United States
and Cuba: The Public History of an Open Secret."
If we open up this pamphlet
we shall see all the maggots that crawl through its pages as though they
were heroes of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Government of the United
States has closed both eyes and ears to the denunciation and the proof
given by the Revolutionary Government, while it coldly denied the facts,
suppressed the economic blockade, sent planes and weapons to Cuba, distributed
millions of dollars to the mercenaries, pressured the counter-revolutionary
groups to unify, and compelled them to constitute a government in exile,
violating its own laws of neutrality.
Photographs Are Cited
Can the representative of the
United States here deny the existence of counter-revolutionary camps in
the Florida peninsula under the command of Americans, with the impunity
given by United States authorities and financed by United States dollars?
Can the photographs of these camps that have appeared in the United States
press and in counter-revolutionary Cuban papers be denied?
Is it or is it not true
that the President of the United States, before and after the elections,
openly offered his support to the enemies of the Revolutionary Government
of Cuba?
Is it or is it not true
that through the Voice of America and the broadcasting stations of New
York and Miami, rebellion is being fostered in Cuba? Can the United States
representative deny the departure of hundreds of planes from Florida to
burn the sugar plantations, to drop leaflets of a subversive nature, to
rescue delinquents?
Is it or is it not true
that the United States Government gave protection to the Batista war criminals
when they escaped from Cuba? Is it or is it not true that the United States
Government is giving considerable economic assistance and moral support
to the deserters of the Revolution and has converted help to the refugees
of Cuba into propaganda against Cuba, while it leaves with no assistance
whatever those who are exiles from tyrannies all over America?
The Revolutionary Government
of Cuba knows--and can the United States representative deny this?--that
the C.I.A. is a body directed towards subversion against Cuba and spends
about a half a million dollars a month on preparations for invasion.
May I be allowed to illustrate
this series of questions with photographic proof that I will hold up so
that the committee may see it?
Evidence Is Offered
Is it or is it not true that
these anti-tank guns, 57-mm. guns, manufactured by the Firestone Corporation,
which were dropped by plane in Escambray, can only be sold through treaties
between Governments?
Is it or is it not true
that these 30-caliber carbines, M-1, manufactured by the I.B.M. [International
Business Machines] Corporation, are those used by the Marine infantry of
the United States as a substitution for the 45-caliber Thompson automatic
rifles?
Is it or is it not true
that this type of transmitter and receiver, with a range of 1,000 miles,
is specially manufactured for the intelligence services of the United States?
Is it or is it not true
that these Browning machine guns, .30-caliber, manufactured by Colt Patent
Fire Arms of Hartford, Conn., are used in the United States Army at present
and can be sold elsewhere only through treaties between Governments?
Is it or is it not true
that these M-3 machine guns, .45-caliber, have replaced the Thompson machine
guns in the parachute corps of the United States?
Is it or is it not true
that these .45-caliber Thompson machine guns, manufactured in Bridgeport,
Conn., automatic and semi-automatic-firing, are used by the Marine infantry
of the United States?
This is presumably the "big
stick" mentioned by the first Roosevelt.
Weapons are Displayed
Thousands of examples of these
weapons and equipment are being shown at present at the foot of the statue
of Jose Marti in the Plaza Civica in Havana. Diplomatic missions have not
been able to suppress their astonishment.
The Cuban delegation wishes
to know what principles of the Charter of the United Nations authorize
any member state to wage an undeclared war against another member state
or what precepts allow the intervention of one state in the domestic affairs
of another, regardless of the system of economic, social or political life
of that country and regardless of what other countries may enjoy diplomatic,
commercial, cultural or friendly relations with that country.
I am asking whether that
Charter of the United Nations grants such license to the Government of
the United States? Perhaps the representative of the United States can
enlighten us in that respect.
Operation Cuba has taken
place in full daylight, a few meters from the United Nations. With the
protection of the United States Government, mercenary elements have been
recruited, to be used in the invasion, in Apartment 408 at 1650 Broadway;
at 3 East Nineteenth Street; at 143 Broadway; in a building situated on
the corner of Seventy-eighth and Broadway; in a building at 180th Street
and Audubon Avenue; in Apartment 509 at 341 West Forty-fifth Street, and
in apartments 1113 and 1114 at 119 West Fifty-seventh Street.
Aggression is Charged
Without leaving Manhattan Island,
representatives here can confirm these acts of aggression and intervention
with their own eyes.
They do not have to travel
to Washington or to Florida or to Louisiana or to the camps in Guatemala.
The Cuban delegation accuses
the Government of the United States of the international crime of aggression
and demands of the United Nations the adoption of rapid, efficient and
determined measures to avoid these plans of aggression being consummated
and this intervention being carried out, that we have solemnly denounced.
International peace and
security are in grave danger at these moments. We are confronting fait
accompli, and we must act without wasting time.
This is a decisive test
for the United Nations. This is a test of the diligence, effectiveness
and zeal with which it tries to stop this shameless imperialistic aggression,
and on this action will the future of the United Nations stand.
My tiny and heroic nation
is repeating and proving again the heroic struggle of David against Goliath.
A soldier of that noble cause on the battleground of international affairs,
may I repeat this cry in the serious body of the United Nations--Fatherland
or death! But we shall vanquish.
By Mr. Stevenson
Dr, Roa, speaking for Cuba,
has charged the United States with aggression against Cuba and invasion
coming from Florida. These charges are totally false and I deny them categorically.
The United States has committed no aggression against Cuba and no offensive
has been launched from Florida or from any other part of the United States.
We sympathize with the desire
of the people of Cuba--including those in exile who do not stop being Cubans
merely because they could no longer stand to live in today's Cuba--we sympathize
with their desire to seek Cuban independence and freedom. We hope that
the Cuban people will succeed in doing what Castro's revolution never really
tried to do: that is, to bring democratic processes to Cuba.
But as President Kennedy
has already said, "There will not under any conditions, be an intervention
in Cuba by United States armed forces. This Government will do everything
it possibly can, and I think it can meet its responsibilities, to make
sure that there are no Americans involved in any actions inside Cuba. I
wish to make clear also, that we would be opposed to the use of our territory
for mounting an offensive against any foreign Government.
Dr. Roa also charged my
country--which fought for Cuban indpependence--with literally everything
else, including releasing hounds against children and keeping slavery alive,
and crucifying the mandates of man and God.
Oratory Called 'Lurid'
I must say if such lurid oratory
is a fair example of Dr. Roa's literature, that I shall read more for entertainment
if not for enlightenment.
We have heard Dr. Roa's
colorful challenges and his denunciation of the United States paper on
Cuba as the most low and astigmatic literature he has ever seen. Well,
when it comes to astigmatism, I would remind Dr. Roa what the gospel says
in the Book of Matthew: "And why behold thou the moat that is in thy brother's
eye but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye."
It is my privilege now to
discuss some of the beams in Cuba's eyes about the United States.
But first let me say that
on Saturday Dr. Roa paid me the compliment of saying that he was familiar
with my books and writings and was therefore surprised by my attitude about
events in Cuba. He said there must be two Stevensons.
Well, I confess that I am
flattered that Dr. Roa has read some of my writings, but I am not sure
that I equally appreciate his suggestion that I am so versatile that there
are two of me.
Opposition to Tyranny
Dr. Roa will find that on the
subject of tyranny--be it on the Right or the Left--be it of the minority
or the majority--be it over the mind, or spirit, or body of man--that
I have only one view--unalterable opposition. That what I think on that
subject very carefully does not surprise me.
But if there are not two
Stevensons, I suggest that on the subject of uprisings and communism Dr.
Roa seems to have two views. Perhaps there are two Roas. In his book entitled
"En Pie," published in 1959, Dr. Roa included an essay on the Hungarian
revolution and its suppression by the Soviet Army.
Dr. Roa then cited what
he called "representative opinions, judgments and pronouncements" of intellectuals
in many countries of many political creeds, including Communist, in condemnation
of "Soviet infamies and depredations in Hungary," to use his own words.
Well, gentlemen, for flexibility
and agility, I am afraid I would have to concede that even two Stevensons
are no match for one Roa.
In reading these conflicting
characterizations of the Hungary revolution, one by Dr. Roa and the other
by his Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was reminded of certain other parallels
between Hungary and Cuba. The Castro regime and its foreign collaborators
are using the same methods now to suppress the patriotic uprising of the
Cuban people as were used in 1956 to suppress the Hungarian people. Cuban
patriots are now called traitors, mercenaries, criminals and tools of imperialism,
in the same way as the patriotic Hungarian workers of 1956 were then and
are still being slandered by such false allegations.
Patriots become traitors
and mercenaries evidently very quickly in the idiom of Dr. Roa. My recollection
is that Batista said the same things using the same identical words to
describe Dr. Castro, Dr. Roa and their countless associates who have fled
from the tyranny in Cuba.
Free Press is Noted
Dr. Roa's description of the
detailed reports in the United States papers and magazines about the activities
of the Cuban refugees illustrates something that I hope no member here
will overlook. It illustrates how free the press is in this country. We
don't have to wonder what would happen if a newspaper in Havana exercised
the same freedom. We don't have to wonder because it has already happened:
the free press of Cuba has long since been crushed.
I want to remind the committee
that there was great sympathy in the United States for the proclaimed goals
of the Cuban revolution when it took place. As soon as the Castro regime
came to power the United States accorded it prompt recognition; that in
the spring of 1959 the United States stood ready to supply the Castro Government
with economic assistance: that the hope of my fellow citizens has always
been that Dr. Castro would live up to the pledges of freedom and democracy
that he uttered from Sierra Maestra to the Cuban people.
Instead, Dr. Castro chose
to embark on a systematic betrayal of these pledges. He has presided over
a methodical and shameless corruption of his own revolution. To conceal
his program of betrayal, he has followed the classical course of all tyrants:
he has raised the specter of a foreign enemy whose alleged malevolence
can serve as an excuse for tightening the screws of tyranny at home. And
so in the course of 1959 he began the anti-United States campaign that
in recent months has risen to so strident a crescendo.
He closed his door to the
American Ambassador in Havana. He conjured up the ghost of a Yankee imperialism.
By demanding that the American Embassy in Havana be reduced to a handful
of persons, he eventually forced our Government to break diplomatic and
consular relations with his regime.
What Dr. Roa seeks from
us today is the protection of the Castro regime from the natural wrath
of the Cuban people. We have all read the recent newspaper stories about
these activities which he has described with such lurid oratory--of men
who hope to return to Cuba for the purpose of establishing a free government
in their homeland.
At least some members of
such groups have been captured or imprisoned or executed by Cuban firing
squads. We have given asylum to tens of thousands of Cuban citizens who
have been forced to flee from their homeland to these shores. These exiles
nurse a natural burning desire to bring freedom to Cuba, and toward that
end they work with the dedicated concentration which Jose Marti and other
Cuban exiles in the United States have shown in the tradition which is
now learly 100 years old.
Soviet Aid Described
It cannot be that he fears the
armed might of small armed bands of resistance fighters. His Prime Minister
has often boasted of the armed strength of Cuba. Cuba has by far the largest
ground forces of any country in Latin America, possessed, by Dr. Castro's
own admission, with ample supplies of automatic rifles, machine guns, artillery,
grenades, tanks and other modern armament obtained from his now friends.
Well over 30,000 tons of
Soviet equipment has arrived in the last few months. This includes at least
fifteen Soviet fifty-ton tanks, nineteen Soviet assault guns, fifteen Soviet
thirty-five-ton tanks, seventy-eight Soviet .76-mm field guns, four Soviet
122-mm. field guns, and over 100 Soviet heavy machine guns. Over 200 Soviet
ant Czechoslovak military advisers are in Cuba, and over 150 Cuban military
personnel have been sent to the bloc for training.
Let me make it clear that
we do not regard the Cuban problem as a problem between Cuba and the United
States. The challenge is not to the United States but to the hemisphere
and its duly constituted body, the Organization of American States. The
Castro regime has betrayed the Cuban revolution. It is now collaborating
in organized attempts by means of propaganda, agitation and subversion
to bring about the overthrow of existing governments by force and replace
them with regimes subservient to an extra-continental power.
In spite of all this, Dr.
Roa now tells us that the Revolutionary Government wants only to live in
peace, that it does not threaten its neighbors, that it has not attempted
nor intends to export its revolution.
Destruction Charged
The Castro regime has mercilessly
destroyed the hope of freedom the Cuban people had briefly glimpsed at
the beginning of 1959. Cuba has never witnessed such political persecution
as exists today. The arrests, the prisons bulging with political prisoners
and the firing squads testify to this. Since the Castro regime came to
power more than 600 persons have been executed, with a shocking disregard
of the standards of due process of law and fair trial generally accepted
and practiced in the civilized community of nations. The Government has
even threatened to replace its slogan for this year--the year of education--with
a new slogan--the year of the execution wall.
There is no democratic participation
of the Cuban people in the determination of their destiny. Staged rallies
at which small percentages of the population are harangued and asked to
express approval of policies by shouts or a show of hands represent the
procedure of a totalitarian demagogue and not free and democratic expression
of opinion through the secret ballot.
The Cuban farm worker who
was promised his own plot of land finds that he is an employee of the state
working on collective or state-run farms. The independent labor movement,
once one of the strongest in the hemisphere is today in chains. freely-elected
Cuban labor leaders, who as late as the end of 1960 protested the destruction
of workers' rights, were imprisoned for their pains or took asylum in foreign
embassies or fled the country to escape imprisonment.
Such conditions have led
to a steady stream of defections and escapes--not by members of the previous
government, but by Castro's own officials.