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News, November 13, 2002. Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer. Tue Nov
12,10:13 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - For the 11th straight year, the U.N. General Assembly
on Tuesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution urging the United States to end
its four-decade trade embargo against Cuba.
The resolution, which is not binding, was approved by a vote of 173-3 with
four abstentions — a larger majority than last year when 167 nations voted
to lift the embargo.
Only the United States, Israel and the Marshall Islands voted in favor of
keeping the embargo, as they did last year.
Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly, in a speech before
the vote, accused powerful Americans of Cuban descent of acting against what he
called the "true interests" of the United States by insisting on the
embargo.
Cuba has been under a U.S. trade embargo since Fidel Castro (news - web
sites) defeated the CIA (news - web sites)-backed assault at the Bay of Pigs in
1961. Americans are barred from traveling to the Caribbean island nation except
with special approval.
Creating a small opening in the trade embargo, Congress two years ago
legalized sales of food to the communist island for the first time since 1961.
Cuba started buying U.S. food this year and Alarcon said sales could reach $200
million.
Ambassador Sichan Siv, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and
Social Council, told the General Assembly that President Bush (news - web sites)
has made clear he would only work to ease the embargo if Cuba takes "concrete"
steps toward political and economic reforms.
"Unfortunately, the Cuban government shows no signs of abandoning its
policies that deny the Cuban people their fundamental rights," Siv said.
The United States was "particularly disappointed" by the Cuban
government's decision to ignore the Varela Project, which collected more than
11,000 signatures for a referendum that would ask voters if they favor greater
freedom of speech and private business ownership, Siv said.
In appealing for a "no" vote on the resolution, Siv denied that
the embargo was the cause of Cuba's economic problems, saying Cuba imports some
one billion dollars worth of goods every year from many different countries.
"The focus of the international community ... should be on the
continuing human rights crisis in Cuba rather than on the bilateral United
States efforts to encourage a peaceful transition to democracy," he said.
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